Daddy's Christmas Date: A Single Dad Romance

by Piper Sullivan

Dani

  “Your biggest problem is the broken arm which will heal, but it’ll hurt like hell until it does. I can give you something for the pain that won’t harm the baby but it won’t do much for your pain.” The young ER doctor gave me a sympathetic smile that made me want to cry.

  Dammit. “Anything else?”

  “Yes. You have a concussion which means you need constant supervision for the next twenty four hours.”

  If Aunt Amelia were here this wouldn’t be a problem. But she wasn’t, and I was on my own. “Option B?”

  “A night at the luxurious Lincoln Memorial?”

  I laughed. “Option B it is then. My BP feels elevated.”

  “It is, but only slightly. Considering what you’ve been through today it’s not surprising but we’ll keep an eye on it.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled and rushed off, probably in search of something far more exciting. It’s how me and my classmates behaved when we were residents. Besides I was happy to be alone.

  “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

  I froze and looked up and into the smiling eyes of Ty’s baby brother. “Blake, what are you doing here?”

  “I’m here to check on you. How are you feeling?”

  He looked uncomfortable and Blake never looked uncomfortable. “I’m fine. What?” He gave me that boyish too innocent look that spelled trouble. “Don’t try to dick-matize me with that look. What’s wrong?”

  “You’re pregnant.”

  Well, shit. That’s not what I expected him to say. “It’s not nice to eavesdrop, Blake.”

  He shrugged. “I can’t help what I heard. Talk softer next time.” He drew closer and sat on the edge of the bed. “So it’s true?”

  “It is.”

  “Does Ty know?”

  I laughed and the sound was bitter, harsh. “You think if he knew he would have left?” Maybe he would. “Don’t answer that.”

  Blake frowned. “Obviously you think he would.”

  Well he was gone without even poking his head in to check on me, so yeah sure, I thought he would have left either way. He had left. “What I think doesn’t matter.”

  “Shit. He really messed up, didn’t he?”

  “Nope. We just don’t want the same things.” If nothing else, his actions today had proven to me that were completely over.

  “I don’t believe that. If you’d told him about the baby-,”

  I cut him off. “Yeah I know. But I don’t want him coming back to me because of the baby. I will tell him, but not until I have my life figured out.”

  “Fine. Do you need a ride home?”

  “You’re a sweet guy, Blake. I promise not to tell anyone.”

  He frowned, but it slowly morphed into a charming smile. “They’d never believe you.”

  I had a feeling that more than a few women had fallen under his spell and he was none the wiser. “Anyway I have a concussion and my aunt is out of town so they’re keeping me overnight.” Saying it aloud didn’t make it sound any less pathetic.

  “You could come stay at casa Hawke.”

  “Yeah right. Don’t worry about me, Blake. I can take care of myself.”

  He sighed and hit me with that look that I was sure had many women reconsidering their options. “I’m sure you can but you shouldn’t have to stay here,” he shuddered. “I can stay with you, check in on you every hour to make sure and my niece or nephew doesn’t get their skull rattled.”

  “Thanks for the offer Blake but you and I both know that would cause a ton of drama. For both of us.” I smiled softly. “We’re done and I think it’s for the best.”

  “Nah, I can handle my brother. Especially when he’s got his head shoved too far up his ass. I’m the only one who can, other than Bobby.”

  Damn I envied that sibling relationship. My parents had been too busy saving the world to slow down and give me a playmate. “I don’t have that kind of energy, nor the desire to deal with any of that. I have enough on my plate.”

  “Fine, but the offer stands. Call if you need anything. Anything.”

  “Yeah, okay.” I was grateful for the offer even though I’d never take him up on it. “Hey, I have some gifts for Bobby in my trunk. Can you get them and give them to him for me? Just leave the keys at the garage and I’ll get them at some point.” After probably buying a new car. Dammit.

  “What about you? How are you going to get home when they let you out of here?”

  “I’ll find a way.”

  He stood with a frown. “You’re as stubborn as he is, woman.”

  “Thank you for worrying, Blake. And have a good Thanksgiving, even if it is catered.”

  He shuddered at that. “I’ll stop by tomorrow Dr. Dani. Take it easy tonight, okay?”

  “Sure thing, Boy Scout.” He flashed another smile and tossed me a wave before leaving me to wait, for hours, before they put me in a room with walls and a door.

  No one except the terminally ill got good rest inside a hospital, especially with the hourly checks. But it was the perfect atmosphere to make plans. By the time the sun spilled light over the hospital, I had a plan in place.

  Life must go on.

  Ty

  I couldn’t put it off any longer. It had been two days and, according to Blake, Dani would be released from the hospital today. I shoved my feet into my boots and headed out. Today was Thanksgiving and Dani had no one to take care of her. She would have a hard time cooking and moving about with a broken arm, again according to Blake. She probably hated me but I owed her an apology. A big one.

  She probably thought I was the world’s biggest asshole. She’d broken her arm to keep Bobby safe and I hadn’t bothered to see her or thank her. Not even for the gifts she’d sent for Bobby. Flowers. I had to get her some flowers before going to the hospital. Women loved flowers. Tilly had. Even my mom did. They wouldn’t get the job done, but all I could hope for was that they might soften her up enough to listen to my apology.

  I practically ran into Blake on my way out. “Hey, where’s the fire?”

  “She’s gone,” he grunted, eyes blazing with anger.

  “What? Who?”

  “Dani. I stopped in today to see if she needed a ride home and she’s gone.”

  Shit. “Gone where? She probably just went home.”

  “Don’t act like you care, Ty. She was there for three fucking days and you never went to see her. Not once!”

  “Fine I’m an asshole! She probably just went home,” I repeated, patience running out with my brother.

  “She didn’t go home. I already checked.”

  What? None of this made any sense. “Why would she leave without telling anyone, and where did she go, on a holiday?”

  Blake frowned and I felt all the blood drain from my body. “Ty. When I stayed over the day of the accident, I overheard some things. It probably explains most of it, but I’m afraid some of this is on your shoulders.”

  What the fuck? “Just tell me Blake. Stop fucking dithering!”

  “Fine.” He stood tall and crossed his arms, eyes so much like mine glared at me. “She’s pregnant. Once she was cleared of the concussion I knew she might leave, but I thought she’d go home.”

  Concussion? She had a concussion. And she was pregnant. With my baby. My baby! “Did you ask her about it?”

  “About what? She made it clear that you guys broke up and she said she’d tell you about the baby once she had a plan.”

  A plan. For a woman like Dani it didn’t take a genius to figure out what she meant. I had to find her. “We didn’t break up. I just said we should take some time apart.”

  “News flash Ty, that’s just a nice way to break up with someone without saying you want to break up with them.”

  I felt my forehead twist in confusion. “No it isn’t. It means we both needed to think about some things to see if we had a future.”

  Blake scoffed again. “I guess she didn’t get that impression since she didn’t tell you about the pregnancy.”


  “Maybe the baby isn’t mine.”

  His grey eyes went wide and wild, he was so pissed off he couldn’t even form a word. “Then I guess it doesn’t matter where she’s gone. You really are an asshole.” He threw his hands up in disgust and pushed past me. “I hope you’re happy.”

  Yeah I’m fucking ecstatic. I was a miserable asshole for shutting her out instead of talking to her. For abandoning her when she needed me. I probably didn’t deserve a woman like Dani, kind and sexy and sweet. Smart as fuck and as sassy as they came. She was a handful in the best possible way and I fucked it all up.

  I’ve been miserable since that last day together. I’d come to tell her I was leaving and ended up fucking her and then breaking her heart. But I was a wreck without her, I could see that now. Despite all the uncertainty I felt, I also knew that my life now was just a shell of what it was with Dani around. She made me smile. She made Bobby smile, and Blake was clearly possessive of the tiny spitfire.

  I needed her to remind me to enjoy my life and she needed me to protect her. To love her. “Shit.” I don’t know how I made it to the living room but I did, and dropped to the sofa with the grace of an elephant. “Shit.”

  “Dad, you said a bad word,” Bobby whispered.

  “Sorry, son.” She hated me so much she ran away, pregnant and injured, and told no one where she was going. “I have to find her, Blake.” My gaze found his, blank but warming.

  “It’s nice to see this,” he began with a smile far too amused for my current predicament. “Your head actually emerging from your ass.” He laughed.

  Bobby gasped. “Uncle Blake said a bad word too.”

  “Sorry kiddo, but this is brother stuff. Maybe someday you’ll get to terrorize one of your own.” His eyes sparkled, dancing with glee as he spoke.

  “Blake,” I barked out.

  “Right.” He made a show of stretching his fingers and cracking his knuckles before he reached for one of his two dozen laptops and got to work. “I’ll need sushi for me, pizza for the kid and one thousand dollars spending money while you’re away.”

  “You have plenty of money. Millions in fact.”

  “Billions,” he automatically corrected. “But that’s my money. I’m doing you a favor after you screwed up, pay the money Ty.”

  I glared. “I can’t wait until it’s your turn.”

  “Never gonna happen, old man.”

  Whatever. “I’m going to have so much fun when this is you,” I mumbled and motioned for Bobby to follow me. “Come on Bobby, let’s go get your uncle some disgusting raw fish.”

  “Eww, Uncle Blake. Gross.”

  For the first time in weeks, I felt like life was finally going my way.

  Dani

  When I left the hospital ten days ago, I couldn’t imagine that I would feel this good. A week at a countryside bed and breakfast in upstate Wisconsin had done wonders for my disposition. I slept a lot. Ate a whole lot, much more than I should considering I know the affects crap food has on our bodies. Still, the old couple who ran it, Michelle and Matthew, cooked good down home food and I couldn’t get enough of it. That and long walks around the small town, the fresh air and vibrant autumn leaves made me smile.

  And that, is how you do a proper dose of denial.

  I didn’t feel better about anything other than having this baby. I still felt hurt and conflicted about Ty but I also still loved him. I spent the entire drive back to Green Valley thinking about whether or not I could trust him. His absence at the hospital, when even Bobby had come with Blake—burgers, fries, onion rings and milkshakes in tow—to check on me. And thank me. I would miss that kid. Maybe I could trust him, but I definitely couldn’t rely on him and with what my future held, I needed people I could rely on.

  My body sank into the seat as I entered town limits. Being home always felt better than being anywhere else, not that I’d been many places with all the years I spent in school. Now that I was back it was time to get my shit together. Back to work, which meant figuring out how to make it through my long office hours without napping under my desk. And that meant I needed to stop at Joe’s Grocery Barn to stock up for the next few days.

  By the time I made it home, my back hurt and my bladder was full. Plus I needed a damn nap. But not until the car was unloaded and the groceries were put in the fridge.

  Adulthood came with too many responsibilities.

  And there was one six-foot-four responsibility sitting on my porch drinking from a thermos. “What can I do for you Ty?”

  “You could talk to me, for starters.”

  “Are you kidding?” Nope, I paused. I wouldn’t take the bait. “What do we have to talk about?”

  “I’ve missed you. A lot. We need to talk.”

  I sighed, already feeling ready to drop onto my bed for the next ten hours. At least. “Do we?” My gaze swept from his sweaty body, black t-shirt clinging to his delicious muscles, to my yard. My freshly cut yard with two paper bags filled with lawn refuse. “What did you do?”

  “You needed some lawn work done so I did it.”

  “Thanks.”

  He flashed that heart melting smile and groaned even as my heart did a swan dive to my stomach. “It was my pleasure.”

  Somehow, I doubt that. “Sure. Do we really need to talk?” I was tired of just standing there so I set the bags on the porch and went back for more.

  “You know we do,” he called after me.

  “I don’t…what, oh!” I smacked his chest and pushed him back. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

  His grin stretched from ear to ear. “Sorry.”

  “Yeah, right.” I grabbed two more canvas sacks and he took them from me. “I don’t need your help.”

  “Doesn’t mean I can’t help.”

  “Whatever.” There was no point arguing with the man. I grabbed my purse and keys and hurried past him. “Just put those in the kitchen.” I followed behind him and found him unloading one of the bags. “I told you I can handle it.”

  “You look tired.”

  “Thanks. You look fat.”

  He laughed and patted his flat, rock hard six pack abs. Show off. “I’ve been eating my feelings I suppose.” Flashing those abs won’t work on me. Not this time. “Dani.” Smile gone, he leaned on the counter, those silver eyes burning into me. “I’m sorry. For a lot of fucking things. I’m sorry I didn’t come see you in the hospital. I couldn’t.”

  “Too mad?”

  He looked crushed at my question. “Fuck no. I’d barely gotten over the fear that I’d lose Bobby because I was away. For work! The thought of losing you too and seeing you in that hospital bed? I just couldn’t burn that image in my mind. It’s no excuse but that’s my answer and I’m still so damn sorry for it.”

  I sighed, trying to control my breathing as my heart leapt wildly against my ribcage, trying to jump free and leap right back into his hands. No, that wasn’t going to happen. No matter how sweet his words were and no matter how much I sympathized with his rationale. “I accept your apology.”

  “I’m also sorry that I left like I did, but I really did come over that day to tell you I had to go out of town for a few days.”

  I believed it but I didn’t forgive him for saying nothing when I accidentally blurted out my feelings for him. “Okay.”

  Disappointment and resignation hung off him and I felt bad, but I couldn’t worry about his feelings. Not right now. “Right. I haven’t dated anyone since Tilly, not seriously. Once we started making money it got even harder to date. A billionaire widower is enticing for plenty of women.”

  I choked. “You’re a billionaire? With a ‘b’?”

  He laughed and nodded. “And that’s just a small part of the reason that I love you.”

  “That you what?” I had to have heard wrong because the last time I talked to Ty he looked horrified by the idea of me loving him.

  “You heard me,” he said, voice teeming with amusement. “I love you, Dr. Dani.”
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br />   “But you don’t want to fall in love again. Or get married.”

  His face pinkened and I couldn’t look away at the picture he made, my big strong airman, blushing. “I didn’t, Dani, I won’t lie to you. But you broke through barriers I hadn’t realized I had. I didn’t think I could fall in love with anyone so I didn’t recognize it when it happened.” Even now he seemed so bewildered, like he was still in shock. “I screwed it all up because I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t know.”

  “And when did you figure it out?” I really wondered why he suddenly realized all this love for me and I gasped. “Blake told you?” He sighed and I knew. “He did!”

  “He did, but not how you’re thinking.” He spent the next few minutes telling me the story. “I felt like an asshole and I was on my way to see you when Blake came in, pissed off, because you weren’t at the hospital or at home. He told me then. After I realized what my problem was.”

  I wanted to believe him. More than anything, I wanted to. But how could I, knowing that he’d never wanted to love again? “Don’t you get it? How could I ever know that this isn’t just about the baby?”

  “Because I’m telling you that I’m in love with you! I’m sorry it was too late, I’m sorry you left before I could tell you, I’m sorry you didn’t tell me you were pregnant! Fuck! But none of that changes the fact that I love you Dani. I am in love you, you crazy ass woman.”

  A laugh bubbled up out of me. “That was…not how I pictured it would go the first time a guy said he loved me.”

  A smile played around his mouth, never fully forming but beautiful because of it. “You’re stubborn.” He rounded the counter and grabbed my hands in his, placing them on his chest so I could feel how fast his heart beat. For me. “I’m serious Dani, I love you and your crazy blue tipped hair. Your sexy, smart mouth. I love that you and my son have a connection that has fuck all to do with me. I love that you encourage him to do what he loves.”

  “Of course. I love him.”

  “I know. And more importantly he knows it too. I love that even though this is all new to you, you weren’t scared.”