One
Finn
“Hi,”I hear before I can ring the doorbell.
I glance down at the tiny human with the adorable voice, mismatched clothes, and ponytail that’s just barely hanging on. “Hi,” I say and crouch down. “Are you Chloe?”
A nod, the ponytail holder slipping free and falling silently to the porch. “Who’re you?”
“Finn,” I say, extending my hand so she can place her littler one in mine. “Nice to meet you.”
We shake then she frowns. “I know a Finn. But he’s a boy.”
Ah.
The bane of my existence—my name.
“I’m really Finley, but I go by Finn,” I say.
“Why?”
“I like it better.”
She considers that. Then shrugs. “Okay.” A beat. “Why’re you ringing the doorbell?”
My lips twitch. “Well, I haven’t actually gotten to ring the bell yet, but I’m here to hang out for a bit.”
“Why?”
“Because your dad needs someone to help watch you when he travels.”
Her dad, Rhodes Calder, is a professional hockey player for the Oakland Eagles…and a widower who’s in over his head.
“My dad travels a lot,” she says quietly.Sadly.
I pick up the ponytail holder. “Yeah?”
A nod. Then she tucks that away with typical four-year-old aplomb. “What’s in your bag?”
“Some stuff I like to do in my free time. I brought it to show you and see if you like it too.”
“Oh.”
I wait for another question but it doesn’t come.
Instead, she falls silent for long enough that I hitch my thumb toward the door. “Should we go inside and I can meet your dad?”
“Okay.”
I stand, and when she doesn’t move, I reach out my hand to press the doorbell.
Only before my fingers so much as graze the button, the door whips open?—
“Chloe!” A gorgeous man exclaims, rushing onto the porch without seeming to realize I’m standing there.
Which means that I have to jump back, lest I get run over.
He’s tall. He’s broad. He looks strong as fuck.
