Chapter 1
WORTH A SHOT
Three Years Later
“Hi, Lila,” Brennan said when he saw his babysitter calling. This couldn’t be good news getting the call at work. It never was.
“Hi, Brennan. I’m so sorry. I can’t watch Becca tonight. I think I’ve got the flu. My head is killing me and I’m running a fever.”
“That’s fine,” he said. He didn’t want to go out tonight anyway and this was the perfect excuse to get out of the date he’d felt pressured into. “I’d rather you not be around Becca if you’re not well.”
“I thought you’d feel that way. I’m really sorry.”
“No worries,” he said. He hung up with the part-time sitter who watched his daughter nights or weekends to give his mother a break if he had things to do.
The move two months ago hadn’t been an easy one, but he had little choice when his nanny took another job.
Doing it on his own wasn’t an option. Finding another nanny he could afford was an impossible feat.
His mother, who was his backup nights and weekends when work was crazy, had finally gotten her dream retirement home on Amore Island and brought up the possibility of him transferring.
It hadn’t been something he’d thought of prior, but since he worked for Karen Raymond in Boston and she had a CPA firm on the island, it’d been worth a shot.
Karen had been thrilled with the request and gladly accepted.
He stared at his phone, debating on his next call.
Celia had been hitting on him since the first day he ran into her dropping Becca off at pre-K. And every day since.
The looks, the touches, the giggles all increasing.
In a moment of weakness, he agreed to dinner tonight—telling himself it wouldn’t hurt to keep an open mind and give Celia a real chance. She wasn’t exactly his type, but maybe it was unfair to judge her based on a handful of awkward interactions.
It’d been years since he’d had any weak moments, but life had been quiet here and no one else was knocking on his door since he’d moved.
He’d promised himself Becca would come first and anything else in his life would be guarded.
But Becca got along well with Celia’s daughter, Polly, and he thought one dinner wouldn’t hurt to feel things out.
That was his problem.
Putting everyone else and their feelings first in the past.
Just Becca now.
Which was the only reason he was wavering with Celia.
He ground his teeth and called his mother.
“Hi, Brennan. Everything okay?”
“Yes,” he said. “Lila just canceled on me tonight. Are you free?”
“I’m sorry. It’s our poker night and I’m hosting it at my house. Otherwise I could.”
Sadie Austin deserved to enjoy her retirement and he wouldn’t stand in the way of it.
“Not a problem. I’ll just cancel.”
His mother laughed. “You’re loving the fact that an excuse fell into your lap for that, aren’t you?”
There was no use lying. “Kind of.”
“You need to put yourself out there more. Not everyone is like Rene.”
“Thank God for that. Could you imagine a world where everyone was?”
Lying. Cheating. Manipulating. Then abandoning their child.
The last didn’t bother him. It only made it easier for him to get full custody and raise his daughter the way Becca deserved.
In a loving household.
Just not a full family.
A single parent... like he’d had.
But it was a loving household and he was thankful his mother showed him it could be done.
“Give it a chance. Stop deciding before you even get to know her.”
“You gave no one else a chance,” he said.
“Times were different back then. Your father was my first and only love. I couldn’t go through that again. You haven’t experienced love yet.”
“Nope,” he said. “Or not like what you did.”
“That’s right. So keep trying until you do. Reschedule.”
“I won’t have much of a choice. It’s that or bring Becca.”
That had merit. Though he was positive it wasn’t the date that Celia had in mind. It could aid with the awkwardness of a first date.
“Great first impression,” his mother said.
“I don’t need to make a great first impression. She approached me, not the other way around.”
He’d done his damnedest to pretend he hadn’t seen what she’d been throwing his way. Women like that weren’t what he was interested in.
That was how Rene and he got started and the last thing he needed was any reminder of that relationship.
“Don’t be cocky,” his mother said.
“I get that from my mom,” he said, laughing.
“You really get it from your dad.”
“I don’t remember.” Whenever his father was brought up, his chest constricted with loneliness. What he’d missed out on growing up.
What he desperately craved as an adult to make sure his daughter got.
“I’m sorry you don’t. Maybe I should have tried harder to talk about those memories.”
He didn’t want his mother to have any regrets. “You did a great job balancing it. I learned from the best.”
“You did,” his mother said. “Just like I’m hoping I learned from your poker lessons and don’t lose my shirt with the women tonight. Some of them are sneaky.”
“I can’t wait to hear all about it.” He looked at his watch. It was two and he was supposed to meet Celia at six. “I better call my date and let her know.”
“Good luck.”
He put his phone down and was scrolling through for Celia’s number when he heard a knock at the door.
“Hi, Alana.”
“Hey,” she said. “Sorry if I was eavesdropping some, but I was getting water and you were talking a little loud. Did you have your sitter fall through on you tonight?”
“I did,” he said.
He liked Alana. She was quiet, but not the timid kind—more the focused, no-nonsense type. She kept her head down, got the job done without fuss, then moved on to whatever came next. If he had to sum her up in one word, it’d be efficient.
Always up front when asked something but considerate of others when answering.
When she wasn’t consumed by her work, they talked, had a few laughs, exchanged multiple smiles, and shared a bit of personal information.
His palms got a little sweaty, he smiled more when he saw her, and even tried to crack some off-track dad jokes to get her to laugh with him.
Her brown hair had a slight wave to it, her face clear and bright. Natural.
What he liked in a woman and nothing that Celia was going to be showing him tonight.
Alana had been a tough nut to crack beyond their working relationship and since she was related to Karen and Kelsey Raymond, he wasn’t about to bring out a hammer to break her open for a closer look. No matter how much he’d like to.
She saw him as a coworker, he was sure, and since he wasn’t positive of her relationship status, it was for the best.
“I could watch your daughter for you if you want,” Alana said.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” he said. Not how he thought this conversation would go.
She shrugged. “I love kids. I really do. My cousins have a lot of them and I’m always volunteering to babysit when they want a break. It’s not like I’ve got a lot going on tonight. But if you think it’d be awkward, that is fine.”
“Not awkward,” he said. Well, it sort of was.
Here was the woman he wouldn’t mind getting to know a touch more and she’d be watching his daughter while he was on a date with someone he had no interest in other than trying to be a nice guy.
Nice guys seemed to finish last in his life.
“Then I can do it. It’d be fun. I haven’t gotten my fix lately. Becca is three, right? It’s such a great age. And you’ve said she loves to color and read, and Disney movies.”
Jesus. He hadn’t thought he mentioned his daughter that much at work. Just the occasional offhand comment here and there. Yet Alana had remembered. Stuff even Becca’s own mother didn’t know.
“She loves them all.”
“Pizza too,” Alana said. “Only cheese.” Guess he talked about his daughter a lot. “I can grab one on the way. No pressure though. I only met her that once and she might be uncomfortable around me.”
His mother had dropped Becca off to him at work a few weeks ago on her way to an appointment.
Becca won the hearts of the women in the office, running around and saying hi, showing off her dress and new dance moves.
“She’s comfortable around everyone. Are you sure? I have no problem rescheduling.”
Alana waved her hand. No bright polish on her nails like Celia always had. Not a lot of makeup either. His coworker was the fresh-faced girl next door. He was more enticed by that than someone who took thirty minutes to find the right shade of peach eye shadow.
“I’m positive. It will be fun.”
“Thanks.” He picked up a piece of paper. “Here is my address. Does six work?”
He was only five minutes from the pre-K that Becca went to three days a week, then five more minutes home. It’d give him time to talk to Becca about who was coming over and see how Alana and his daughter interacted.
He watched as Alana walked further into his office in a pair of small black heeled ankle boots under black pants. Her sweater was mint green, bringing out her hazel eyes. Most days they had a blue hue to them, but not today.
He put her about a foot shorter than him easily. He wasn’t sure of her age, but was guessing early thirties. She’d only been employed for a year on the island he’d been told.
She took the piece of paper out of his hand, looked at his address and smiled. Her cheeks flooded with pink and he wasn’t sure what sparked it.
“This is only two blocks from me. I could walk there in five minutes if I wanted.”
“Seems like it’s perfect,” he said.
“I’ll see you at six,” she said. “Or before. I mean, we’ve got a few hours of work left to do too.”
“We do.” He angled his head and held her stare. “Sure it’s okay to do this?” She didn’t normally act nervous and seemed to be now.
“Yes,” she said, nodding her head. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Would it be horrible for him to admit he was looking forward more to seeing her later than he was his date?