Page 38 of One Bride for Three Single Dads

On our date?

That’s the part I can’t stop thinking about.

That kiss… It nearly did me in. I could feel something changing inside of me. Like a door opening. Like a gate being run over by a fleet of ATVs.

Okay. I’m just going to say it. I’m not sure I’m ready for this.

Come on. Harmony is only five months old. How can I be ready for this?

And yet, something about Jolene feels like she fits. Like a key in a lock. Like a puzzle piece snapping onto another puzzle piece.

She doesn’t feel strange. She doesn’t make me feel disloyal to Lydia. And then I remember that I don’t feel disloyal, and that makes me feel disloyal.

Until the next time I see Jolene. And then she is all I can think about.

But this feels like a step.

A step into… What was it Harrison called it? Triple team? Harem? Something like that?

Yeah. That makes it feel more real. The guys and I are a team. If Jolene comes into the team, there’s no backing out. It’s not like I can just inch into the shallow end of the swimming pool. Harrison and Boone are more like jump right into the deep end, cannonball style.

So, I don’t know.

But I still wonder what she’s doing.

After lunch, I decide to drive out to the farthest job. I have to check on it, right? That means I won’t get back home until about eight o’clock.

That means I can’t go home early.

But of course, the job is fine. I shake everybody’s hand, introduce myself to the new apprentice. This one is going to be gorgeous. It is on a cliffside lot overlooking a beautiful valley. Everything is so rich and green, it looks like a painting.

On my way back to the house, every mile makes my gut a little bit tighter. Every mile makes me more nervous.

There’s still time to back out. I don’t want to disappoint Harrison, but things are going so well right now, aren’t they? Shouldn’t we just leave them the way they are?

Who knows what will happen in the future. Who knows how complicated Ireland is going to be?

Why introduce something so unknown into all the stuff that’s working really well?

Yeah.

Why?

Boone and Harrison must not be home yet. Their parking space is still empty. They usually drive together.

As I walk through the house, I notice all the lights are off already. I’m tempted to turn them back on, but it is already so quiet. Cole and Harmony must already be in bed. That makes sense.

From the back hallway, I can see lights on the patio. Flickering. Warm. As the sun sets, the light out there glows. She must have turned on the gas-powered torches that circle the slate patio.

A nice touch, I have to admit.

What am I going to say to her?

Tell her she’s beautiful, of course. I mean obviously, I have to let her know this doesn’t have anything to do with her. I’m just going through a lot. Our company is expanding. Ireland is a total unknown. Of course we want her there, but we need to keep it professional.

When I open the sliding glass door to the patio, she hears it and turns around. As she twirls, her pretty pink dress flares up a little over those dimpled knees.

She smiles at me, her cheeks rosy. Her eyes twinkle and glitter as the firelight dances across them.

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