“I totally owe you one for this,” Em said. “I’ll make you Rice Krispies Treats, and you have one entire free favor from me. Whenever you need it. I’m serious, you just ask.”
“That’s very kind,” he assured. “But don’t even think twice about it. No worries.”
“Just like that, no worries?”
“You’ve got enough worries with that brother, I think.”
“Are you always this nice to everyone?” Em asked.
“Are you always surprised when people are kind?” he countered.
She flinched. Just a tad, not a lot. “It’s not the world I come from.”
“The world with James?” he confirmed.
He’d believe that.
“Oh, gosh, no. That’s family. That’s different.” She waved in the direction of the fire truck. “My family is invasive, but they’re good people. I meant my divorce. That’s what I meant. Before my divorce, the circles I ran with. They were more shark infested than kind. Anyway…” She tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Thank you for being nice to me.”
“Anytime, Em.”
He said it, and he meant it.
And damned if he didn’t look forward to what came next.
Chapter Three
ETHAN
“Annie,”Ethan hollered from the kitchen. He finished wiping down the stovetop from brekkie. The rest of his house may have been a disaster worthy of the Defense Force Reserves, but he drew the line at the kitchen. This was the one place he didn’t allow clutter.
“Thirty minutes,” he shouted, snatching up a towel to dry where he’d cleaned.
He was still in his sleep shirt and today he finally landed a meeting with one of the Nosh producers to discuss his return to the network, so he’d best get upstairs and put on his business shirt. He always wore jeans—it was part of his Ethan Greene character and that wouldn’t change. But occasionally, like today, he’d dress it up a bit.
Annie didn’t respond, so he tossed the towel over his shoulder and moved to the banister before shouting up the stairs, “Thirty minutes.”
Still no reply. Drat.
He headed up, grabbing a stray water bottle and her schoolbag from the floor on the way to her bedroom.
Annie was a new feature in his life because it was only in the recent past he discovered she existed. Her mum hadn’t mentioned their affair had resulted in a souvenir. Not until Annie was six years old and her dear mum needed a paycheck and a permanent break. Four years later, and now Annie lived with Ethan, but they were still figuring each other out.
She had become used to doing things herself when she lived with her mum.
And he’d never known what it was like to be a dad.
So their introduction hadn’t been a cakewalk, that’s for bloody certain. Caused a whole commotion at the Nosh Network and he had to walk away from his television career to care for his kid. In return, though, he got a daughter, and he loved her more than his own life. He’d loved the bachelor life before Annie. Not realizing there’d been an Annie-sized hole in his heart ready to be filled.
He knocked three times before pushing her bedroom door open. She sat with her back to him, headphones on her ears, typing something into her laptop. She was blonde, like him, but she’d inherited her mum’s green eyes instead of his blue ones. Only ten, but he could already see the woman she would be someday. Which meant he was in trouble because she was going to be a looker like her mum.
A quick glance at the screen and he froze.
Another dating website? With his photo up on the screen? Bloody hell.
Even if he wanted a relationship—and he didn’t—he didn’t have time to give his partner. That wasn’t fair to either of them. It just wasn’t. He’d already covered this with Annie on multiple occasions.
“Annie?” he said, hurrying toward her before she could post anything.
