Page 53 of His Wounded Heart

He’s so kind.

Shut up, times infinity!

You’d screw up finding a nice guy if they put you in a room with a hundred and one men, fifty of them being clones of Ed Sheeran, fifty of them being clones of George Clooney and you’d still manage to find and choose the one Jeffrey Dahmer in the group.

I sit down at my tiny desk and bang my head on it.

“Mama, what are you doing?”

I give my daughter a sideways look. “Nothing, Sweet Pea, just resting my head.”

“Why? It’s not bedtime.”

That’s my girl, nothing gets by her.

“I needed to clear my head for a moment to think about the website I’m building.”

“But your computer isn’t turned on,” she points out logically.

Lesson number seventy-nine—don’t lie to your daughter, she’ll catch you every time.

“I just had to figure out something in my head before I started working,” I say as I smile at her. “What about you? Do you have homework you need to be working on?”

“It’s Saturday.”

“You’re right. It is.”

Good one, Trenda. You can’t even remember what day it is.

“Can I see what you’re working on?” Bella asked.

“Hop up on my lap.” She climbs up on my lap and I realize just how much she’s grown. I flip open my laptop and it starts up from sleep mode. I did not check it for mail once it starts, not wanting Bella to see anything like the last two threatening emails I’d been sent. Instead, I pull up a website for a bridal boutique that I’d made last year. They’d wanted a couple of updates, and I know Bella will enjoy seeing all the pretty dresses.

“Oooh, look at that.” She presses her finger against the screen as she points to the Cinderella wedding dress. “That would look so pretty on you.”

“I disagree.” I tap the end of her nose. “I think that dress would look pretty on you, one day.”

She gives me a sideways look. “You have to get married before me, silly. Do you think my daddy will ever come and you’ll marry him?”

What?

I am not expecting this. Bella had never once talked about having her dad.

Not once!

“Uhmm.”

“Rory’s mom and dad aren’t married, they just live together. Angie says it’s better when they’re married. She said it’s good you’re not just living with my dad.”

Holy mother of God.

“When did you talk about this?”

“At Rory’s sleepover. That’s why Rory cried and Angie had to say she was sorry.”

“You didn’t tell me about that.”

“That wasn’t as important as when Rory got her own iPad for her birthday. I told you all about that. She doesn’t have to share her iPad with her mom. She gets to play with her own any time she wants to.”