Page 62 of The Single Dad Project

She’d opened this old wound herself. And she couldn’t place the blame on wanting to make her father happy. No, a part of her—that part of her who’d stood at windows every evening hoping Noah would return—needed to hear what he had to say. Yearned to hear a reason that would justify him leaving and not returning until now. That part had desperately longed for it so she could... She shut the thought down before it could fully form.

But it was too late. The rest of it shimmered in her head.

...desperately longed for it so she could know once and for all that she was lovable. Worthy.

Something inside her shrank at that humiliating admission. But she couldn’t run away from her mind, from herself.

She slowed to a halt on the threshold of the kitchen, briefly closing her eyes. Walking in there at this moment would invite an inquisition from Moe. Inhaling a deep breath, Flo fixed her expression into a smile, and prayed it would pass muster under her mother’s all-seeing, all-knowing eye. Confessing to her mother that she had to leave the house that had always been a safe space for her didn’t sit well.

But she couldn’t deny the truth.

She didn’t feel comfortable here. And until Noah left, she didn’t know when she would return.

Now it was her turn to run, to disappear.

And the irony didn’t escape her.

CHAPTER TWELVE

ADAMSIGHEDAShe turned the key in the lock of his temporary home, opened the front door and stepped inside. Immediately, a delicious scent had his stomach rumbling. Closing the door behind him, he paused, momentarily closing his eyes and inhaling the aroma that contained more than notes of food—was that gravy and chicken? Anyway, the scents also held a warm welcome that soothed the nerves that had been pulled tight all the way here from the renovation site.

Due to the production schedule forVintage Renovation, a night crew continued to work on construction after filming ended for the day. Usually, Adam didn’t have to be there, but because of issues with one of the bathrooms, he’d stayed late tonight to oversee installation of a claw-foot porcelain bathtub. It’d been a little after eight when he’d left, and he’d been tired as he’d walked up to the house. But now, standing inside the small foyer, the aroma of home-cooked food permeating the air, weariness eased out of his body along with any lingering tension.

Not by any means was he one of those men who expected his food, slippers and silence waiting on him when he arrived home from work. Even when he was married, more often than not, he’d helped with dinner and the house chores, though Jennifer stayed at home. And he hadn’t minded. Hell, caring for their daughter had been a more important job than his. Since the divorce, 90 percent of the day-to-day care of the home and Justine had been on him. Except for those times Addie had stepped in, the bulk of childcare, chores, shopping, dinner was his responsibility. And he didn’t mind.

Still... This was...nice.

To have help was a relief and a weight lifted that he hadn’t realized he’d needed—or wanted.

Removing his wallet, he dropped it on the small table in the entryway and headed toward the living room where the canned laughter from the television echoed along with Justine’s chatter and Flo’s melodic voice. Like a magnet, the sounds drew him, and he decided not to dwell on the anticipation that rose within him as he neared the room. While he was at it, he’d ignore the bloom of warmth that smacked too close to satisfaction. And maybe delight.

Walking into the living room, he paused for a second, taking in the unexpectedly sweet picture before him.

Flo sat on the couch, and Justine perched on a stack of pillows between her knees. His daughter giggled at the sitcom playing—looked like one of the Disney Channel shows she loved—as Flo braided her hair. That bloom of warmth mushroomed until it threatened to cave in his chest. Since Jennifer left, his go-to hairstyle was variations of ponytails; they were easy and about all his limited repertoire could manage even with the help of several YouTube videos. He’d held his own, but he knew his little girl missed this with her mother. In Justine’s bedroom, after her bath... That had been Jennifer and Jussy’s time while her mom brushed and styled her hair and they chattered away. He should know. He’d stood outside the door often enough, smiling and listening to the two people he loved most in the world.

He shook his head, dislodging the memory, and moved farther into the room as Justine turned her head and noticed him. A wide grin broke across her face, and his heart gave that familiar leap it gave whenever he saw his daughter.

“Daddy!” she greeted at her usualoutside voicevolume.

Flo looked up from her task. Her smile wasn’t as big as Justine’s, but it still ignited a low burn deep in his gut for very different reasons.

“Hi, Adam.”

“Hey.” He dipped his chin. “Thank you for bringing her home and staying so late. I won’t make a habit of this.”

She shrugged a shoulder. “It’s no problem at all. We’ve had a full and fun day.”

“Yeah, we had fun, Daddy,” Justine chimed in. “We went to Flo’s ’tography studio. I saw her mom and sister in the dollhouse. She let me help cook dinner and Flo’s doing my hair like hers,” she finished, running out of breath.

“I hope it’s okay,” Flo quietly said. “She asked me if I could do her hair like mine. I explained mine took years to grow, so I did the closest I could for her with some two-strand twists.”

“I understood nothing about what you just said,” he dryly admitted. “But what you’re doing is much prettier than my ponytails. So thank you.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome. I’ll show you and Jussy how to tie her hair up at night and they should last a couple of weeks.”

“Then you’ll do it again?” Justine asked, twisting around and dislodging Flo’s hands from her hair. “I want my hair to be long like yours.”

“Yours is already long, sweetie.” Flo slipped a twist over Justine’s shoulder, and it brushed her collarbone. “You have such beautiful, thick hair. And it’s like yours, not mine. That makes it extra special and pretty.”

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