Page 87 of The Single Dad Project

Sorry, sis. He’s taken and his wife don’t play about that one.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Cole stretched his hand toward her, briefly shaking it then extricating his fingers from hers.

“Cole, is it?” Jennifer said with a bigger smile. “The pleasure is all mine.”

He shifted, turning to Flo with the corner of his mouth twitching.

“I’m going to head inside and check out the progress. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay, thanks for...everything,” she murmured as he pulled her in for a quick hug.

“You got it. Anytime. And I mean that.” Releasing her, he looked down at Justine and grinned. “Hey, Jussy. Do you want to come with me and see your dad?”

He held his hand out and Justine immediately slipped hers into his.

“Yeah,” she crowed. “I want to tell Daddy about my ice cream and my new shoes...”

She continued reciting the list of her new purchases as Cole led her toward the house, leaving Flo alone with Jennifer. When she looked at the other woman again, that overly polite smile had reappeared, as did the flint in her eyes.

“I have to thank your brother,” Jennifer said. “I was hoping to have some time alone to speak with you. Jussy talks about you so much. On the phone and today. Flo, this. Flo, that. I was beginning to think you were a myth.”

“No, flesh and blood.” Flo itched to cross her arms, but she forced them down by her sides, not wanting to appear defensive. But the ice in the other woman’s stare definitely gave her a chill. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together since Adam’s childcare fell through. I offered to watch over her.”

God, why did she now sound like she was making excuses for her relationship with Justine? She didn’t have anything to be apologetic about, especially with Jennifer.

“That was sweet of you.” Jennifer’s gaze dropped to the camera in Flo’s hands. “Jussy mentioned something about pictures. I thought you were a photographer, not a nanny.”

You can’t curse out Justine’s mother. You can’t curse out Justine’s mother.

“One doesn’t prevent me from doing the other.” She deserved a medal for how calm she sounded. And a place in heaven for not snapping.

“Hmm.” Jennifer glanced toward the Victorian then, moments later, shifted her attention back to Flo. “It’s a beautiful house. But Adam was always the best at his work. All that traveling, though. Here, in one place for a couple of months, then it’s somewhere else for another few weeks...”

Okay, she’d never been one for games, and this was getting on her nerves. She’d tried to be polite; she really had. But Jennifer obviously had an agenda showing up not just in Rose Bend but here, at Adam and Flo’s job. Maybe she needed help getting to the point.

Flo had always believed in helping others.

“Jennifer, I don’t know you, but I sense there’s a reason you wanted to talk to me. It would save us both a lot of time and uncomfortable small talk if you just came out and aired what you need to say.”

Surprise flashed in the other woman’s eyes, and her chin jerked the smallest amount. But then, she recovered and tilted her head, considering Flo.

“That’s fair, and you’re right. I don’t really care what you’re doing with Adam or who you are to him. A warning from one woman to another, though? He doesn’t stay so don’t pin your hopes on having anything past the length of time it takes for him to put up the last sheet of drywall.” Her smile vanished. “My concern is my daughter. She already likes you, and from what I saw yesterday, you’ve graduated to overnights. It’s cruel to let her get attached when we both know she’ll be crushed when she and Adam leave. Maybe it would be best for her if you stopped coming around so much. It would definitely be kinder.”

“You mean best for you,” Flo quietly said.

Again, Jennifer’s head jerked, and she snapped, “Excuse me?”

“I said, you mean what would be best for you,” Flo reiterated.

“I don’t believe this.” Jennifer huffed out an incredulous chuckle, crossing her arms. “You don’t know me or my family.”

Flo shook her head. “Like you said, that’s fair. But I don’t need to be friends with you to understand that you’d rather I spend less time with Jussy because it would make you feel more secure.” Which was completely ironic since not moments ago, she’d had the same conversation with Cole. Huh. Turned out she and Jennifer had more in common than she thought. “And I get it. But I’m not going to abandon her so you can feel better.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m that girl’s mother,” Jennifer snarled, jabbing a finger in her own chest.

“Then act like it,” Flo snapped, losing her temper. “I’m not her mother, and I would never want to take your place.”

“You couldn’t ever take my place—”

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