Page 20 of The Single Father Upstairs

Our conversation never had a lull, and it wasn't until our server apologized, but they were closing up for the night, that I realized how many hours we'd spent in that little place. Customers came and went, and I hadn't noticed a single one of them or how many cups of coffee I’d had after my meal was long gone.

“I guess it's time to go.” I reached for the bill.

He grabbed it. “No, I invited you.”

I wanted to argue that he had a daughter to take care of, but stopped myself. It would only sound like I was judging him, telling him where his priorities should be, which wasn't my intention.

“Thanks. It was really good.”

He paid, and I grabbed the bag with Indigo's baklava.

We walked back to Moonridge Place. The conversation wasn't as lively this time around. It was dark out, and aside from carsgoing by, pretty quiet. The peacefulness didn't bother me. It was kinda nice. There were a couple of times when I thought he was reaching for my hand, but I was wrong. All too soon we were back home.

We walked up the stairs to the landing on my floor. “Oh, here.” I handed him the baklava I’d been carrying.

“Breakfast of champions,” he teased, and I wasn't sure what to do next.

I wanted to kiss him and nearly leaned in, but it felt like I was pushing my desires onto the alpha and pulled back. We’d gone the whole night without me making it weird, and I wanted to end the night on a high note.

He smiled and thanked me for coming. “I'm sorry we didn't get to the explaining part. I promise you, I will, though. Trust me?”

“Yeah, I do,” I assured him.

”I gotta go,” he said and went up the stairs.

Now I was more curious than ever. It wasn't just about Rudy. I didn't really care what he wanted to share, but I very much did about him wanting to share it with me.

This might not’ve been a date, but parts of it sure felt like it. If it had been someone else, I might have asked straight out. But he was both my neighbor and a single dad. He had Indigo to think about. If this was him taking it slowly, then I wanted to give him the ability to do that without feeling pressured. And if this was him just looking for a friend, I wanted to be that for him.

It wasn’t like we met on an app and wouldn’t have to see each other again if we didn’t want to.

“Hey, Marmalade!” I bent down as soon as the door clicked shut and she ran over. I scratched behind her ears. “You know, I had a good time tonight.”

She meowed.

“No, I don't think it was a date, silly cat. But maybe it was.”

She meowed again.

“Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I'm confused too.”

Wouldn't it be nice if I really could understand her? It would sure make my life easier. Or possibly harder? I suspected most of the things she said to me were demands to do something for her. She was a little bossy, but wrapped in enough cute, it didn't matter.

11

STELLAN

I’d replayed the end of my date with Miles all night, and the guy was still in my head this morning, more than twelve hours after our date finished.

It hadn’t gone badly and that was the maddening part. The restaurant I’d chosen was pleasant without being an obvious first-date establishment. We’d chatted about work and life in general, though the summary of my life was missing an important detail.

Me!My bear was peeved Miles and I were still at the talking stage.

The only uncomfortable moment was when he asked if Indigo’s omega father was in the picture.

“No.” I’d glanced away because there was so much more to the story that I couldn’t tell him.

Somewhere between the appetizer and the main course, I’d caught myself thinking that it was easiest I’d felt being with another adult in years.