Late Nights & Love Lines (Single Dad Hotline #2)

36. You can’t fuck around with destiny

36

YOU CAN’T FUCK AROUND WITH DESTINY

ROWAN

“ H e’ll be here,” I whisper over Seren’s head. We’re both peeking out from behind the stage in the pavilion at camp—it’s become the unofficial gathering place for locals since the summer programs ended.

She tilts her face up to search my eyes.

“He’ll be here,” I repeat. And even though my pulse is thumping erratically in my ears, I don’t cross my fingers or wish on stars.

Sebastian promised he would be here, so he will.

The last two months have gone by in a fever dream.

Sebastian and the guys took on their big project and have taken turns traveling to various places, but they’ve planned their company around their family, not the other way around. When Seb is traveling, the other families step up to help with carpools or dinners, and we do the same for them.

Alexei returned to Boston full-time but visits at least once a month, and I’m still convinced he’s in the mafia, or maybe the Bratva since his last name is Stepanov, but he denies it wholeheartedly.

“I’m nervous, Row. Really freaking nervous. The last time I was on stage I…”

Placing my hands on her shoulders, I squeeze. “I know. But we’ll all be here for you.”

Sadness flashes in her eyes, but it only lasts a moment. There are times, like this, when she thinks about her mom, and I do my best to be someone she can talk to when she needs me.

We attended Mya’s funeral service with the kids but opted out of the wake and reception. They each said goodbye in their own way, and they each struggle with it in their own way, but we’ve enlisted the help of a fabulous therapist in town. James has been able to make a connection with each child, and I’m grateful for that.

Sebastian and I have made it our mission to be there for them, and I find that every morning I wake up, I want to see their smiling faces more than I want my next adventure.

I never thought I’d find peace in a small town, but it crashed into me like the waves on the shore, and each day is better than the last.

Seren glances down and runs a hand over the shimmery yellow dress she picked out. Mine is the same cut as hers but in midnight blue—night and day, the perfect accompaniment to her song.

A commotion in the crowd has us both looking up, and the nervous flutter in my belly finally settles even if they’re behaving like a couple of ten-year-old kids as Sebastian and Beck trip over each other as they try to reach the front row.

“She’s my daughter, Beck,” Seb whisper-yells.

“Yeah, well, she’s my niece, and I have the video camera.” Beck holds up a small device in his hand.

“I have a freaking phone.”

Tabby leans across Pappy in the front row and hisses, “Guys.”

They both stand up straight and snap their mouths closed while the crowd around them snickers.

Sailport Bay has become home for us all.

Lottie sits in the second row. She arrived this morning—with Thane, which surprised me. She’s here for an answer about the expansion into Europe, but I’ve been dragging my feet. Not because I don’t think I’ll stay with Seb, but because it’s a dream job I’m still having a hard time letting go of.

“When we went dress shopping that time,” Seren whispers, then pulls away from the curtain to look at me. “When you helped me pick out this dress, I wasn’t sure you’d be here to see me wear it.”

Guilt makes my ears feel hot. “I’m sorry, Ser. It was a strange time for all of us.”

“But you’re here. You stayed.” Her voice is pitched low, and her lashes flutter against rosy cheeks.

My chin quivers, but I nod. “I did.”

I’ve told Seren a little more about my past over the last month or so in therapy. We go as a—as a family twice a month. In as kid-friendly a way as possible, we explained why I avoided commitments and affection, but that it’s something I’m working on and it’s okay to work on ourselves for as long as it takes.

“I asked my dad to help me with something.” She sounds nervous, which feeds my anxiety. She spins in place and spots her backpack pushed against the wall, then picks it up and retrieves a small black card.

She looks from it to me, then shoves it into my hands. It’s a heavy metal card that reminds me of The Single Dad Hotline business cards, but it has a key attached to it.

“What’s this?” I ask, turning it over in my hands.

“It’s a ticket to anywhere, and a key to come home. So if you need to go, you’ll always know where you belong.” She glances down at her feet. “Dad said it’s for a private plane that will legit take you anywhere.” She shrugs. “So that’s kinda cool. I just hope you’ll take us with you, and if not, that you’ll find your way home.”

My chest constricts and my hands shake. They gave me the freedom to run and the love to return home.

“Ser, I’m not?—”

No one has ever given without taking from me. My fingers trace the tattoo on my wrist and my left earrings. Looking out at the crowd, I know it’s Sebastian. He even tugs on his left ear and winks—it’s become his silent way of acknowledging that he’s thinking about me ever since he learned that the superstition says a ringing left ear means someone is speaking well about you. Some superstitions are just too spot-on to make up, but if Pappy has taught me anything, it’s that you can’t fuck around with destiny.

“Seren, you’re on, kiddo,” Leo says, wrapping her in a giant hug.

She smiles, and walks to the stage, wiggling her fingers at me on the way.

Now I do cross my fingers and my toes because sometimes a girl needs all the luck she can get.

Seren takes a seat at the piano, then bows her head. All her new friends are here, but so is half the town. They fill in the pavilion and line the walkways surrounding it all in a show of support for the children with the courage to put themselves on display.

She’s so much stronger than I ever was.

Her hands rest above the keys, and she lifts her head, but nothing happens.

Sebastian’s gaze cuts from her to me and back again. I can only see the side of her face from here, but her neck works to swallow, and I fear that stage fright has taken over.

I step forward as Sebastian stands up. It all happens in the span of a moment that feels as though it stretches for an eternity.

He nods for me to go, and I scurry across the stage, taking a seat with her at the piano, the same way her father did for me all those years ago. The difference is that this time no one will stop her. No one will rip her from the stage and irrevocably alter her life.

This is the moment where she can step away from her trauma and forge her own path forward, and I’m the luckiest runaway on the planet because I get to be the one to help her do it.

In a lot of ways, it’s helping me too.

“Take a breath, Ser. I’m right here,” I whisper, shuffling around sheets of music to create a diversion. “You’ve got this.”

“Yeah, I kind of panicked.”

“I’m right here as long as you need me. I’ll flip your music sheets for you if you want me to stay.”

“That’s not my music,” she says, staring at the pieces of paper before her.

“I know. But they don’t,” I say, nodding toward the crowd.

“Okay. Yeah. Thanks.” She places her fingers back on her keys and leans toward the microphone. “This song is called ‘Stay.’ Rowan has spent the last two months helping me write it, but the song has always been about her.”

My throat closes up. All this time I thought the song was a plea for her mother to come back, to stay with her.

It’s about me?

Tears stream down my face as she sings.

Night and day,

But we got you to stay.

The chorus plays on repeat in my mind long after she’s finished, after the crowd gives her a standing ovation, even after the talent show ends and we all find our way to the bonfire.

My life is night and day from what it was a few months ago, and there’s nothing I want more than to stay.

Spotting Lottie, I immediately head in her direction, studying the interaction between her and Thane.

I thought it was suspicious when he suddenly stopped calling the hotline, but I’ve been so caught up in life I didn’t pursue it.

They stop talking abruptly when I approach. “Everything okay?” I ask, searching both of their faces. Lottie is obviously annoyed, but Thane’s expression is almost—fiery. Observing them now, it could be anger or love that’s turning his face an impressive shade of red.

“Fine,” Thane grits out, then spins on his heel and marches away.

I lift a brow in Lottie’s direction. She shrugs and then collapses into one of the Adirondack chairs.

“It’s complicated,” she says preemptively.

Leaning back in the chair next to her, I laugh. “Isn’t it always?”

Lottie smiles into the firelight.

“I can’t take the job, Lottie. I wanted it. I’d love the work, but I’ve found my home, and I found love here.”

She slowly lolls her head side to side. “In all the time I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you at peace. Even when you were happy, there was a riot behind your eyes I couldn’t reach. All that angst is gone now.”

For many years, Lottie was the only friend I had, but I kept her at such a distance we never got as close as we probably would have otherwise.

“What do you see now?” I ask, no longer fearing answers.

“Love,” she says simply.

“I feel loved,” I admit.

She reaches out and squeezes my hand. “I’m happy for you, Row. Really, I am.” There’s a sadness in her tone that she’s usually better at masking.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“I think the hotline is in trouble.”

“What?” I jump to my feet, ready to fight by her side. “What do you need me to do?”

“Shh.” She tugs me back into my chair. “I don’t need you to do anything. It’s my own fault. My software and the science behind the questionnaire are so good, competitors are trying to copy, and in some cases, steal it. Lots of people.” She hisses the word while glaring over my shoulder. When I tilt my head, I find Thane glaring back. “They think I should adopt a new business model and branch off to create a dating service with it in addition to the hotline. Something about trademarks and other stupid shit.”

“You’re always searching for a challenge.” I bump her shoulder with mine. “And while I don’t want to move to Europe right now, I would like to stay on and help you however I can.”

She bolts upright, and her eyes flash faster than lightning. “That’s it,” she says, popping up, wrapping me in a hug, and then sprinting away from me.

“What’s it?” I call after her.

She waves her hand without looking back while Thane stomps off behind her. “I’ll be in touch,” she calls over her shoulder. “And I accept your help. We have plans to make, Row. Big plans.”

With a frustrated sigh, I stare up at the stars. I smell Pappy and his old cigar scent before he even sits down. A sense of calm washes over me, and it relaxes my entire body. I love this old man.

“You did good today, kid,” he says, patting my knee.

I roll my head in his direction to find his eyes welling with tears.

“I was worried about you for a lot of years, Rowan.” His voice cracks, but he holds my gaze.

“I’m sorry, Pappy. I never wanted to worry you.”

“Pfft. There’s nothing to be sorry about, kiddo. That’s part of loving someone—the fear, the happiness, you couldn’t have one without fully understanding the other. Now that you know both, make sure you hold on to all the love you deserve with both hands—especially when your mind tells you to run.”

My shoulders sag. “I’m done running, Pappy.”

He lifts a brow in my direction.

“I am. I never realized how exhausting it was running from my past. Now that I’ve had this, here, with Sebastian and you and the kids, I’m terrified of losing it.”

“You can’t lose us, kiddo. That’s not how families work.”

“Once you’re in, you’re in?” I joke.

“You know it.” He rests his head back and clasps his folded hands over his belly.

We sit in silence until a shooting star lights up the sky.

“Make a wish, Row.” He tilts his head to look at me.

“My wish already came true.”

He beams at me while nodding. “I told you. It’s destiny, kiddo. Plain and simple. You were always meant to be ours.”

“Can’t fuck with destiny.” My entire body shakes with laughter.

“Nope. You can’t.”

“If this is my destiny, Pappy, I’ll gladly take the happily ever after.”

He pats my hand. “It’s coming, kiddo. You just had to reach out and take it.”

Squeezing his hand, I say what I should have said years ago. “I love you, Pappy. I always have and always will.”

The old man blubbers and chokes on his words. It takes a full minute before he can compose himself. “I love you too, Row. Always have and always will. Now, I have to go find some damn tissues.” He stands, flustered, but his expression is filled with pure joy.

Glancing around the bonfire, I find so many faces of people I’m growing to love.

Never in my lifetime did I think that a lullaby sung twenty-five years ago would lead to late nights and love lines that wrap me up with my entire future.

Late nights and love lines. It kinda sounds like a song.