Page 20 of Perfect Imperfections

“Yes, Daddy.”

She wiggled until Gavin put her down, then ran to the hall, her tiny feet pounding up the stairs making more noise than should be possible for a forty-five-pound seven-year-old to make.

“So,” his brother started when they heard the slam of the upstairs bathroom door. “Who’s your date with and why didn’t you ask me to babysit? Is Nancy coming over?”

Gavin was his go-to babysitter. Sullivan didn’t go out much, but he had the occasional conference or office party he had to attend. Now and then, when he needed some adult time, he’d make plans with Gavin and a few of the guys to go out for beers or a game, and he’d pay his weekly housekeeper Nancy to stay and watch Charlotte. But not tonight.

“No, Nancy isn’t coming over and I don’t have a date.” He made his way over to the fridge, pulling out the ingredients for tonight’s dinner. “I’m having a friend over for dinner.”

“What friend?” Gavin nudged his way into the open fridge, pointing at the remaining three root beers with a knowing smirk. “You don’t have any friends.”

He shoved his brother out of the way. Grumbling in annoyance when the guy moved off with a chuckle. Little brothers could be a real pain in the ass sometimes.

“I have friends.”

Or he did, before Carla left and he became consumed with putting Charlotte first. There was always that kernel of guilt wedged in the back of his mind that somehow his ex-wife’s addiction problem was his fault. Her inability to be a wife and mother was because of something he’d done, or not done. That she’d left because of him, and he needed to do everything in his power to make up for that fact. Make sure Charlotte didn’t suffer because of his failings. Whether it was true, it shaped his life, his parenting, his social activities.

“So, who’s coming over?” Gavin hopped on the counter, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl, and biting into it. Juice dripped off his chin as he crunched loudly. At Sullivan’s perturbed glare, Gavin grinned and wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Oh, come on, you can tell me. We’re family.”

Yeah, just the reason he didn’t want to tell. His baby brother loved to rile him about anything and everything. There must be something in the younger brother handbook about annoying your older siblings into an early grave.

“It’s not a big deal. I’m just making dinner for Ellie Clark.”

Gavin frowned. “Ellie Clark…why do I know that name?”

“She’s the one who saved Charlotte at the zoo. I invited her over for dinner tonight to thank her.” And because Charlotte had been begging him to take her back to the zoo so she could see Ellie again.

“Oh, yeah.” Gavin’s expression lit up. “Damn, I’d like to thank her too. Amazing what she did for Charlotte.”

His brother’s lips curled into a smile. If anyone on this earth loved Charlotte even close to what Sullivan did, it was his brother. When Carla left, Gavin had pitched in as much as he could to help Sullivan out. The man was almost a second father to Charlotte. He would be forever grateful to his brother for all the love and support he offered them.

“Yeah, well, she’s going to be here in half an hour, so go home.”

“What? I can’t stay and meet her?”

“No.” He set the oven to preheat, while gathering the rest of the ingredients for dinner.

“Why not?” Gavin tossed his apple core in the trash, sliding down off the counter and moving to, yet again, get in Sullivan’s way. “She hot or something? You wanna keep her all to yourself?”

“Geez, Gavin.” His brother was a nice guy, but a well-known ladies’ man. None of them ever complained, but neither did they stay long. Something Sullivan never minded before, but the thought of his little brother working his charms on Ellie didn’t sit right with Sullivan. “I invited her over to dinner, at my house, with my daughter. It’s not like I’m planning to jump her on the dinner table.”

Or anywhere else. Sullivan had a busy life. It didn’t lend itself to relationships. And Ellie, well, Ellie was a relationship kind of woman. Why else had she been at that speed dating thing the other night? She was clearly looking for something. Something more than a single overworked father could give her.

Gavin just stared at him with a big stupid grin on his face.

“What?”

“Oh man, you are so far gone already, my brother. This is going to be fun to watch.”

“What’s going to be fun? The hell are you talking about?”

“Daddy, you said the H word!”

He groaned as Charlotte came back into the room. Of course, his daughter would pick the absolute worst timing to return. No, worse would have been if she came in during his rant about taking Ellie on the kitchen table. He didn’t want to have that talk for another, oh, never years. Sadly, he knew he’d have to have it eventually. Sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, she’d already heard some talk on the playground. He didn’t even want to think about what misinformation she’d be hearing over the years. That’s why, as uncomfortable as he knew it was going to be, he’d already started gathering age-appropriate information for their talks.

“I did, Angel, and I’m sorry. Uncle Gavin was just leaving.”

“You’re leaving?” Her tiny bottom lip came out in an adorable pout. “Don’t you want to stay for dinner? Ellie is coming!”

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