Page 2 of Broken

Her blonde hair, cut to her jawline, was slightly jagged to give an edgy look, and her steel gray eyes were bright and framed with lashes that would make Liz Taylor jealous. Her subtle beauty took everyone's breath away.

"Almost. A few more emails to send off, and I am done." I smiled up at her. She witnessed every meltdown, whether from Aine struggling to make friends or me trying to figure out how to deal with a girl on the cusp of being a teen.

Danielle was easygoing and fun. But she respected the boundaries I maintained with being a single parent. She was my first friend who stuck around when I put my daughter's wants and needs above my own, or when I couldn't find someone to watch her, so we could go out.

In the case of the latter, Danielle had no issue with bringing the party to me, albeit discreet and respectful of Aine's presence. So, no strippers or random people.

"Are we still on to take Aine to the street fair tonight? The new Latin Fusion restaurant has been advertising that they'll be having a taco stand there and you know I love their tacos."

She did love their tacos. But I had a feeling she wanted more than their food.

"Really? Or are you hoping their hot chef will be serving them?" I asked her with a smirk.

A mischievous sparkle glittered in her eyes. She was eyeing the chef, and I called her out. Looked like I would be playing wingman.

She put work first, which left her little time for relationships. Both of us had other priorities that came before men and dating. Aine for me, and work for Danielle. So, when she gets all starry-eyed over a guy, I make it my job to be the best fucking wingman I can be.

Danielle winked at me and smiled. I realized I had been staring. I thought about biting her lip and sucking it between my teeth. I didn't typically have sex with women, but she had this draw to her, and there was one night in the apartment hot tub. It was the first night she met Aine. We planned to go dancing and drinking, but my daughter had a rough day at school with a bully, so I canceled our plans.

Danielle showed up with pizzas, root beer, and ice cream for Aine, and a few bottles of Cabernet for us. Before that night, I hadn't been with anyone since college, the last time resulted in Aine coming into this world almost ten months later. I became a mom-slash student juggling a part-time job. I didn't have time for parties, sex, or dating.

I worried it would make working with Danielle difficult. I normally didn't drunkenly fuck my friends or coworkers, but her personality was easygoing, and it made us closer.

She reached for my coat pulling me out of my thoughts. "Come on boss babe. You've more than earned this time off. Go, out of here. Now." She laughed, handing me my belongings.

"Fine. I'm finished. Aine should be out of school soon and I promised her we'd get milkshakes to kick off the summer. Do you want to join us?"

"Thanks, but I do have a couple of things to do here before the weekend, and I have a surprise for the little heathen and need to swing by my place to grab it before we go."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. Danielle was an only child like me. So, she spoiled Aine whenever she had the chance. It was the closest she'd ever been to having a family, another thing that made their relationship so strong and exceptional.

"You do realize you spoil my child, right?"

I didn't mind her giving Aine the attention. "I'll see you at the apartment around six then?"

"Yep." With Danielle's confirmation, I was out the door. Ready for a month of doing nothing but hanging out with my two favorite girls.

Aine loved living in Palm Springs. She finally made some new friends at school soon after the little bully incident.

When I picked her up, she asked if she could sleep over at her friend Riley's house. Of course, I let her. The kid deserved a night of freedom. Well, as much freedom as an eleven-year-old girl having a sleepover with friends had.

"Well, it's you and me tonight. What do you say we grab our tacos and head back to the apartment?"

"Tacos and tequila poolside?" Danielle quirked an eyebrow and gave me a sneaky grin. This sleepover was hard for me. Aine and I had never spent an entire night apart. I'd always made it home for bedtime.

She needed to go; the girl deserved friends and a normal life. I guess I did too. I had Aine, and Danielle and I went out on girls' nights once a month. I had work, too.

I hooked my arm with Danielle's and smiled. "Let's get those tacos. And the phone number of a certain sexy chef?"

My phone started buzzing again. I pulled it out to check the caller id; it had been going off all day long. When unknown caller flashed on the screen, I hit ignore and put it back in my pocket.

"Unknown Caller again?"

I sighed. "Yeah. I figure if I ignore the call enough, they'll stop calling."

Danielle shrugged and led me down the street toward the food vendors. We found the Latin Fusion booth and ordered some tacos. I sat back with a grin as she flirted with the guy and gave him her phone number before we left.

My phone buzzed again. Seriously, when was the person on the other end going to take the hint and stop calling?

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