Page 11 of Single Dad's Second Chance

Henry pushed open the door to his office and smiled at his father. “Yeah? What’s that?”

Eddie stood straighter and proudly announced, “I found you a woman.”

I froze, not daring to breathe. Henry had a similar reaction, stiffening and pausing mid-step in reaching his desk to set his briefcase on it.

“Do you remember the Vances?” Eddie asked.

Henry glanced at me, as ifIwould know. I shook my head and shrugged.

“Should I?” Henry replied.

It would make sense if it was a work connection, but it seemed Eddie was thinking of someone else.

A woman?An even worse feeling twisted my gut. Jealousy was never a lovely trait, but imagining Henry with someone had me fighting a grimace.

“Mia?” Henry frowned, holding up a hand for his dad to wait before speaking again. “Are you all right?”

Dammit.He could read me so well to know the precise moment I was unhappy.

“Yep. Sure. I’m great. Hey, you know what, if you guys need to chat”—I hooked my thumb over my shoulder and backed up a step toward the door—“I can come back.”

“No, no. Wait.” Henry took my hand and held it, keeping me there.

The sensation of his fingers on mine soothed me at the same time it excited me. Resisting the urge to curl my hand all the way around his was a challenge.

Eddie was losing patience, especially with Owen stepping in. The man smiled at us all, but I noticed his double-take of Henry holding my hand.

Is he even aware that he’s still holding it?

I released my hand, getting the point that I had to stay. I’d rather not. I’d prefer to spare myself the torture of hearing Eddie set up Henry with another woman. It’d put a heck of a damper on my crush.

“The Vances? I used to do business with John Vance?” When Henry shook his head and indicated that the name didn’t ring a bell, Eddie sighed. “Well, his niece, Ann, is moving to the city. I’m going to introduce you to her, and you can show her around.”

“I don’t even know her.”

Eddie grinned. “But you can!”

Henry furrowed his brow. “I can look at my calendar and see if I can squeeze in a favor for a family friend of yours, but…”

“No. Tonight.”

I lowered my gaze to the floor.

“It’s arcade night with Jason,” Henry argued.

“Well, he can skip a week, can’t he?” Eddie said, sounding more annoyed.

This wasn’t the first time Eddie had brought an ‘eligible, lovely lady’ for Henry to meet since he never wanted to go on dates of his own.

“You never go out on a date or?—”

Henry huffed. “I don’t need to date.”

Eddie crossed his arms, looking nonplussed. “What about when you need a plus-one to an event, then?”

Slapping his arm around my shoulders, Henry tugged me toward him. “I’ve got Mia. She can always be my plus-one.”

When he smiled at me, I had to reply in kind, wishing that was true. He said it playfully, but a girl could dream.

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