“I rarely ask for it,” he said. “But my mother has always been willing, knowing how hard it is to date being a single father.”
It wasn’t about having the night for him to get laid but just not rushing home to his daughter and not being able to extend the effort into finding a woman.
He’d been lacking in the effort department for years.
He’d try, but after a date or so, know right away it wouldn’t work.
It wasn’t that the women weren’t nice, they were. But they were in a different stage of life. They wanted nights out at clubsor spontaneous vacations, and that just wasn’t his reality. It wasn’t what he wanted… and honestly, it wasn’t even something he could do.
Or they wanted children of their own and he felt they wouldn’t accept Becca as part of a mixed family.
He wanted any woman in his life to know Becca wouldn’t be treated as an outcast. That she would get the same love and care from his wife that other kids of his would get.
Maybe it was a hard ask for a lot of women, but it was where he stood.
He had high hopes for Alana in that department, but knew it was too soon to tell.
They drove to Duke’s, parked, and were lucky enough that no one was arriving the same time as them to see them getting out of his SUV.
If someone did, they’d have to figure out how to reply to it.
He held the door for Alana. “Hi,” he said. “We are here for the Raymond Christmas party.”
“It’s in the back,” the hostess said. “I’ll bring you.” The place was hopping. There were a lot of large tables set up and he expected more work dinners were happening, if not family gatherings.
They moved through the tables to one in the far corner closer to the kitchen. There was no private room for events here that he was aware of.
Kelsey and Karen were already there. He’d met Kyle Raymond before, but both stood up to shake his hand. The look Karen gave the two of them when they entered together told him that Kelsey must have filled her mother in.
“Van, this is Brennan Austin. Brennan, my fiancé, Van Harlowe. I’ll soon be Kelsey Harlowe. Can’t wait.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, shaking hands with the big man. Not a smile on his face either, as if he’d like to be anywhere other than here.
“The same,” Van said.
“Loosen up,” Kelsey said, bumping his shoulder. “Tomorrow night’s Boston office party will be more uptight than this one.”
“I remember,” Van said.
“Me too,” he said. “The bigger the crowd doesn’t mean it’s more enjoyable.”
Karen laughed. “It doesn’t matter what I do, no one loosens up enough with that group. I can’t figure it out. Kyle and Van spent last year at the bar for most of it.”
“I missed it last year,” Brennan said. Or he was positive he would have met Van then. As a partner he would have been introduced. “Becca had a cold.”
“How are you feeling now?” Karen said. “I heard you had a touch of the flu.”
“Much better,” he said. His gaze dropped to Alana. “I had a wonderful nurse bringing me back.”
Alana rolled her eyes at him, Kelsey saying, “Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. And here comes some more of the staff. No more talk of that unless you want it known.”
“We’re good,” she said and took her jacket off to put behind her chair.
“Damn, girl,” Kelsey said, then leaned in to whisper in his girlfriend’s ear. He was thinking of her that way too.
“I’ve worn this dress before,” she said.
“Not with those boots,” Kelsey said. “I’m not sure I’ve seen them before. I might need to see if I’ve got anything like that for Van.”
