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Just then, we heard a knock at the door. “Elly… who’s that?”

“I have no idea. Hopefully it’s not a drunk neighbor. We have one guy in the building who always forgets where he lives after being out all night.”

Jesus. “Don’t love that. I’ll answer it.” I didn’t bother throwing on my T-shirt. I checked the peephole and opened the door, pissed off. It was TJ. “You’re not welcome here.”

TJ didn’t say anything, just smirked. Another man stepped into the frame. “You say he’s not welcome here, but I am. Is my daughter here?” Fuck! I didn’t know what game TJ was playing, but I knew it wasn’t right.

“Dean!” Elly called me. “Who’s at the door?” Before I could answer, she came out wearing my T-shirt.

TJ pushed passed me and looked at her, scoffed and turned to Elly’s dad and said, “See! Look at her. Are you kidding me, Elly?”

I stepped to the side and let her father in. Elly looked flushed and shocked. “Daddy? What’re you doing here?”

Elly’s father turned to me and said, “Grant Allison. Who might you be?”

Reaching my hand out, I said, “Dean Thorne, sir. This isn’t exactly how I hoped to meet you.”

He shook my hand and turned back to Elly. “TJ said you broke up with him and that you were sleeping with your boss.”

Elly gasped and said, “Oh! TJ told you, did he? Let’s make sure TEEEE Jay told you everything.” She fidgeted with the edges of the T-shirt, and I could see she was in fact wearing shorts, which made me feel better. “Did he tell you he put his hands on me, not once, but twice? Did he tell you that I caught him with another girl at Fall Fest? Did he tell you, Daddy, that he always has something to say about my weight? Mr. Perfect for Me isn’t so perfect and you let him con you into coming to your grown daughter’s apartment at five thirty in the morning, which tells me he was being a stalker last night.”

I didn’t say anything, just watched everything unfold, but I was so proud of Elly for standing up for herself to her father about TJ.

Mr. Allison stood there, quietly and leered at TJ. TJ on the other hand, didn’t miss a beat. “She’s lying.”

When TJ called her a liar, I couldn’t stay quiet anymore. I walked over and stood next to Elly. “She’s not lying, Mr. Allison. Elly and I took my daughter to the Fall Fest. Elly pointed out TJ to me and said he was her boyfriend, and we watched as he had his arms wrapped around another girl. When Elly confronted him and broke up with him, he grabbed her by the arm, leaving bruises. A couple of nights ago, he pinned her to a wall outside. Again, gripped her by the arm, leaving bruises in the exact same spot. Both times, I wrapped my hand around his neck and told him to never touch her again.” I tilted my head towards TJ and continued. “And now, here he is… with you.”

Elly’s dad was silent. He was on the younger side, and I had to remember Elly was a little younger than me, too. Dressed in a suit and tie, clean shaven, short brown hair, you could tell he was a businessman. Elly never told me what her dad did though. I watched as he turned to TJ. Without a word, he brought his fist back and clocked him.

“Daddy!” Elly gasped.

Mr. Allison sternly said, “If you ever put your hands on my daughter again, you’ll remember this punch as a slap compared to what I’ll do to you. Get the fuck out of here.”

TJ gripped his chin, regained his balance, looked at all of us and stormed out. Mr. Allison turned back toward us, shook his hand out from the punch, and said, “I’m sorry, Ell Bell. I’m sorry he did those things to you and I’m sorry I fell for his bullshit.” Then he turned to me. “Thank you for being there for my daughter. You should come to dinner soon. Let’s all have a proper meeting.” Looking down at Elly, he said, “I’m sure your mother would love to meet Dean and his daughter.”

Elly hugged her dad and said, “I would love that. You’ll love, Ada.”

Mr. Allison kissed her on the top of her head before saying, “I’m gonna go. I’m sorry again for intruding on your space, Ell. I love you.”

“Love you too, Daddy!”

Witnessing Mr. Allison’s reaction, I knew what he was thinking because I would’ve had the same reaction if it were Ada. I don’t want my daughter to grow up, I thought. Elly closed her front door and turned back to me, blowing out a breath. “Holy shit, Dean!”

“Mmmm. Yep. How do you feel about that?”

She looked stunned and said, “Can you believe TJ? He’s such a dick, but I think he finally got the picture.”

“Fuck him. You seem like you have a great relationship with your father.”

She smiled. “I do. I always have. My parents are young, so they get it. They’ve never been super strict because I never got into any trouble. I’m sure he never thought TJ could do what he did.” She wrapped her arms around me to hug me and leaned into me. “I’m glad he got to meet you, though. And he knows you have a daughter.”

Wrapping my arms tightly around her, I breathed in the smell of her hair and exhaled a sigh of relief. “Me too. This is wild. Is this what you want? I mean, is your family meeting my daughter? Does it feel too fast?”

She stepped back to look up at me. “Oh boy. Um… I know this is crazy. It’s more about if it’s what you want. She’s your daughter, Dean. I know it does sound crazy but…” She didn’t finish. I wanted her to finish, but instead I decided to tell her how I felt.

“Elly, wait. I get it.” We laughed. Blowing out a breath, I said, “Before you, there was only Ada. My main goal has always been to make sure she’s taken care of. When I realized what you’d done for her on the playground, that’s what a mother would do. That’s what Ada deserves. It scared the hell out of me because it’s something I never thought Ada would have. And then you told me off.” She smiled and rolled her eyes, making me chuckle. “When you put me in my place, I knew I had to make it right. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us in such a brief time. It sounds cracked, and I’m probably fucking this up and sound like a damn teenager that’s never been in love before…”

She inhaled quickly. “Are you…”