Single Parent

Chapter 10

"Goodnight baby." I tucked Sophia into her bed and she yawned loudly. She was always shattered after a day with all the guys, she ran them around until they were all exhausted, and she paid for it at night. 

"Daddy?" I stopped and looked her in the eye. "Auntie Meg said I can be a bridesmaid."

"You're a lucky girl aren't you? You'll get to wear a pretty dress too."

"Will you get married?"

"No baby." She looked at me confused, so I crouched next to her bed and put my hand on her head, tucking her hair back. "Because it's just me and you isn't it baby?"

"Yep. I like that Daddy."

"I like it too baby. You're tired though, you get a good night's sleep and in the morning you can come into my room and we can watch cartoons in bed yeah?"

"Okay Daddy. I had a bad dream at Grandma's house."

"I know, she told me you got really scared. You know what baby, you have a bad dream tonight, you go into Daddy's bed and sleep in there, even if I'm not there. Do you think that'll help?"

"I think." She shut her eyes and cuddled up to her pillow closer, pulling her teddy up under her chin. "Can I have a doggy for my birthday?"

"Is that really all you want?" She had been asking for months for a dog. My parents still had their labrador and she loved it from when she was a baby, and now seemed fixed on us getting one. I had nothing against a dog, I loved my parents dog, it was the second one in my lifetime. The first was bought for me when I was about Sophia's age. "You'll have to see baby." She nodded and I pulled the blankets up to her chin and leaned down to kiss her head softly. "Goodnight Sophia baby. I love you."

"Night-night Daddy. Love you too." She smiled as she yawned again and as I walked from the room, she seemed to fall fast asleep. 

I went downstairs and put the coffee on ready, and checked the backdoor was locked, waiting for Rosie to turn up. It had been two weeks since the first night she came over to visit and apart from about three nights, we had spent every night together. 

At first, she really was wary of me. She would sit on a different couch and keep her distance and other than the couple of kisses that I snuck in to please myself, we had no contact. But then the one night, we were fed up of the boring talk about work and I started talking about Sophia's birthday and completely out of the blue, she stood up and kissed me. I guess it was true that all women loved a single father, they seemed to find it adorable, and I could put up with being called adorable if it meant getting to act like a teenager and make-out on the couch with a woman like Rosie. 

I went to answer the door at the knock and as I opened it, and saw Rosie standing there, wearing her smart black trousers and crisp white shirt that she wore to work everyday, I couldn't help but smile. She must've turned heads everywhere she went. 

"How you doing beautiful?" I leaned on the doorframe, smirking at her and she smiled at me easily. She had gotten used to the way I was, and it didn't take long for me to be able to act myself around her. 

"I'm just fine, though it would be nice if you  let me in." She laughed and I stood out of the way and let her in and watched as she kicked her shoes off and sat on the stairs, sighing happily when she took her feet from her heels. "God that's nice."

"As sexy as your legs are in heels, they're that good that they look just as good without them." I winked at her and headed into the kitchen to grab the coffee, and when I went through to the lounge, she was already sat on the couch at one end, and I sat next to her and handed her a coffee.