Page 36 of Reckless Single Daddy

Wedding favors tonight? I could really use the help since we have over 100 guests. - Mia

A hundred people are coming to the wedding? Seriously? Do Mia and Killian even collectivelyknowa hundred people?

It doesn’t matter, that’s not what is important. The favors… right, can I do them tonight? I’m guessing she doesn’t know anything about what the police plan to do about my stalker tonight. She can’t exactly be mad at me if I back out, right? I mean, Mike the police officer is being clear with his instructions here. He’s taking me to Cade’s because nothing is safer than a well-guarded estate.

I feel guilty for backing out on my responsibilities again, but this time it isn’t my fault or even Cade’s. I could have been available tonight, but I’m sure she wouldn’t risk my safety over her wedding favors, and I wouldn’t want to risk hers. The last thing we need is the stalker finding out I’m not home, figuring out I’m not at Cade’s, and then tracking me to my sister’s. The fewer family members I involve in this mess, the better I’ll feel.

I start typing back.

I can’t tonight. Safety concerns courtesy of our dear brother. - Sloane

I decide to keep it vague, not just for her sake, but for my own, too. If this stalker is learning all this information about me, who is to say that they don’t have access to my phone? What if they’re always listening to me? This is the part where the paranoia sets in and I turn beet-red. Does that mean the stalker could have heard or very well seen Cade and me the other day in my bedroom?

Well, if they did, I hope they enjoyed the show.

My phone pings again.

Ugh, fine. - Mia

It pings again as a second message comes in.

I’m not mad at you, by the way. I know your safety is important. I just hate this for you and the timing sucks. - Mia

I grimace. She’s right, but no time is good to have a stalker. Still, I feel her frustration, and I feel her stress. I wish I could be there for her, especially tonight. I made a promise to do better, but this time, through at no fault of my own, I can’t be there for her—again.

I know, but I can’t help feeling guilty for continuing to flake on you. I promised to make it up to you, but it feels like the world refuses to let me be there for you. - Sloane

I sigh and wait for her response. Three dots appear on the screen, alerting me that she’s typing back.

I get it. Just stay safe, okay? Rain check? How about this Saturday night, after we’re done with the glam test runs? I’d like to have them done asap. - Mia

I stare at the screen until a honk cuts me from my thoughts. Will this stalker thing officially be over by Saturday? I don’t know, but I can’t keep turning my back on my duties to Mia, so I reply that I will see her on Saturday night. One way or another, we will get those wedding favors done.

I grab my bag and head out the door, locking it behind me as I meet Mike in his police cruiser. I place my bag down, and he looks over at me. I meet his gaze.

“You got everything you need?” he asks.

“Just missing my sanity,” I reply, and he chuckles softly, shaking his head. “How are you, by the way? I mean, I revealed this huge bombshell to you, and we haven’t really spoken since,” I ask as he puts the car in drive.

He sits there silently, contemplating his answer, but the longer he stays silent, the more on edge I feel.

Finally, he sighs awkwardly. “Well, it’s not every day I hear my best friend is screwing my younger sister,” he says.

I roll my eyes at his horrible turn of phrase. He makes it sound like I’m some child. I’m twenty-eight years old—hardly underage—and Cade is thirty-eight. We’re adults, and our age gap isn’t really all that bad. It isn’t like it’s a new thing that people who date tend to have age gaps. It’s normal; it just varies in the length. A decade-long one isn’t unheard of, either.

“But if you two make each other happy, then I don’t mind,” Mike adds.

I smile at him and then look away, letting us fall into a comfortable silence. I’ll have to take what I can get from him.

I’m suddenly reminded of what he said before, about Laura, Liam, and Washington, D.C. These are clearly heavy topicsfor Cade, and I feel like there has to be a reason why he hasn’t revealed anything about either of them. I would have understood his having a son, but I wished he had told me about him instead of me meeting him on my own.

“You obviously know about Laura, Liam, and D.C.,” I say to Mike.

He stiffens, his grip on the steering wheel tightening at the mention of all three weighty topics.

“I won’t ask you to tell me about them. I already know he has a son, but he didn’t tell me about him. I met Liam on my own one day,” I explain, pausing for a moment to collect my thoughts. What is it I’m trying to get out of Mike here if not information? “I just want to know why Cade is so closed off. I didn’t even know Laura existed until you said something, so I just want to know why he never felt like he could bring her up with me? Or D.C?”

Mike keeps his eyes on the road. He sighs, running a free hand through his hair. “Since you know about Liam, I’ll just say that as a single parent, when you start dating again, the first thing you want to do is know if that person is worth introducing them to your child. I don’t think Cade deliberately hid Liam from you. I think he just didn’t want to introduce you right away or scare you off. That’s where your age gap becomes a hindrance.”

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