Page 35 of The Single Dad Project

“You got it, honey,” she said, not looking up from pouring coffee into a customer’s waiting cup.

“So what’ve you been up to today, Jussy?” Flo asked, folding her arms on top of the diner table and giving his daughter all her attention.

“Ms. Angela cooked me French toast, and it was good. But my Daddy’s is better. I didn’t tell her because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings,” she confessed, her expression and tone solemn.

“That was really nice of you, sweetie,” Flo praised in the same serious tone, even though he caught the twitch of her cheek that betrayed a smile. Adam bent his head to hide his, because damn. “Angela Fischer?” Flo hitched her chin, throwing the question at him, taking him off guard.

“Yes,” he answered. “Gwendolyn Dansen, the real estate agent who helped me find our house, recommended her.”

Flo nodded, then returned her attention to Justine.

“Pretty good French toast still sounds like a good start to a day. How’d the rest of it go?”

“I watchedBlueyand Ms. Angela talked on the phone to her boyfriend. Aaron doesn’t like her working so much,” she informed Flo like a miniature TV reporter.

“Um, well, that’s unfortunate,” Flo said, laughter trembling in her voice.

“Uh-huh,” Justine blithely continued. “And then we went to the park. I went on the swings and the slide. And Ms. Angela kissed her boyfriend on the phone. A lot. She likes to kiss.”

Jesus.

Adam briefly closed his eyes, and when he opened them moments later, Flo looked at him, eyes wide, full lips pressed together in an attempt to trap the laughter that brimmed in her pretty eyes.

“Here you go, honey.” Grace set a plate of hash browns, scrambled eggs, pancakes and sausage in front of Flo. “Let me go grab the syrup and ketchup for you.”

“Thanks, Grace. This all looks delicious as always.”

“You bet, honey.”

Grace walked off, her stride quick and purposeful, easily belonging to a woman half her years.

“You two seem very familiar,” Adam said.

“Grace and her husband, Ron, have owned and run Sunnyside Grille for longer than I can remember. They’re a fixture here in Rose Bend. And they’ve seen me grow up, so yes, I guess you can say we’re familiar.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Small-town living.”

He nodded. In Chicago, the owner of his favorite deli might know his usual lunch order, but they in no way shared the easy familiarity Flo did with Grace. And Mr. Donovan might be able to tell anyone Adam preferred light Thousand Island dressing on his Rueben, but he couldn’t relay his family’s names or any personal anecdotes. Well...not beyond that time Adam brought Justine into the deli for the first time when she was two, and she knocked down a display of olives and sun-dried tomatoes.

But Grace could probably run down Flo’s family from oldest to youngest. Small-town living indeed.

“Daddy, can I go look at the music box?” Justine bounced in her booster seat. “Please?”

Adam glanced toward the jukebox several booths away, tucked in the rear corner of the diner. LED lights surrounded the face and brightened the inside so patrons could watch their choice of “record” being chosen and played, although the BTS track currently playing obviously wasn’t on a 45.

God, he could identify a BTS song.Andknew the hook. Who had he become?

“Yes, baby girl. But be sure to stand where I can see you. And no touching, okay?” He slid out of the booth, waiting for Flo to slide out and stand.

Surprise whispered through him when she turned to Justine and gently helped her free of the booster and guided her out of the seat. So small a thing. But it’d been so long since he’d had anyone’s help with the dailysmallthings that he stared, bemused, at the sight of Flo with her hands under Justine’s arms, lifting her then settling the little girl on the floor. And how Justine tilted her head back and grinned at Flo...

A tangled ball of emotion snarled around his rib cage—appreciation, affection, sadness...resentment. The first three? He understood those. Other than his sister, his baby girl had been without a woman’s sole attention since her mother left, and he would have to be blind or neglectful not to notice it. Justine reminded him of the sunflowers Addie couldn’t go a week without buying for her apartment in Chicago. How they turned their brown faces to the sun from their perch on the windowsill. Justine soaked up affection and kindness from a woman like those flowers basked in the sun’s rays. It hurt him to see a need in her that he couldn’t exactly fill, no matter how much love and attention he showered on her.

And that was where his resentment came in, he mused, watching as Flo playfully tugged on his daughter’s ponytail. Her mother should be here, helping her out of the booth, smiling down at her, teasing her. Not this woman she barely knew who could break her heart so easily if Justine became attached. Because they weren’t staying. And Flo would soon be another ephemeral presence in Justine’s life.

Like her mother.

“Come on, Jussy. Let me walk you over,” he said, holding his hand out to his daughter.

She and Flo glanced up at him, and he mentally winced as he caught the slightly brusque note in his voice.Shit.He’d never been the kind of person to inflict his own mood on others, especially those who couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Like Justine.

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