Page 3 of Renewal After Dark

“Don’t do that.”

“What am I doing?”

“Thinking you can’t be sad about Jim in front of me.”

As if a dam had broken, Tiffany dissolved into sobs.

Blaine wrapped his arms around her and lifted her right out of the chair to carry her from the room.

Whoa.

McKenzie fanned her face, feeling as if she’d witnessed a scene straight out of a romance novel. It was a revelation to her that men like Blaine actually existed. She’d certainly never met one like him. The ones she knew were all frogs, with nary a prince among them.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

She got up to greet Duke.

As she opened the door, she realized he’d seemed more… polished than he had during his earlier visits. Had he done that for her? She couldn’t help but notice that he was handsome in his own unique sort of way or that his blue eyes twinkled when he smiled.

“I didn’t want to wake the little guy if he’s napping.”

She couldn’t believe he’d thought of that. Most people didn’t. “That’s very kind of you. Come in. He should be awake any second.”

“Take your time. I’m in no rush.” He lowered his voice even further. “Does Tiffany know about the ex?”

McKenzie nodded. “Her former mother-in-law called.”

“Ah, okay. I know him from the gym. Got a call from a friend asking if I’d heard from him. Was sorta hoping I’d get here and find out he’d been in touch with his daughter.”

“They’ve had no word, and he missed a planned visit with her last night.”

“Crap.”

“I guess that’s happened before, so Tiffany didn’t think anything of it.”

Ashleigh came into the kitchen. “Miss McKenzie, Jax is awake.”

“Thank you so much for letting me know, honey.”

“You’re welcome.”

After Ashleigh had skipped out of the room, Duke said, “She’s her mother all over again.”

“I know. She’s adorable.”

“I really hope for her sake that they find her father soon.”

“I hope so, too. Let me grab Jax and tell Tiffany we’re leaving. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be here.”

She stopped and turned back to him. “I just want you to know… I appreciate your generosity so much. I’ll never be able to repay you.”

“You don’t have to. It’s my pleasure to help you out. It’s what Rosemary would’ve wanted me to do.”

He was so very sweet and adorable in a slightly awkward and endearing kind of way.

She’d no sooner had that thought than she stopped herself.You have no business finding any man adorable or endearing when you’re basically a homeless single mom to an infant with almost everything you own lost to the storm. You’ve got much more important things to think about than whether your new friend is adorable, so knock that off.

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