Ed’s Blind Date Dilemma
part of the Hot Hunks Steamy Romance collection
Katie O’Sullivan
Contents
About the Book
Foreword
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Want More?
Meet the authors
Holiday Hunks
HOT HUNKS, STEAMY ROMANCE collection
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Where familiar places or public figures are mentioned it is in a completely fictitious manner.
First edition: May 2020
Cover Design: Michele Hauf
Formatting by Wicked Whale Publishing
Copyright 2020 by Katie O’Sullivan. All rights reserved. In accordance with U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher/author is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from this book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the author at www.katie-osullivan.com. Thank you for your support of author’s rights.
About the Book
Eight Blind Date books by the Hot Hunks Steamy Romance Collection. Ed's Blind Date Dilemma Book 6
Ed MacDonald lost the only woman he’d ever loved to cancer three years ago. A single dad and small town cop, his options for dating are limited by circumstance and gossip, but he’s okay with that. Ed knows he’s already had his happy ending, even if it didn’t last forever. Except… as his cousins and friends start finding love, it makes him wonder. Could there be someone else out there for him?
The ink on the divorce papers is finally dry, and Claire Masters wants a fresh start. Moving to a new state and a new school district, she goes on a blind date and gets a whole lot more than she bargained for. Sexy and sensitive, Ed seems like everything she’s always wanted in a guy… until she realizes he’s the father of one of her students. A girl who’s been telling Claire troubling things about her home life. Can she reconcile the man she’s falling for with the monster her student describes?
Whether it's an unexpected discovery, a curveball thrown your way, an explosive situation to defuse, a seduction on the horizon, a developing experiment, a dilemma to work out, a mystery to solve, or a debacle in the making. These eight blind dates by eight authors have one thing in common. Hot hunks finding their ladies!
The next in the Hot Hunks Steamy Romance Collection brings you swoon-worthy blind dates to make your pulse race, your body tingle, and your heart sing for more!
Grey's Blind Date Discovery - Book 1
Natalie Ann
Logan's Blind Date Curveball - Book 2
Angela Stevens
Cove's Blind Date Blows Up - Book 3
Jen Talty
Kyler's Blind Date Seduction - Book 4
Stephanie Morris
Tyler's Blind Date Experiment - Book 5
Alicia Street
Ed's Blind Date Dilemma - Book 6
Katie O'Sullivan
Marty's Blind Date Mystery - Book 7
Suzanne Jenkins
Jack's Blind Date Debacle - Book 8
Tamara Ferguson
Foreword
As I was still writing and editing this story, the world became embroiled in the Covid-19 pandemic. Quarantines, social distancing, and work from home became the new normal. I debated whether to rewrite the story to include this new reality… but finally decided that readers are looking more for an escape than reality in these uncertain times. I know that’s why I’ve been obsessively reading when I should be writing or cleaning or any number of other so-called “productive” activities.
The outside world has become more unpredictable and scarier than usual. Escaping into the world of books helps me cope. I’m hoping you as a reader will find a similar escape within the pages of my story.
So forgive me for not reflecting the world we currently face – but rather an alternate reality that looks more like recent years and isn’t quite as scary… and let us pretend for a little while that things aren’t quite as dire as they have seemed for the last few months.
And please. Wash your hands.
Prologue
Three years ago
Cape Cod Hospital, Hyannis, Massachusetts
The slow cadence of the heart monitor beeping in the background distracted Ed MacDonald, his eyes skimming the same paragraph for the fourth or fifth time. He sighed, closing the book. There was no fucking way he could concentrate on much of anything right now. Given the choice, he’d forget about taking the detective test this summer, but Laura insisted they try to keep things as normal as possible. He’d missed the testing date the previous year because they’d been out of state, seeking another opinion on Laura’s treatment.
Kayleigh’s backpack sat propped against the armchair in the corner where his daughter slept, her head at an awkward angle. Kids can sleep anywhere, he thought with a smile. Her neon purple dress and hot pink tights gave a bright splash of color to the sterile white room. They’d been in and out of hospitals like this one for half his daughter’s life, but at seven years old – seven and a half, according to Kayleigh – she didn’t completely understand the gravity of the situation.
Especially after what the doctors told them today.
“Giving up already?”
Ed turned his attention back toward the bed where his wife lay hooked up to the machines. He reached out for her hand to gently squeeze her fingers, careful of the IV tubing snaking up from her arm. “Never.”
Her soft smile looked sad. “I meant your studying, Ed. The detective exam is coming up next week. I know how much you want the promotion.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need it. Besides, if I pass the test it’ll mean spending at least six weeks back at the police academy. I can’t leave you and Kayleigh for that long.”
“Sure you can. Your mom and dad are always around to help. You owe it to yourself, Ed.”
“No.” The more he thought about it, the more he realized he shouldn’t even waste time taking the damn test. He couldn’t think about leaving, especially not now.
“Ed.” Laura closed her eyes and sighed. “I know this isn’t how we pictured our life together. I’m so sorry. For everything.”
A fierce wave of anger swept through him, rejecting her apology. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. Not then. Not now. Not ever. Do you hear me? I love you, Laura MacDonald. Always have and always will.”
The ghost of a smile crossed her face as she opened her eyes. “Except for homecoming week, sophomore year, you mean.”
Her words had the intended effect of diffusing the tension. He chuckled. “I don’t even remember why we were fighting, but I could not believe you went to the homecoming dance with Colin Zambrinski, the little jerk.”
“I’d already bought the dress,” she reminded him. “Besides, you ended up going with my friend Bella Costa, remember?”
“What I remember is finding you on the dance floor and apologizing. Best. Kiss. Ever.” He squeezed her hand again and watched with satisfaction as a light blush
colored her cheeks.
She rested her other hand on top of their clasped pair. “Ed, I want you to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“I want you to be happy.”
“Laura, you make me happy every day.” The corner of his mouth hitched up on one side as he gestured to the IV tubes and beeping machines. “I mean, obviously I’ll be happier when you’re out of here, and feeling better.”
“We both know that’s not going to happen.” Her voice was barely a whisper. They both glanced over at Kayleigh, still asleep on the chair. “After what the doctor said earlier…”
“He could be wrong,” Ed insisted. “You were in remission for months after the last treatment we found. We’ll find something else which helps. Someone else who knows better.”
Laura didn’t bother to argue the point. They both knew they were getting near the end, having tried every new treatment under the sun over the course of the last few years. “When this is over, I want you to promise to let yourself be happy. Start dating again. Find someone who puts the light back in your eyes.”
“I have you and Kayleigh. My girls are all I need to be happy.” He watched helplessly as her eyes grew watery. She’d been so strong for so long now, the tears surprised him. “Honey, don’t cry.” He reached over and swiped his thumb gently across her cheek, wiping away the moisture. “Okay, you win. I will do whatever you want, just don’t cry.”
“Promise me.”
“I promise,” he told her, because it was what she wanted to hear. Even if he had no intention of keeping the promise.
1
Present day, December 22
The Atlantic Coastal Inn, Chatham, Massachusetts
The main lobby of the Inn sparkled with hundreds upon hundreds of twinkling white lights, the grand hotel transformed into a magical winter wedding venue. The huge crystal chandeliers glittered overhead while the sun setting in the background colored the sky outside in an array of pastels, casting a golden glow across the room.
“It feels like we’re in the castle from Beauty and the Beast,” Kayleigh MacDonald whispered to her father. “And Phoebe looks like a fairy tale princess! Uncle Quinn gets a happily ever after!” Kayleigh herself looked very princess-like, with her own silver and white dress that almost matched the bridesmaids’ gowns, although theirs were floor length silk and Kayleigh’s imitation in less expensive fabric only came down to her knees.
Ed MacDonald squeezed his daughter’s hand, watching his cousin’s fiancé descend the large curving staircase. Phoebe’s gauzy white dress shimmered as it caught the light, glistening like it was made from spider webs and spun sugar, a long sheer train clipped to her short hair and floating in her wake. She slowly walked along a path through the crowd to stand with Quinn in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean.
His rock star cousin looked handsome and oh-so-serious, eyes locked on his bride while his two older brothers stood by his side, all in black tuxes. At the rehearsal dinner the night before, Quinn apologized to the rest of the MacDonald cousins, claiming he’d argued with Phoebe that he wanted all seven of them to be in the wedding party but got voted down. His only request of them was to wear black suits so the black and white theme of the wedding party would be echoed in the formal pictures of extended family. Ed chuckled to himself at the memory. The way Quinn stared at his bride-to-be with such total love and devotion, Ed couldn’t imagine the guy cared if he ever won an argument with her.
Emotion clogged Ed’s throat, thinking about another woman and a different white dress. Her long blonde hair coiled in a braid around her head, studded with tiny white baby’s breath and pearl beads that shimmered in the summer sunshine. Still early enough in the pregnancy so she wasn’t showing. No one but their closest friends ever knew. They called Kayleigh their honeymoon baby, and not the reason they got married straight out of high school. He loved his daughter fiercely and would do anything to protect her. Except he couldn’t protect her from the cancer that stole her mother.
He felt a whole lot older than his twenty eight years. He scrubbed his hand through dark hair, trying and failing to focus on the minister’s words. Wishing his wife was here by his side to watch his younger cousin finally find happiness. Laura always had a soft spot in her heart for Quinn, encouraging him when others in the family didn’t. Quinn told Ed it was Laura’s belief in his music which finally gave him the courage to drop out of college and follow his bandmates to England. She would’ve been so proud to see him now.
His wife’s illness took a toll on the entire family, leaving a sadness in its wake Ed thought might never dissipate. He glanced down at his daughter and squeezed her hand again as his cousin and fiancé exchanged vows. Quinn had his own tragedy the same year Laura died, losing the rest of his band to a tropical cyclone while they were filming a music video on location in Bali. Actually, Laura’s funeral was what spared Quinn the same fate as his friends, so in a weird way she’d saved him. One last kindness to the family who loved her. Somehow Quinn made it through the dark times, finding a new band and the love of his life all in one fell swoop.
“You may kiss the bride,” the minister told Quinn. Tears pricked Ed’s eyes when his cousin wrapped both arms around his wife’s waist, dipping her back and planting a searing kiss on ready lips. The crowd around them roared and clapped with approval.
Everything today was so beautiful, so perfect. Like the start of a fairy tale. And Ed was happy for the couple. He really was. But he’d already had his fairy tale, and learned the hard way that not everyone gets to live happily ever after. At least, not forever. Cancer is a ruthless bitch, and took away the only woman he’d ever loved. Almost three years of loneliness tugged at his heart, making him wish for all the things he could no longer have. Because the one woman he wanted to have them with was gone forever.
“Dad?”
Swiping the back of his hand across his eyes, he tried to smile at Kayleigh. “What’s up?”
“Do you think Uncle Quinn is making a mistake?”
Ed snorted out a laugh and cocked his head, taking in the serious look in his daughter’s blue eyes. Eyes which mirrored his own, he noted yet again, and not her mother’s. With her dark hair and blue eyes, she looked every bit a MacDonald. Her smile was the only part of her that reminded him of Laura. He cleared his throat before answering her question. “Of course not. Phoebe is the best thing to ever happen to your uncle. What makes you ask?”
“You seem upset…” The girl’s voice trailed off, unsure. Ed closed his eyes and pushed his emotions away, stomping them way down where they wouldn’t ruin this magical day. Kayleigh was still young enough to believe in fairy tales. She’d been over the moon getting ready for her uncle’s big day, from choosing a dress to coordinate with the bridal party, to going to the salon with his friends Bella and Abbie to get her nails painted silver and her long dark hair swooped up into something fancier than her usual ponytail. She looked like a petite princess, and he didn’t want to be the one to burst her bubble.
Bending his knees into a crouching position, he met his daughter’s unhappy stare. “I think Phoebe is perfect for your Uncle Quinn. He makes her happy, and more importantly, they’re going to be happy together. Don’t you think so?”
Kayleigh nodded, relief in those wide, probing eyes. “Yeah, I do. I got worried when I thought you were crying or something.”
“Happy tears, kiddo. Trust me.” He started to straighten up but Kayleigh grabbed his wrist.
“Dad?”
“What, sweetheart?”
“I miss Mom.”
Ed swallowed hard and closed his eyes. A soul-deep loneliness swept through him like a tidal wave. Pulling her into a tight hug, he whispered into her ear. “I miss her too, Kayleigh.”
Same day
Shippan Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut
Claire Masters shoved the last book into the cardboard box and reached for the packing tape. Part of her thought this day might never arri
ve. It was finally over. Or would be, once the final paperwork was signed for the sale of the house. A sale which dragged on way, way too long, following a divorce that took a similarly slow route to completion. Dennis couldn’t stand not being the one in control of the situation. Being in control of her.
After Monday’s closing, she never wanted to see or hear from her ex ever again.
She was done being controlled.
“Mrs. Masters? Are you in here?” The realtor stepped through the doorway. “Oh there you are. The door was open, so I let myself in.”
Claire straightened and gave the other woman a tired smile, wiping her hands down her faded jeans. She’d chosen a realty company owned by a couple she’d gone to high school with, and she vaguely knew this woman from back in the day, but she was a few years older than Claire so they hadn’t been in the same classes. Then again, while Stamford seemed like a large city, it could also be a very small town. All about appearances and who you knew. In high school, she couldn’t wait to grow up and move away. Ironic that she and Dennis bought their home in the very place she never wanted to live, and that she worked in the same school district she’d hated as a kid.
The stained t-shirt she wore should’ve been embarrassing but Claire was beyond the point of caring. She didn’t need to impress anyone tonight, least of all her realtor. A thick hunk of her long brown hair had worked loose from her ponytail and she shoved it behind her ear, annoyed by how the hair plastered against her sweaty neck. Dennis never liked short hair on women, so she’d kept it long since college.
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