Single Dads Collection. Lynne Marshall
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count the times he’d noticed that her eyes changed shades of blue depending upon what she wore. He couldn’t count the time he’d itched to touch her, yearned to kiss her, thought about making love to her.
“She was smart, too.”
He’d definitely have to agree with that. Not only was there a noticeable difference in Raleigh’s income from when her dad ran the store and when she’d taken over, but she also ran that store like a tight ship. And she always knew what to say to him, how to handle Finley.
She’d thought of sled riding and baking a cake on days when he probably would have been stumped for entertainment for himself, let alone himself and a six-year-old.
A pain surrounded his heart like the glow of a firefly. He could still see her laughing as she slid down the hill on her saucer sled, hear her screams of terror that turned into squeals of delight when he forced her down the big hill on the runner sled.
His throat thickened. He could also remember the sorrow in her voice when she told him she couldn’t have kids. She believed herself unlovable—
It hurt to even think that, because she was the easiest person to love he’d ever met.
He drove another mile or two before the truth of that really hit him. Not that she was easy to love, but that he knew that. How could he know she was easy to love, if he didn’t love her?
Shannon’s dad arrived home around five. The store stayed open until nine for late shoppers, but Santa’s throne was deserted at five with a note that told children that he was on his way to the North Pole to begin delivering gifts.
In the kitchen, where Shannon and her mom were making Christmas Eve supper, he shrugged out of his coat. He’d already removed his fake beard and white wig, but his salt-and-pepper hair had been flattened against his head. He still wore the Santa suit but the top two buttons of the jacket were undone. “So what did Wallace have to say? Is he going to buy the store?”
Shannon watched her mom shoot her dad one of those warning looks only a wife can give a husband and she laughed. “It’s okay, Mom. We can talk about it.”
Her dad headed for the table. “Talk about what?”
“About Rory Wallace breaking our daughter’s heart.”
His eyes widened, his forehead creased. “What?”
Shannon batted a hand. She didn’t mind talking to her mom, but her dad had a tendency to make mountains out of mole hills. “I’m fine. We just sort of began to get close while he was here and I might have taken a few things he said to heart that he didn’t mean.”
“Scoundrel!”
“No, Dad. It was me. We were attracted, but he sort of laid everything out on the table early on in the week. He had a wife who left him, who doesn’t want anything to do with their daughter.”
He fell to one of the chairs at the table. “Oh.”
“Then he mentioned a time or two that he loved being a dad and wanted more kids.”
He glanced up sharply, held her gaze. “You’re not out of that game. You can always adopt.”
Though she and her father had never come right out and talked about this, she wasn’t surprised that he’d thought it through, that he’d already come to this conclusion. She smiled shakily. “I know.”
“So what’s the deal? Why can’t we talk about him?”
“Because in spite of the fact that I knew we weren’t a good match I sort of let myself fall.” She sucked in a breath. “But I’m okay now. And I can tell you that he’s definitely interested in the store. He has to talk to his family first.”
“Maybe I don’t want to sell it to him.”
For the first time in hours, she laughed. “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. The Wallaces own a big company, with lots of capital. I’m sure they’ll make you a very fair offer.”
“Everything in life isn’t about money.”
She laughed again, glowing with the fact that her dad loved her enough not to take a deal. Even though that was idiotic and she planned to talk him out of it, she said, “That’s the first time you’ve ever said that.”
“Well, it’s true.” He scooted his chair closer to the table. “Are we going to eat tonight or what?”
His mom brought him a drink. “It’s only a little after five. I invited Mary to dinner at seven. Have a drink, go get a shower, and before you know it Mary will be here.”
A sudden knock at the door had her mom turning around. “Maybe she’s early?”
“Maybe,” Shannon said, heading out of the kitchen. “But, seriously, Dad, supper’s not ready until seven. So you might as well get a shower.”
With that she pushed through the swinging door and walked up the hall. She opened the door with a jolly “Merry Christmas,” only to have Finley propel herself at her knees.
“Merry Christmas, Shannon!”
Shocked, she looked up at Rory. Their gazes caught. “Merry Christmas, Shannon.”
Her heart tumbled in her chest. It was wonderful to see them. Fabulous that they were still in Pennsylvania this late. That probably meant they wanted to share Christmas with her.
But it was also bad because she’d finally, finally stopped crying and finally, finally reminded herself that she could adopt on her own. Create the family she wanted. Seeing them again only brought back her sad sensations of loss.
“Can we come in?”
Shaking herself out of her stunned state, she said, “Yes. Yes, of course.”
Her mom pushed open the kitchen door and came into the hall. Obviously expecting to see Mary, she frowned. “Oh, Mr. Wallace? What can we do for you?”
“Actually, I’d like to talk to Shannon.”
Her mother’s perfectly shaped brows arched in question.
Shannon said, “My dad is here. If you want to talk about the store…”
He caught her gaze again. “I want to talk to you. Privately.”
Finley huffed out a sigh, walked to Shannon’s mom. “That means he wants us to go.” She caught Stacy’s hand. “We can make cocoa.”
Stacy laughed. “I’ll give you five minutes. After that, I won’t be responsible for what the kitchen looks like.”
When the kitchen door swung closed behind them, Shannon stood staring it at. After a few seconds, Rory put his hands on her shoulders, turned her around.
“First, I’m sorry.”
She shrunk back. “That’s okay. I get it. You had to go.” She smiled sheepishly. “I’m surprised you’re here now. Isn’t your family going to miss you?”
“My parents are in Arizona with my sister and her family for the holiday.”
“Oh. So this will be good for Finley then—”
He tightened his hold on her shoulders. “Stop. I’m trying to tell you something here.” He sucked in a breath. “I think I love you. I know it’s crazy. We’ve known each other only a few days. But hear me out. We’ve both been hurt. So we’re both smart about love. We don’t give away our hearts frivolously, so for me to have lost mine, I know this has to be right. Now you can argue, but I—”
Catching his cheeks in her hands, Shannon rose to her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his. She let the joy of following an impulse flow through her as she deepened the kiss, expressed every ounce of crazy feeling inside of her through one hot press of her mouth to his.
Then she pulled away, stared into his