Early Friday afternoon, Mari heard the front door open. She and Harper were playing Go Fish Alphabet in the family room, practicing Harper’s letters.

“I think your daddy’s home,” she said to Harper, wanting to leap up and run to him herself.

“Yay!” Harper said, dropping her cards on the table and racing to the front door.

Oh, what would it be like if the three of them were a family? That fantasy had crept into her mind more than once. It wasn’t good for her to think that way. Not when they couldn’t even admit they had feelings for each other. Not when he was going out with another woman that very night.

Holding back a frown, when she heard his voice as he greeted Harper, she couldn’t restrain herself any longer. She jumped to her feet, then forced herself to calmly walk into the entryway.

“Hello,” she said with eyes only for him.

Harper had her arms around him, her face snuggled into his neck. His lips slowly curved upward, a smile meant just for her.

Mesmerized by his very presence, Mari felt her heart pounding as she recalled the way he’d kissed her the night before.

“How’s my Princess Pink Rose?” he said, then he winked at Mari, his gaze never wavering from her face.

“We went swimming,” Harper said as she pulled away and looked at him.

“You did?” His gaze slid to Mari for a moment, and at the look in his eye, her whole body heated. “Maybe I can go swimming with you tomorrow.”

“Today!” Harper said.

“I’m sorry, Princess Pink Rose. I have to leave in an hour.”

Harper’s lower lip slid into a pout and she crossed her arms. “Paint my nails, Daddy. Please.”

He laughed. “I think I have time to do that.”

Her pout vanished. “Yay!”

He set her down and turned to Mari. “Can Mari help me?”

Harper nodded with enthusiasm.

“Great! Meet me by the pool in a few minutes and bring all of your nail painting supplies.”

“Okay.”

* * *

Ten minutes later Hank was sitting beside Mari with Harper across from them. Even though he couldn’t kiss Mari—couldn’t even touch her—he loved that she was there, was part of his time with Harper.

“There’s already polish on your nails,” he said to Harper with mock-confusion. “What am I supposed to do?”

Harper giggled. “You have to take it off, Daddy.”

“Take it off? You mean like with an eraser? Or maybe I should chew it off.”

That sent her into gales of laughter. “No. You use the green stuff.”

Hank’s eyes shot up. “Green stuff? Like grass?”

“No,” she said with another burst of giggles. She pointed to a bottle sitting on the ground in front of Mari. “That stuff.”

He picked it up and examined it, then unscrewed the cap and sniffed it before pulling it away with his mouth puckered. “That doesn’t smell very good. You want me to put it on your nails?”

Harper nodded like this was a serious thing. “Yes. You have to or it won’t come off.”

“Okay. If you say so.”

Twenty minutes later the old polish was off and the new was on. He was getting pretty good at this.

“What do you think?” he asked Harper.

She admired her fingers and toes. “Pretty.”

“Yes it is.”

“Can you push me on the swing?”

“Of course.” They all stood and made their way to the play set, Harper racing ahead. Hank had to get ready for his date with Simone soon, but dang it if he was going to let her dictate his time with his daughter. Tempted to call her and cancel, especially as Mari walked next to him, he gritted his teeth. As a kind of rebellious move, he took Mari’s hand, which earned him a surprised look. Smiling at her, when her lovely face lit up, he gently squeezed her hand.

* * *

This fed right into Mari’s fantasy—her, Hank, and Harper. A happy family enjoying a beautiful September afternoon. Painting nails and playing on swings. Could her life be any more perfect?

Yes, her mind screamed. It would be perfect if it was real.

Another part of her argued that it was real, completely real. Just because they had to keep their feelings a secret didn’t make them any less real.

“Push me, Daddy,” Harper called from the swing.

Hank released Mari’s hand with a look of regret, and she desperately wanted to slip her hand back into his, to feel him close to her, his arms securely holding her, his lips claiming hers.

That would have to wait. No matter how difficult. And when they no longer had to keep their love a secret, it would be all the sweeter.

“Coming, Princess Pink Rose,” Hank called out as he jogged toward Harper.

Mari watched him go, her heart contracting with love and longing. The last few nights with him had been wonderful, but tonight she would be on her own, and she knew the only thing she would be able to think about would be him out with Simone.

Frowning, she reached the play set and watched him push Harper on the swing.