Page 77 of The Single Dad Project

“You ready to go on?” he asked, fingers massaging her scalp.

Don’t you dare fucking purr, she ordered herself.

Not yet trusting herself, she nodded. Then after several long moments of silence where that bright gaze studied her and he patiently waited, she released a breath and started again.

“Noah left me,” she repeated. “And he never came back. Other than random cards through the years, he walked away and went on with his life. Without me. And he did it so easily. Yes, I get he was grieving, but I needed him. And he abandoned me.”

It was an old hurt, but with Noah’s reappearance, the scab had been ripped off, and it throbbed like a fresh wound.

“I felt like this changeling in my own family. I wasn’t a biological child, but I was also different from the adopted kids. Cole’s and the twins’ parents died. Their parents didn’t leave them by choice. But my legal guardian, the man I considered my father, has always been out there in the world. He just didn’t want me anymore.” Her voice lowered, dropped, as she aired the fear that had been eating away at her soul and confidence like a cancer. “My parents—especially, Dad—want me to welcome him back. Let him get to know me. Noah does, too. And I can’t lie, there’s a part of me that wants to do just that. Noah knew my mother better than Moe and Dad. He lived with her, loved her. He could share details about her with me that I can’t get from a box of mementos. Details only Noah, as her husband, could give me. Like what was her favorite food? What made her laugh...cry? What was her favorite color? I look like her—so people keep telling me—but I don’t know if she preferred purple to blue. I even want to learn about Noah, discover why she fell in love with him.”

She heaved out a breath, and it scraped her throat.

“But if I give in—if I let Noah in—what’s to stop him from up and leaving me again? If he did it so easily before, why wouldn’t he do it again? I can’t trust him not to. More importantly, though, I don’t trust myself not to get attached to him. Because I did it before, too.”

“You’re not that little girl anymore, Flo,” he murmured.

“Aren’t I?” she countered. “Yes, I’m an adult, but that small, confused child who sat at the window of the inn and watched the road for her father to show up... She didn’t just disappear.”

“True, but that little girl also isn’t in control. The grown woman is.Youare. And yes, you might have history that you can’t forget, but you’ve also gained wisdom, good judgment and perception. There’s no reason you can’t trust yourself to do what’s best for not just you, but your family, as well.”

Wasn’t there a reason? Did she have wisdom and good judgment?

Because if she did, Adam would’ve remained off-limits after their night together. She would’ve heeded all the very valid reasons why she shouldn’t have become involved with him and fallen for Justine. She would’ve protected herself...her heart.

But she hadn’t. Worse. She still didn’t.

He released her hair and lowered his hand to circle her neck, his thumb under her chin and nudging it up. Even if she wanted to avoid his gaze, she couldn’t.

But who was she kidding? She didn’t want to.

God.Most definitely headed for heartbreak.

And he said she had wisdom? If that was true, she would veer off this road, hit Reverse and drive away without a backward glance.

Instead, she hit the fucking accelerator to her ruin.

Wise, indeed.

“You don’t give yourself, your strength, enough credit, queen. But at some point, you’re going to have to stop running and face Noah and your father. Trying to wait out Noah won’t give you the closure you need, and it won’t save your father from hurt feelings.”

Her head jerked back, but the reflexive action didn’t dislodge Adam’s hand.

“What? I don’t—” When he arched an eyebrow, the rest of the objection,the lie, died a swift death. “I didn’t say anything about hurting my dad,” she settled on.

“You didn’t have to. Anyone with eyes or ears would see or hear how much you love him. And isn’t it only natural for a daughter to want to protect their father? He raised you, loved you, was always there for you. Of course you wouldn’t want him to feel slighted because you might want to get to know Noah.”

“It feels like a betrayal,” she whispered, her lashes lowering. How had he explained with unerring insight the guilt swimming inside her? “He stayed. He deserves my loyalty. He and Moe gave me everything—not just a home, but a safe space. That I have this sense of, of missing something or someone isn’t fair. It’s not right. Especially when that someone voluntarily left me and then chose to remain out of my life.”

Adam sighed and pulled her closer, both arms around her, and panic flared in her chest. This felt too right, too...necessary. When had that happened?

She pressed her cheek to his chest and inhaled a breath, taking his heady scent into her lungs. It didn’t make sense that his now-familiar fragrance pushed back the serrated edges of the panic. Not when he was the source of that almost paralyzing fear.

“When my father started dating my sister’s mother, and then married her, I didn’t want to like her. But I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. For the years she was with my father, she mothered me. Gave me the affection and emotional support that my father is incapable of offering. At nine, ten years old, the guilt ate me alive. Yes, I was angry with my mother for not coming back for me, for just disappearing out of my life. But I missed her. I still do. That’s human, isn’t it?You’rehuman. Still loving Noah for the person he was in your life—and maybe the person he could be in your life—doesn’t diminish your love for your father in any way. Honestly? It just says a lot about who you are. That in a world that seems to delight in hate and greed, your heart is capable of so much love, selflessness and forgiveness. It makes you even more special.”

Tears stung her eyes, anddammit, she detested crying. Hadn’t she been vulnerable enough around this man?

“Have you ever tried to find your mom? To find out what happened and get your own closure?” she asked, desperate to turn the conversation away from her. Even if for a few seconds.

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