Saved by the Single Dad

Single dad of Seattle, Mitch Benson can't move, can't blink, can't think, let alone do his job and photograph the woman on stage. Every fiber of his body wakes up when Paige McPherson starts to dance. She pours out her heart, bares her grief and pain for the world to see--the same grief and pain that has ruled his every waking moment since his wife passed and left him to raise their daughter alone. Paige is dancing his truth, and in that moment, Mitch knows his life is going to change.

Mitch
Benson’s jaw dropped open, and his balls tightened in his shorts. The woman
dancing on stage was one of the most spectacular things he’d ever seen.

He
was supposed to be taking pictures of the performers, but at the moment, he was
stunned. Paralyzed by the vision on stage.

Not
only was she fucking stunning, with dark, chestnut hair piled up high on her
head in a ballerina bun, but the way she danced was incredible. Every emotion
she felt came through in the way she moved. The focus on her face and the raw
feelings in the way her body reacted to the rhythm and tempo of the music were unlike
anything he’d ever seen before. She was perfection.

He
thought the dance following the children’s performance was supposed to be the
adult contemporary group, but when she stepped out nibbling on her bottom lip
and with apprehension in her light brown eyes, he was struck dumb. He hadn’t
taken a single photo.

She’d
been introduced as Paige McPherson, a beginner adult dancer in Violet’s
contemporary adult class. She must have danced Wednesday nights when he was
home with Jayda, otherwise Mitch would remember meeting her. He’d remember
meeting Paige.

Paige.

Paige?

Paige!

Holy
shit!

This
was Adam’s wife.

Ex-wife,
he corrected.

This
was Adam’s ex-wife. Mira’s mother.

Holy
fuck.

The
clearing of a throat behind him brought him out of his stupor.

“Shouldn’t
your camera be making more clicking
sounds?” It was Zak, Adam’s brother and one of the fellow Single Dads of
Seattle Mitch played poker with every Saturday night.

Mitch
swallowed, nodded and focused his gaze back on the screen of his camera. His
finger pressed down on the button, and he began to snap shots of the woman on
stage.

“She’s
beautiful,” Zak said matter-of-factly. “Adam filled you in on their split?”

Mitch
nodded. “Yeah. Sad.”

“Yeah,
it was. You can tell that she’s pouring all of her pain into her dancing. Just
look at her face, her movements. They’re so precise, so driven, so focused.”

Mitch’s
finger paused on the button, and he turned to face the big, beefed-up, tattooed,
redheaded man, who stood at least three inches taller than Mitch’s six-two
frame. “You, uh … you interested in her?”

Zak
shook his head but didn’t smile. He also didn’t look down at Mitch. His blue
eyes, the same shade as Adam’s, remained focused on Paige. “No. Not interested
in anyone. Sworn off love for a bit. Sworn off women.”

Mitch’s
shoulders relaxed. Why had they been tense? “Taking a page out of Liam’s book?
Love is for suckers?”

Zak
shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Something like
that, maybe. Just taking a breather.” Finally, he dropped his gaze down to
Mitch. The intensity of his stare was unnerving. “Adam can’t say this because
Paige is his ex-wife and it would come across as possessive. Plus, what he and
Violet have right now is good, and I know he wouldn’t want to fuck that up. But
I can say it.”

Say
what?

Zak’s
mouth crooked up into a lopsided grin. “I’ve been watching you for the past
several minutes. Your reaction to Paige on stage is visceral. You’re attracted
to her.”

Mitch
shrugged, hoping his demeanor came across as cavalier. “She’s beautiful, not
going to deny that.”

Zak
nodded. “That she is. She’s also hurting. She’s in a lot of pain. So just tread
lightly if you’re going to pursue her. She deserves to be happy. We all do. But
just be careful. She’s been through a lot.”

Mitch’s
back straightened, and he stood up to his full height, squaring off with the
big muscly man. “We all have. I lost my wife. I lost my father. My daughter
lost her mother. I don’t need a lecture or a warning. If anybody knows to tread
lightly, it’s me. I’m allowed to think someone is attractive, be attracted to them without immediately
asking them for a date or jumping into bed with them. I’m a grown-ass man, not
a fucking teenager. I have some fucking self-control.”

Oh
fuck.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

He
could just hear the words of Melissa, his late wife, echoing in his brain. She
loved Shakespeare. Loved quoting it and reading it. She’d dragged him to many a
play in their years together, swooning over the costumes and sonnets. She came
by it honestly though. She was an English lit major and had only just started
teaching at the University of Arizona when they met.

God,
how he missed her.

Zak’s dark red hair glinted
like a brick-colored helmet in the warm July sun. They were all in Magnolia
Park, celebrating the Fourth of July by enjoying the Arts Council of Seattle’s
Art in the Park. Jayda, Mitch’s six-year-old daughter, had just performed on
stage with her dance class, and before that, Mitch’s sister Violet and her
boyfriend, Adam, Zak’s brother, had performed. All of The Single Dads of
Seattle were sitting on the grass with their children, enjoying beer, food and
the afternoon sun. This was what summers were made of.