Hot Single Dad

by Claire Kingsley

  Hot Single Dad

  Claire Kingsley

  Copyright © 2017 Claire Kingsley

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, or incidents are products of the author’s imagination and used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is purely coincidental or fictionalized.

  Edited by Elayne Morgan of Serenity Editing Services

  Cover by Wicked Good Book Covers

  www.clairekingsleybooks.com

  Created with Vellum

  A big shout out to all the great dads out there. Keep doing what you’re doing, loving your families, leading by example, and showing the world what it means to be a man.

  Contents

  1. Caleb

  2. Linnea

  3. Caleb

  4. Linnea

  5. Caleb

  6. Linnea

  7. Caleb

  8. Linnea

  9. Caleb

  10. Linnea

  11. Linnea

  12. Caleb

  13. Linnea

  14. Caleb

  15. Caleb

  16. Linnea

  17. Linnea

  18. Caleb

  19. Caleb

  20. Linnea

  21. Linnea

  22. Caleb

  23. Linnea

  24. Caleb

  25. Linnea

  26. Caleb

  27. Linnea

  28. Epilogue: Caleb

  Bonus Chapter: Audrey Reid

  Her Best Friend

  Always Have: Chapter 1

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Claire Kingsley

  About the Author

  1

  Caleb

  An endless stream of people come down the escalator, but so far, none of them are the girl I’m waiting for.

  “Where’s Linnea going to sleep?” Charlotte asks.

  “We have an extra bedroom,” I say. “You know that, Bug.”

  My six-year-old daughter sits in my lap. Her brown hair is down and I notice it’s a little tangled in the back. I should have brushed it again before we left the house, but I didn’t want to be late.

  We have a good view of the escalator from where we’re sitting, and this way it’s easier to keep Charlotte close. I keep a protective arm wrapped around her waist and I have to stop myself from giving the side eye to the people walking by. A crowded airport is one of those places where my dad-instincts get sharp.

  “I know, but what if she sleeps with me in my room?” Charlotte asks.

  “Aha, now I see why you’re asking. I think Linnea is going to want her own room.” I tickle her tummy and she squirms, giggling.

  “Stop it, Daddy.”

  My phone buzzes in my pocket so I pull it out. It’s my brother, Alex.

  “Hey, man.”

  “Hey, where are you?” he asks. “I’m at the gym. I thought we were shooting hoops tonight.”

  “No, I’m at the airport.” I scoot Charlotte higher up my lap. “Sorry, I thought I told you I couldn’t make it.”

  “Airport?” he asks. “What’s going on?”

  I take a deep breath. I haven’t told my family about the situation yet. It all happened so fast. Just last week, Charlotte’s grandparents were talking to her on their Skype call. Next thing I know, I’m sitting at the airport waiting for a flight from Michigan.

  “I’m picking someone up,” I say. “Kind of a long story, but it’s Melanie’s sister, Linnea.”

  “Oh, wow. Just Linnea, or are Melanie’s parents coming too?” Alex asks.

  “No, Steve and Margo aren’t coming.” Which is a relief. My relationship with my former in-laws is strained at best—always was. They thought Melanie and I were too young to get married—afraid it would interfere with her career. We were still in medical school, and we were young. But when Melanie set her mind to something, not even her parents could stop her.

  After Melanie died—she was killed in a car accident when Charlotte was a baby—her parents’ opinion of me didn’t get any better. They didn’t exactly blame me—and they couldn’t, I wasn’t even there when she was hit—but I know they still felt like I took Melanie’s life and turned it sideways. Maybe if she hadn’t married me, she wouldn’t have moved to Houston to do her residency, and she wouldn’t have been on the road that day.

  “Is she coming out to visit Charlotte?” Alex asks.

  “Not exactly.” Charlotte moves into the seat next to me, and I stand, angling myself so I can still see her but can talk more privately. “She’s coming to be Charlotte’s nanny.”

  “Hey, that’s great.”

  “Yeah,” I say, and I’m sure he can hear the skepticism in my voice. “It’s not really my idea, but I’m stuck with it at this point.”

  “How is it not your idea?” he asks.

  “Steve and Margo insisted,” I say. “I guess Charlotte told them about the disaster that was Brittany.”

  “Right—Brittany forgot to pick Charlotte up from school, didn’t she?” he asks.

  “Yep,” I say. “When I literally had my hands inside someone’s abdominal cavity. Thank god for Kendra.”

  “No kidding,” he says.

  Since we moved back to Seattle, my sister Kendra has been there to bail me out when I needed someone to watch Charlotte more times than I can count. And, to be fair, that’s a lot of why we moved home. Being a single dad isn’t easy, and my erratic schedule as an ER surgeon makes it even harder. I wanted to be closer to my family, and there’s no doubt in my mind it was the right thing to do. But I really need a regular nanny—someone I can trust to take care of my little girl. So far, I haven’t had any luck finding the right person.

  “Anyway, they were on their Skype call with Charlotte a few days ago and she said they wanted to talk to me. I usually just stay out of the way, you know? I let Charlotte talk to them as long as she wants, but I don’t know, it’s awkward. I got on the call and Margo said she had a solution to my nanny problem.”

  “And the solution is Linnea, I take it,” he says.

  “Yeah. She graduated college not long ago and has been living with them. They didn’t really give me much of a choice. When Margo gets an idea in her head, it’s pretty hard to dissuade her.”

  “Huh,” Alex says. “Is she in medicine, like Melanie was?”

  “No, she’s a musician, I think. Piano, maybe? Anyway, she’s on her way here.”

  “You sound incredibly unenthusiastic for a guy who really needs a good nanny,” he says. “Or are you worried Linnea will flake out too?”

  I glance down at Charlotte, but she’s looking at one of the books she brought in her little pink backpack. Still, I lower my voice. “It’s not really that. She might be fine with Charlotte, I don’t know. But that’s the thing—I don’t know. When I was married to Melanie, the rest of her family lived in Michigan and we didn’t see them very often. I barely remember this girl. The last time I saw her, she was this surly teenager who almost never spoke. She wore these big hooded sweatshirts and sat in the corner, not talking. It was weird.”

  “That is weird,” he says.

  “I think she was just shy or something. But honestly, that’s the last thing Charlotte needs. She’s already so shy, she needs someone to bring her out of her shell. Help her learn how to talk to people and make friends. As it is, I don’t think Charlotte has any friends at school. She won’t talk to anyone. Her teacher wants to have a conference about it
.”

  “Wow, I didn’t realize.”

  “Yeah, the little girl you guys see is not who she is around other people,” I say. “And it’s getting worse. She’s always been quiet. But she’s shutting down at school completely. At least when she was in kindergarten she followed directions. Now she has days where she won’t even do that.”

  I glance at Charlotte again before I continue, but she’s still reading.

  “Anyway, the point is, Charlotte needs a nanny who can help her open up, not someone who’s arguably worse than she is socially,” I say. “Plus, what the hell am I going to do with some sullen kid who won’t talk? This just feels like it’s making things harder, not easier.”

  “Yeah, that’s not great,” Alex says. “Sorry, man.”

  “I’ll deal with it,” I say. “I figure I’ll give it a few weeks and then I can put her back on a plane to Michigan. But I should let you go. Is Weston there already?”

  “Yeah, he just showed up.”

  Weston is our new brother-in-law. He married Kendra a few months ago in a ceremony that surprised the hell out of everyone. We all got a text asking us to meet them downtown, and when we got there, they were dressed up outside the courthouse. If it was anyone else, I would have said they were nuts—they hadn’t been together very long. But Weston is crazy about her, and Kendra knows what she’s doing.

  “Okay, I’ll catch you guys next week.”

  “Sounds good,” Alex says. “And good luck.”

  “Thanks.”

  I hang up and check the time before I pocket my phone. Linnea landed twenty minutes ago, so she should be here soon. I wish I felt better about this, but I can’t see how this is going to work. I guess the good news is, Charlotte says she knows Linnea from her Skype calls with her grandparents. Maybe she’ll actually talk to her. Even if Brittany—the last nanny we tried—hadn’t forgotten Charlotte at school, she wasn’t working out anyway. Charlotte wouldn’t speak to her, even after several weeks.

  But like I told Alex, I’ll deal with Linnea for a few weeks and then I can send her back home. Her parents won’t be able to argue if I say we gave it a shot and it didn’t work out. It’s not my responsibility to make sure their daughter has a job.

  I watch the people coming down the escalator and keep my eyes out for Linnea. I don’t remember exactly what she looks like, but I think I’ll recognize her. Maybe. I know she looks nothing like Melanie. Mel was olive-skinned with brown hair that she kept cut in a short bob. I seem to recall Linnea is blond, but I could have that wrong. I just remember wondering where Linnea came from; she didn’t look like the rest of their family.

  In a way, I’m glad Linnea doesn’t look like her sister. I’m worried it’s going to be hard enough to bring home a living reminder of what I lost. The pain of losing Melanie is just a sadness in the background—something in the past. Honestly, I miss her more for our daughter than I do for myself. I hate that my little girl has to grow up without a mother. I do everything I can to be what she needs, but I know in some ways I fall short.

  “Daddy, what’s this word?” Charlotte asks.

  I lean down and look at the page. “That says bike. The e at the end makes this a long i sound.”

  Charlotte goes back to reading, tracing her finger below the words, and I look up at the escalator again. A pair of red high heels catches my eye. I follow the legs they’re attached to as the woman rides down, my eyes taking her in. Holy shit.

  I shouldn’t stare, but my gaze moves up a pair of shapely legs to round hips in a form-fitting gray skirt. White blouse, tucked in, showing off a narrow waist. Then—oh sweet Jesus, she is stacked. That blouse is barely holding in a set of incredible boobs. Long blond hair, full red lips. This woman is smoking hot—she’s built like a pinup—and I can’t take my eyes off her.

  She steps off the escalator, shouldering a brown leather handbag, and looks around. I have this insane urge to go talk to her before she leaves and I never see her again.

  Her beautiful mouth parts in a wide smile and she waves at someone. Almost involuntarily, I glance over my shoulder, wondering what lucky bastard is picking her up.

  Charlotte jumps off the chair and runs. I lurch forward, trying to grab her.

  “Charlotte, where are you—”

  The woman crouches down in front of Charlotte. “Hi, Bug!”

  My daughter throws her arms around the woman’s neck and hugs her while I stand a few feet away, gaping at them like an idiot.

  Oh my fucking god. Is that Linnea?

  The woman hugging my daughter looks nothing like the teenager I remember. How long has it been since I saw her last? Five years? Can someone have changed that much in such a short period of time?

  Linnea’s eyes lift and she smiles at me. She squeezes Charlotte, then stands and takes her hand.

  “Hi.” She brushes her hair back from her face and adjusts her handbag. “It’s been a while.”

  Say something, Caleb. Stop staring at her like a creeper. “Yeah, wow. Hi. Sorry, I didn’t recognize you.”

  She smiles again and her blue eyes sparkle. “That’s okay. I recognized Charlotte. And you.”

  My brain is not reconciling my memories of Linnea with the stunning woman standing in front of me. There’s no way this is the same person.

  But Charlotte is terrified of people she doesn’t know, and she just ran into this woman’s arms. She wouldn’t do that if she didn’t know her. I guess I should have been paying more attention to their Skype calls. I would have seen Linnea on the screen and been a little more prepared. As it is, I’m still gaping at her like I forgot how to talk.

  “So, I have a couple bags,” Linnea says. She points to the baggage carousels. “Maybe we should see if they’re ready?”

  “Right.” It feels like I snapped out of a trance. “Bags. Okay. Bug, can you take your backpack?”

  “I think I’m right over there,” she says and points to one of the monitors.

  We wait a few minutes for Linnea’s bags to come around the carousel. She chats with an unusually animated Charlotte, and I try not to stare at her. She leans forward to look at something Charlotte is holding, and I get a view straight down her shirt. Oh my god, those insane tits are in a white lace bra. I tear my eyes away quickly.

  Holy shit, what am I doing? Linnea is twenty-two, just out of college. She’s here to take care of my daughter while I work. And let’s not forget, she’s my dead wife’s younger sister.

  But my dick is not interested in the facts. I have to adjust myself when the girls aren’t looking.

  She points out her bags when they come around the carousel. They’re both large, but that makes sense. I was thinking this arrangement would be temporary, but what I actually agreed to when I talked to her parents didn’t have a specific end date. The fact that she’s drop-dead gorgeous shouldn’t be making me rethink my send her back after a few weeks plan. But holy hell.

  We head toward the parking garage, Linnea pulling one of her rolling suitcases while I pull the other. Charlotte walks along beside her, holding her hand. I try to force myself to keep my eyes off her ass, but it’s almost impossible. The way it moves in that skirt. She looks back at me over her shoulder and flashes that sweet-as-sugar smile again. I smile back, but swallow hard when she turns around.

  I’m in big, big trouble.

  2

  Linnea

  Is there such a thing as an insta-crush? A moment when you see someone for the first time—or maybe the first time in a while—and you’re instantly so attracted to them, your tummy is filled with butterflies and you imagine little hearts and stars sparkling around their head? Because that just happened to me.

  Caleb smiles at me when he gets in the driver’s seat of his car and it sets those butterflies to fluttering all over again. How did I not remember how gorgeous he is? Maybe I didn’t notice before. The last time I saw him, we were all still in shock over my sister’s death. And before that, he seemed so much older than me, the way Melanie
always did. I hardly paid attention to her husband. Back then, I would have been too scared to talk to him anyway, especially if I thought he was cute.

  But now I’m sitting in a car with a man who has deep brown eyes, tousled dark hair, and a stubbly jaw that is one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen in person. And I’m moving in with him.

  Of course, it’s to be his daughter’s nanny. But still.

  I take a deep breath and adjust the handbag I’m carrying in my lap. It was a long flight from Michigan, but my tiredness was driven away by the jolt of adrenaline that hit me when I saw Caleb. I didn’t see him at first. I noticed Charlotte when I got off the escalator, and she came running toward me. It wasn’t until I looked up that I saw him standing there. And I’ve been a jittery bundle of nerves ever since.

  I was furious with my mother when she told me she’d talked to Caleb about sending me to Seattle to be Charlotte’s nanny. It’s not that I mind the idea of being a nanny to my niece—I’m thrilled about that part, actually. Charlotte is the sweetest little thing, and it’s been sad to only see her on Skype calls. I love that I’ll be able to spend so much time with her—really get to know her.

  But my parents didn’t ask me if I was interested. They didn’t even tell me until after they’d already brought it up with Caleb and bought the plane ticket. My mother walked into my room, told me to pack my things, and said I had a flight to Seattle in two days.

  Typical.

  I did not want to move back in with my parents after graduation, but I didn’t have much choice. I worked hard for my music degree, but being a classical pianist isn’t exactly the fast track to self-sufficiency. I’ve been teaching piano lessons since high school, and that’s a good supplement. But if I want to make a living playing piano, I’m going to need to land a spot with a large symphony.