But I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t want a relationship. Hell, I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted another relationship. I was getting divorced. My ex was a TV star I met when visiting my parents in L.A. Everything had been fine until I came home one day and found him in bed with his much younger co-star. I was devastated and humiliated, and with all the press watching us and covering our divorce I had to leave the U.S. So, I came back home to the U.K.
During those first few weeks, I didn’t leave the house. The girls came up to visit, but I wasn’t in the right mind set to go out and socialise. My brother, Jonathan, had mentioned that if I was spending all my time at home, I should at least make some improvements. His argument was that I deserved to have somewhere I was happy.
It was a good point, so I decided I would like a bar area out by the pool, a library in one of my four spare bedrooms, and eventually a kitchen extension. I knew Kate from when I’d hired her to kit out the nightclub about eight years ago, and when I mentioned getting the house done, she recommended her husband Nolan and their son Morgan.
Morgan was wonderful, and he would make someone a great boyfriend, but not me. No more men and no more relationships.Not now, not ever.
CHAPTER 3
MORGAN
I woke feeling good about my plans for the day—I was going to ask Andie out for dinner. Since that first kiss on New Year’s Eve, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind.
I showered and dressed, spraying my favourite aftershave. It had a spicy, woody kind of scent, and I sprayed a few more times. Although I’d received compliments from multiple women on the scent, I only aimed to impress one. I made sure my hair was perfect, though I wasn’t happy with my close-cropped beard. It was getting a little long; I made a note to contact my barbers for an appointment.
I went downstairs, kissed my mother on the cheek and grabbed a slice of toast from the table. My leg bounced under the table; I was so nervous.
“Morgan, I can’t think with you bouncing that leg. Go in the living room or somewhere,” my mother chided. She was going over the final plans for the interior of Andie’s bar area.
“Okay, okay, sorry.” I looked out the window. It was a beautiful day. I text Brooke.
M: Do you have any plans for today? If not, can I have Charlie for an hour or two?
B: No plans. What time?
M: Now?
B: Fine.
“Mum, I’m going out. See you in a bit,” I called out, swiping up my keys off the hook by the front door and jogging to my car.
Brooke was far from pleased to see me. I didn’t make it past the front door. She thrust Charlie and his bag into my hand on the doorstep and closed the door behind her.
“Hey, little man. Let’s go have fun.” I smiled down at his beautiful face.
I took him to a local soft play centre, watching with delight as he toddled around. I sat with him in the ball pit, rolling balls back and forth, showing him different coloured ones and naming the colours. Charlie’s smiling face as he clapped his tiny hands made my heart swell with pride. I grinned back at him, swiping him up into my arms and blowing raspberries onto his stomach, causing him to laugh out loud. I chuckled along with him. As we had lunch together, I watched as Charlie mashed up a slice of banana before eating it. His face was covered in food.
“We should get you cleaned up.” I wiped gently at his soft skin. “Mummy will not be happy if I take you back like this.”
“Daddy,” his small voice called out.
My heart just about burst from my chest; my eyes pricked with tears. I picked him up from the highchair and hugged him close, inhaling his sweet baby scent.
“That’s right, Charlie. I’m Daddy.” I kissed his head as his little fingers found my hair and pulled it.
We left the play area, but I wasn’t quite ready to take Charlie home. So, I pulled into the park close to Brooke’s and put a wrist band on Charlie.
We strolled around the park for a while, enjoying the sunshine before I took him into the playground area. His giggles of delight as I pushed him on the swings would be forever etched in my memories. My cheeks ached from smiling at him so much.
After a while, he started rubbing at his eyes and crying, a sure sign he was tired.
I dropped him back to Brooke, feeling low that I had to leave him again. I hugged him close on the doorstep, ignoring Brooke as she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for me to hand him to her.
“Daddy loves you so much, Charlie,” I whispered into his sleeping face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I brushed my lips softly on his forehead and reluctantly handed him and his bag over to Brooke.
Stepping back, I watched as she closed the door in my face without a word. Each time I had to take him back, my heart ached for him. Every other day just wasn’t enough. I wanted to be there for every second of every day with him.
I got back to my parent’s house and lounged on the sofa for a while, flicking through the channels on the tv. My thoughts kept moving to Andie, so I texted her.
