Cross My Heart (A Contemporary Romance Novel)

between summer camp sessions. I was thinking we could help her. You know, with all the painting and stuff.”
    As ideas went, this wasn’t such a terrible one. Helping Jenna with home improvement projects would be a daytime activity, and all three of them would be participating. That dynamic had worked from the very beginning, and if they got back to it, they might be able to lay a foundation of friendship that had a chance of lasting.
    Because he did want that. He didn’t want to lose touch with Jenna completely when she went away, and he knew the best way to ensure that was to convince her he was willing to accept her on her terms.
    “Sounds good,” he said to Claire. “We can help Jenna anytime next week that she wants us.”
    She beamed at him. That was something he could get used to—his daughter beaming at him.
    “I’ll be back soon. I only had cereal at Ellie’s this morning, so maybe we could have, you know, a real breakfast?”
    “Absolutely,” he said. “How about waffles?”
    “Mmm. My favorite.”
    After Claire left, he started assembling waffle ingredients on the kitchen counter. Jenna had been right about one thing—his relationship with his daughter should be his focus now. He had a chance to change things between them, to be a real father. Why had he backed away before, when she’d given him the perfect opening to talk about moving to Iowa?
    He remembered how confident he’d felt the day he’d asked Angela to marry him. He’d been certain she was the right woman for him, certain they could build a good life together. Their family would be completely different from the family he’d known as a child. Instead of poverty and addiction and chaos, there’d be stability, prosperity, structure. He was sure he could give Angela that kind of life, that he could make her happy.
    Confidence and commitment had gotten him everything he’d ever set his sights on: college, medical school, a career he loved.
    Everything except a family.
    When it came to relationships, he was out of his depth. All those years with Angela, and he’d never given her what she really wanted. So what made him think he could give Claire what she wanted? What she needed?
    He wasn’t even sure he knew what that was. A parent was supposed to know what was best for their child, and he didn’t have a clue.
    With Jenna, at least he had a clue. Enough to know that whatever she truly wanted in life, it sure as hell wasn’t him.
    He was looking for the waffle iron, rummaging in the cupboard above the stove. Without warning he was rocked by a memory from last night—a memory of holding Jenna, the feel and smell and taste of her in his arms.
    He bent his head and closed his eyes.
    “Hey, Dad.”
    He opened his eyes to see Claire standing in the doorway, with Jenna beside her.
    He took a step backwards and cracked his head against the open cupboard door.
    Claire and Jenna gasped.
    “Dad! Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine,” he said quickly, even though it hurt like hell. “I just, uh, wasn’t expecting to see Jenna.”
    She was staring at him. “Claire said you’d invited me over for breakfast.”
    “Waffles, Dad. Remember?”
    “Um...” He definitely recalled the breakfast portion of their conversation, but not anything about Jenna coming over.
    “I’m going upstairs to check my email, okay? I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”
    And with that, he and Jenna were alone.
    His heart was thumping in his chest. When he looked at Jenna, all he could think about was last night. Her body beneath his. The way she moved, the way she moaned.
    The way she looked after she came apart in his arms.
    His mouth was dry, and he didn’t trust himself to speak.
    “You really didn’t invite me over?”
    He shook his head.
    “Should I go home?” She looked poised for flight, like she might take off at any second.
    “No!” The word was jerked out of him, and he realized how much he didn’t want her to go home.
    She looked startled, and he tried to get a grip on himself. He needed to at least attempt to talk normally, and not like he was picturing her naked right now. “Of course you shouldn’t go home. I was just...surprised to see you.”
    She bit her lip. “Is your head okay?”
    “It’s fine.” Not wanting to be reminded of that moment, he changed the subject. “Would you like to help me make waffles?”
    “Me?”
    “No, the woman standing behind you.”
    She started to smile. “Is the woman behind me wearing