Chapter 25

I blink hard at what Derek’s said to me. He’s got to be joking, right? He must be!

“Did you just claim that no man in this entire bar would want to go out with me?” I press, scrutinizing Derek for his attitude.

He shrugs, leaning in closer to me. “Do you really believe any of the men in this building will be good enough for you? Esme, you are significantly better than all of these people.”

“How can you just assume that?”

“Because I know you.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes, I’d like to think so.”

I roll my eyes. “Seems like you have a white-knight complex, Derek.”

“Me? No, not at all. Quite the opposite in fact. I want you to find the happiness you deserve, as opposed to wasting time with men that aren’t worth it.”

“And you can tell which men are worthy and which aren’t?”

“Maybe not every single man,” he admits. Then, he flashes a smile. “But, as a man, I do tend to notice the losers and the winners.”

“Oh?” I ask him, crossing my arms. I almost snort in disbelief at his confidence, but instead, I encourage him. “Go on.”

“The man you just spoke to would have most likely been a one-time thing. From the looks of it, he was interested in sex and nothing more.”

“He complimented me and my name. How does that boil down to sex?” I demand.

“It’s a feeling. When you live in a world of business, and you’re a single dad, you learn to take in signs around you. He was close to you, hoping to lure you in with compliments before leaving you to dry after a night out.”

I narrow my brows. “Really?” I deadpan.

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’m just being honest.”

“And you’re honestly ridiculous.”

“Oh, come on now, Esme. You think I’d tell you this if I didn’t think it was true?” I see a sparkle behind Derek’s eye, something that tells me there might be more than he’s leading on. I shake my head because I feel crazy listening to these conspiracy theories.

“You have to remember that the time after your marriage ends isn’t exactly easy for anyone to deal with. Not only are you dealing with rejection or anger from your spouse, but you need to prove you can get back out there and be better without them.”

“What makes you think I’m angry and feel rejected by Ryan?”

Derek gives me this knowing look that seems to penetrate deep into my soul—a look that says, “How dumb do you think I am?”

“He’s a piece of shit, honestly,” I reply, brushing my blonde hair of to the side of my face. “I don’t even care about him anymore.”

“But you care about looking desirable to men, right?”

I cock my head. “What makes you think you know exactly what I might be thinking? Which, by the way, you aren’t right.”

Derek’s eyes move around the room, catching glimpses of others who dare stare in our general direction before he returns his gaze on me. “There are only a handful of men alone in this bar looking for a chance to talk to a beautiful woman. You are, objectively, the most beautiful in this entire room. But the catch is, there’s no one here that you have eyes for.”

Where is he getting these assumptions from? It seems as if he’s amused by his own sentiments, but I find myself confused.

“How about instead of telling me about all the things you think I don’t want, you start telling me more about yourself,” I counter.

Derek seems amused by this, his smile ticking upward. “Oh? Is that what you’re looking for, then?”

I shrug. “How much do you usually deflect these conversations back onto me?”

“I’m merely curious to learn more about Esme, my neighbor.”

“Well, good, because I want to learn more about my neighbor Derek and his two girls.”

He can’t stop a smile from spreading. “I do have two wonderful girls,” he admits.

“And how are they? I haven’t seen them in a few days.”

“They’re doing well,” he replies. “Always planning some sort of chaos in their tiny minds.”

I lean forward. “But you see, that’s the fun part. Because no matter what the chaos is, you love every second of it, right?”

He nods. “They’re a lot of work. But I will fight anyone that hurts them or gets in my way when protecting them.”

I snap my fingers. “And that right there is the loving father. I see how much they look up to you. How happy they are when you do something for them, or even a simple hug from them.”

He lets his smile grow. “You would be such an amazing mother, Esme.”

My stomach churns, but I do my best to ignore it. “I’ll admit that is a hope of mine. To one day bring a child into this world that is all my own.”

“Do you think if you had a baby, Ryan would be putting you through all of this?” He asks though he does look slightly uncomfortable at the question.

I don’t even think he understands how much I hate Ryan for leaving me when we’ve spent years just trying to bring a child into this world. The idea of the three of us as a family together just doesn’t make me feel how I used to.

“I think,” I say back. “That Ryan is selfish and only cares about what’s best for him. He dropped divorce papers on our anniversary. Who thinks to do that?”

Derek seems to consider this question, which isn’t a hard one to answer.

“He didn’t ever deserve you, Esme,” my boss replies softly. “He’s proven time and time again that the only thing Ryan cares about is himself.”

“So, does that answer your question?” I reply back.

“Ryan would have found anything to walk away. Even if you two were happily raising a kid together.”

I nod. “I never saw him like this before everything happened. But his true colors are out in the world for all to see.”

“Did I ever tell you about my first night trying to handle the girls when their mom left?” he questions me.

I lean back. “No, I don’t even know how long you’ve been separated.”

“It’s been a while now. But when she first walked out, I’d had a long day at work, just brutal, and my brain was completely fried from everything.”

I think back and ponder when this would have been. I can’t imagine he’d have been even a little obvious about it. He’s always kept himself in check.

“And the girls were all riled up. I’m talking bouncing off the walls, screaming as loud as they could, taunting me that I couldn’t stop them. It was madness.”

A hand covers my mouth. “Oh, God,” I reply honestly. “That’s a mess.”

Derek nods, continuing. “By the time I finally caught up to Tris, Bea was standing on top of a tall piece of furniture, insisting she could fly. Obviously, the idea that a small kid has the power of flight seemed ridiculous to me, and I didn’t believe she’d do anything stupid.”

I hum. “That was your first mistake, then?”

“And second and third. I was trying to get her down so we could fix something for dinner, but she kept insisting that the power of flight was the one thing that could bring her happiness.”

I cringe, feeling like I know what’s next.

“She jumped off the tall furniture. Thankfully, I was able to catch her and avoid any type of major injury. The problem, however, wasn’t that Bea had nearly hurt herself.”

I don’t understand, if she didn’t get hurt, then why tell the story?”

“When I caught her, I ended up tripping over a few toys and their lego table. Bea avoided hurting herself for the time being. But Super Dad sprained his ankle and bruised the right side of his body for a few weeks.”

I gasp, covering my face and unable to stop laughing. “Shut up!”

“It’s true,” he replies with a shake of his head. “I should have gone to the ER to be safe, make sure I had no broken bones or internal bleeding. But there was no one there who was going to be able to help me.”

“So, you didn’t leave them.”

“I made them mac and cheese and told them if they finished all the food, I’d read them a bedtime story. So, they did, we struggled through bathtime, and then the three of us got into my bed.”

My heart skips a few beats.

“I read Goodnight, Moon at least three times. By the end of the third read, I had one little girl sleeping on either side of me, snoring as they cuddled closer to me.”

“They love you,” I say, obviously.

“They love me because I was there. I fell asleep between the two of them having gotten nothing done. In my head on that day, the only thing that needed to be done was looking after my girls. I ended up skipping work later that week to get checked out for anything broken, but the worst was just the bruising from the fall.”

“So you became their entire world.”

“And they became mine.”

I smile. “That’s really cute, Derek. They’re both so lucky to have you as their dad.”

He appears humble, turning away partially to look around the bar. “I had a lot to learn back then. And on top of it, I had to do it alone. My ex is nothing to me now. But those girls are why I breathe every day.”

“Shows your character, then,” I admit. “Your love for your girls is what makes you a great dad.”

“And they love me right back. Even if I embarrass them.”

My heart feels swollen with the sweetness in his story. It’s so impossible to believe the man before me had to become the mom and the dad for his girls, but I see how much he cares.

“If you need an hour or two,” I find myself saying. “The girls took a special interest in my cat, Sammy. They can always come over and play with him if you want.”

“I think they’d appreciate that. Thanks, Esme.”

“What are neighbors for?”