Prologue

My Lifelong Crush

Claire has always had a crush on Rawls. She always thought he was handsome but never looked at him like anything other than her best friend’s dad. That changed when she turned sixteen years old. He did not have the dad bod and did not (at least most of the time) make the corny dad jokes. He worked out all of the time, so he was in good shape. He was also so handsome, with some gray at the temples in his black hair. She always wondered why he never got remarried. After his wife, Fiona, died he spent his time raising Evie. He has not been celibate for the last nineteen years. He had his share of women over the years. There were not many weekends that he slept alone.

She was jealous of all of the women that had been with him. She has fantasized so many times of what it would be like for him to just kiss her. She dated while in college but no one ever measured up to him and she never slept with them either. The guys had always tried to get in her pants. But for some reason, she held onto her virginity in the hopes of one day giving it to Rawls. She knew she was hoping for something that would never happen, but a girl could dream. She had touched herself many nights thinking about him being her first.

Rawls has never had any committed relationships, only hit it and quit it kind. He did not need complicated. He was a single dad raising a daughter which was complicated enough. He spent most of his time building his business and being a dad. He didn’t want to bring another woman in to try to replace Evie’s mother. Fiona’s death was hard on him and Evie. Unfortunately due to his spoiling her,she has become a spoiled brat.

He has watched Claire grow up into a stunningly beautiful woman. While his daughter went out of state to college, Claire went to a local community college. She chose to finish her bachelor’s degree on line. Claire was not raised with a silver spoon in her mouth like his own daughter. Claire had to pay for college on her own. Her parents were hard working people but didn’t have the money to send her away to school. Claire worked full time and went to school full time to pay for her education. She received scholarships, grants, and even took out school loans to make sure she could finish school. She completed a four year degree program in social work in three years. She wanted to get the work done, so she could help her parents out. She even worked as an intern to gain more experience. Most people twice her age did not have that amount of ambition.

Rawls was starting to have feelings for Claire. The feelings were much more than what he should feel for his best friend’s daughter. He could see her most nights sitting in her window. She knew he saw all the women he brought home and he felt guilty about it. He could see the hurt look on her face every time. He had been best friends with her parents since high school and he felt like he was betraying them by having intimate thoughts about their daughter. He wondered how would Claire feel if she knew how he felt.

Will Clair and Rawls give in to what both of them want? Will their families accept their relationship? An unexpected visitor will come back to town and upend everyone’s lives.