Page 18 of The Single Father Upstairs

My den said fate couldn’t be ignored, but I’d deal with the pain of us not mating if it would disrupt my daughter’s life.

“You don’t need to apologize.” I took a detour instead of dealing with the problem head-on. “But I owe you an explanation. Not for that night but for other things.”

His brows shot up. “Sounds intriguing.”

I sighed because he had no idea what he was talking about.

“There’s a lot I haven’t said, and I owe it to you to be honest.” The poor guy. He thought he and I were just neighbors, one he had the hots for, and I was making out as though I was involved in espionage.

Miles handed me the coffee, and his fingers brushed over mine. “Okay. I don’t know what all of that means, but I’m patient.”

“Indigo is at Rudy’s on Friday night.” I blurted it out, copying my daughter’s habit when she was excited or nervous about something.

“Rudy? The older guy on the first floor?”

“Mmmm, she treats him like her grandfather.” I gulped and continued because I had to get this out. “If you wanted to have dinner, I could explain.” I almost wished Indigo would interrupt because my face was hot and probably matched Miles.

He grinned. “I’d like that.”

“Dad,” Indigo squealed.

She was a minute too late, but I was relieved Miles had accepted my invitation.

“Marmalade stole the toy and won't give it back.”

Miles went over to Indigo and whatever we’d shared faded. Indigo demanded a tour of Marmalade’s favorite hangout spots in the apartment, and I followed my daughter and my mate around as Miles chatted.

We ate some of the cookies, and Miles said they were the best he’d ever tasted, and when we left, my daughter narrated what had happened during the visit as if I hadn’t been there.

“You like Miles.”

She frowned. “Duh. Yeah, of course. He’s great, and he’s a cat dad. What’s not to like?”

Liking your neighbor and accepting them as your omega dad were two totally different things. But that wasn’t the biggest hurdle to a possible relationship.

That’s me. My bear didn’t understand why humans had a problem with him and his kind, but he knew that was the reality.

It’s not your fault. If Miles couldn’t accept my beast, there was no hope for us as a couple. But I was racing ahead. Him thinking I was good-looking might be just about sex. He might not see a future for us.

There were so many roadblocks to us mating, but I had to focus on Friday night when I told him what? That I was into him. That was a start, and we’d take it from there.

At least this time when I’d hinted that maybe I liked him too, I’d done it when he’d been awake.

10

MILES

I kept reminding myself that this wasn't a date. He didn't ask me out with romantic intentions. He said we could have dinner and he could explain about Rudy. It really wasn't my business what the older man’s role in their lives had been, but I wasn't about to turn Stellan down because despite our first meeting where he ran away from me and the way I made a complete and utter fool of myself on our second, I had fun getting together with him on the cat playdate.

It was awkward at first, at least for me, but after a while, I felt I could let a little of myself out. I enjoyed the afternoon nearly as much as Marmalade did. My little fur baby had been living her best life getting all the attention she could ever want and tons of treats.

It caught me off guard that when they left, I found myself missing Stellan. You shouldn't miss someone you barely knew. He was my neighbor. That was that.

And tonight, we were having dinner with food and a specific conversation. Nothing more.

It didn't matter how hot he was, or how much I thought about his lips and what they would feel like against mine. My brain wandering to places it shouldn't go didn't suddenly turn a friendly dinner into a date. Did that stop me from changing my shirt four times or rinsing my hair and styling it again? No. But I needed to not set my expectations too high. If I did, I was going to come out of the other side of this hurt and would have no one to blame but myself.

I was ready over an hour before it was time to leave. I told myself that was better than being late. That didn’t make the wait easier. Sitting around made the clock all but stop.