Page 27 of Single Daddy To Go

“I’m glad I made it too, now that you’re here.”

She laughs merrily.

“I’ve been here the whole day setting up,” she says. “It’s part of being a pre-school teacher, you know. Folding paper napkins and making sure we have enough red Solo cups.”

That’s true. The school can’t afford the finer things, so a lot of the decorations are paper mache flowers mixed with children’s artwork.

“It’s fine,” I growl, pulling her into my arms. “This place looks fantastic. You did an amazing job.”

She blushes and grows pink under my gaze.

“Maybe later you could reward me?” she asks teasingly, slowly running a finger up my chest and over my starched white dress shirt. “I’ve been workingreallyhard on the Fair lately.”

Oh shit. I’m ready to throw this woman over my shoulder and bolt to the car. I’mthatready to take her. But at that moment, my darling daughter skips up.

“Hi Miss Summers,” she giggles. “Hi Daddy. What are you doing?”

I realize this the perfect opportunity to introduce Katie to the new dynamic between me and her teacher.

“Daddy is dating someone, and that someone is Miss Summers. Remember how I told you Katie? Daddy sometimes goes out with other ladies, and in this particular case, it’s Miss Summers.”

Katie’s face darkens for a moment.

“Will you still have time for me?” she asks in a careful voice. Her tone almost breaks my heart and I bend down to gather my daughter in my arms.

“Of course, sweetheart. You’ll always be my number one, no matter what happens,” I say comfortingly. “You’vealwaysbeen my number one.”

Her mood immediately shifts.

“Oh good!” she calls, skipping away. “You have fun then! I see Lizzie over there, I’m going to go say hi!”

I stand back up, my eyes still following the bouncing ringlets of my daughter’s blonde curls. She’s absolutely adorable and means the world to me. But I’m a man with needs, and nobody said I had to be a monk just because I’m a father. In fact, if anything, that need’s been raging even more ever since I met Ally.

The beautiful day care provider pulls me back to the present with the tinkle of her laugh.

“I didn’t know you were going to tell your daughter about us,” she says carelessly. But there’s a tone of caution to her voice. “Didn’t we just start dating? It seems a little soon, doesn’t it?”

I know where this is coming from. My mom had so many boyfriends when I was growing up, and it was often too soon, too fast. Sometimes I met a dude, and then he’d be gone by the next week. I got whiplash watching them go in and out the revolving door. So I look seriously into her big brown eyes.

“Ally, I know this is fast, but it feels right. I’ve learned in a long business career that when the time is right, you jump at the opportunity because it might never come again.”

Ally stares at me like I’m crazy.

“But still,” she says slowly. “We only went on one date. And this is the Annual Fair, which is a semi-public event. Why didn’t you wait until we had some privacy?”

Good point, but I’ve been a CEO a long time. I know how to answer questions without quite answering questions.

“Hey, let’s look at the bigger picture. So we’re in public. And you’re right, you’re my date. But if everyone can already see us, then why keep it from Katie? Besides, children are smart. Aren’t you the one who told me that? We can’t hide it from her, so we might as well come right out and say it.”

Her expression is thoughtful.

“You’re right,” she says. “Ididsay that kids are intelligent, and your daughter is one of the most intelligent little girls I’ve ever met. I guess … well, I’m not sure what I thought,” she confesses. “I guess I could have figured that you would introduce me to Katie that way, but … well, I guess I just wasn’t thinking.”

I smile.

“No worries, sweetheart. It’s fine. To be honest, I didn’t exactly have a game plan myself. It just felt right to tell my daughter, and when it feels right, it feels right,” I say.

“But still,” she says softly, cheeks tingeing a slight pink. “It’s moving really fast. You have to admit that.”