Page 134 of Getting Down to Business

“Just forget what I said. I’m just being silly over a guy. I’ll be fine.”

Alyssa managed to convince Kenley she would be fine; however, Liss had her doubts it was true.

* * * *

Doug came home from work to find both his girls wearing aprons and covered in clay. It was a welcome sight, one he looked forward to seeing frequently now that Lucy would be staying with them more often.

“What are you making?” he asked as he picked up Lucy and bent to kiss Chanda on the head.

“I’m making a sculpture of a lion.”

“I see.” It didn’t look like a lion one bit, but he didn’t care. Not when his daughter was smiling like that.

“Chanda is going to come to my school tomorrow and teach us how to make an animal.”

“She is? That is very nice of her.”

“Chanda is very nice.”

“Yes. I couldn’t agree more.” He kissed Chanda again and let Lucy slide down to the floor.

“I’m going to go put on my new princess dress,” Lucy announced.

“Wash your hands first,” Chanda called with a smile.

It was that moment. Simple and ordinary when he knew.

After the divorce, he vowed to never marry again. He was sure most men had the same thoughts after having their balls handed to them.

Doug’s reason for not wanting to try again had been more than just the pain of a failed marriage. He realized in the months leading up to the separation that he’d made a mess out of all their lives.

He’d taken the easy way out and married Julie so he wouldn’t have to date, or entice someone into caring about him. He’d been lazy and married the first woman who said she loved him back.

It was easy to see, years later, that he never loved Julie. And because he basically coasted through the rest of the marriage, he could now understand why she hadn’t been happy. The guilt made him shiver, even though he knew that Julie was responsible for the role she played as well.

She’d gotten pregnant on purpose, knowing they were having problems in their marriage. It had been her plan to take him for child support, but she needed the child first. Lucy was the best thing to ever happen to him, but her presence didn’t heal their damaged marriage. Instead, it gave them something new to disagree on.

He thought he’d never marry again because he didn’t want to fail someone else, including himself. But as he stared into Chanda’s eyes, he knew he wouldn’t fail at this. It was so simple that there wasn’t any reason not to try.

“I love you,” he told Chanda, feeling it down to his toes. He knew he cared about her enough to follow through. Every day he would put in the effort so she knew how important she was to him.

“I love you too. Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

“I’m better than okay.”

“Don’t be mad about the princess dress. It was on sale and she looked up at me with those eyes. I can’t help but give in.”

“I’ve been told she has my eyes.”

“She does.”

“So does that mean you would give in if I looked at you all pleading and begging?” He bent to kiss her neck and she giggled, squirming closer to him.

“What can I say? I’m a pushover,” she confessed.

He’d seen how fierce she could be. She definitely wasn’t a pushover. But if he had an advantage, he would very well use it.

“I’m going to use this skill to get what I want,” Doug said.