Page 7 of One Night with my Best Friend's Dad

I glimpse at Kelly once more. She quickly looks away, but not before I see a flicker of emotion in her gaze.

And I need to talk to her because I may have failed as a father once before, but I’ll be damned if I let it happen again.

Chapter 3

Kelly

The hotel ballroom where Piper and Connor are having their reception sparkles like a winter wonderland come to life.

Fairy lights are twinkling overhead, transforming the ceiling into a starry sky. Fake snow dusts every surface, creating the illusion of a frosty December night, despite the calendar insisting it’s late March.

Piper has been obsessed with Christmas since she experienced snow when her family vacationed in Colorado at Christmastime when she was young.

But as the hockey season covers the holiday period, she planned her wedding nearer to the off-season, but everyone still has to abide by her rules—and the reason Christmas songs are playing in the background.

I raise my glass high in the air, joining everyone else in cheering for the newlyweds as they take their seats.

“Can I sit next to you?” a deep voice asks. I know that timbre so well, and imagined him talking to me every day since I left him.

The day after Piper’s engagement. The time we shared more than we ever should have.

I blame myself. Piper saw how my small fascination with her father turned into infatuation. She warned me to stay away. Not only because he was her father, but also because she claimed he wasn’t good partner material.

I never thought that was fair.

I also never expected for Mac to react to what started as harmless flirting.

I should never have gone so far, but it was easy. We’d laughed so much during the runup to the engagement. One week where I stayed with him and Piper. For me, it was the easiest interaction I’d ever had with a man.

I smile. “Of course.”

“Thank you.” He pulls out the chair beside me and takes a seat.

He smiles at me just like he did that night when he offered me his jacket because it was cold as we watched the celebratory fireworks explode in the dark, starless night.

I remember how his fingers brushed over my shoulders as he pushed his warm jacket over my shivering body. And the way his warm breath ghosted over the back of my neck as he wrapped it around me.

I thought he liked me. Piper and Connor stayed in a suite in a fancy hotel, and I was alone with my best friend’s dad. Probably why I was so bold when we got back to his home that night.

And I should have gone to bed…alone.

I should’ve done lots of things.

I should never have held the sprig of mistletoe above my head and asked him to kiss me.

But I did—and now I’m in this mess.

As the reception gets underway, I stare at him. He looks gorgeous in his tuxedo, his hair styled in a way I doubt he’s ever done before.

“Did Piper take you to the barbers?”

He laughs. “You know her so well. Apparently, my previous style wasn’t good enough for the wedding photographs.”

I point to my hair, which is coiffured and has so much hairspray keeping it in place. I’m sure it’ll stay this way forever.

“It looks lovely, but I prefer it down and natural,” he tells me before clearing his throat as he realizes what he is saying.

“I prefer yours the way you normally have it, too.”

---