At thirty-four, English professor Paul Avery cannot see himself as a father. In fact, he thinks children are little beasts. To his surprise, he meets two men with sons during the month of May and his negative view about children begins to unexpectedly change. Enter Matthew Hildebrand, one of Paul’s students at Castling College. Matthew is twenty-two and the father of Aiden, a six-year-old adorable little child. Soon Paul is befriended by the father and son team. Then Paul meets handsome and professional architect, Dugan Brae, who is thirty-five and the father of seven-year-old Colby, a gifted little boy. After much convincing, Paul agrees to go on a date with Dugan, and surprisingly, the two hit it off. Plus, Paul finds Colby irresistible, creating a fresh friendship with the child. As May turns into June, Paul is pulled in different directions by both Matthew and Dugan. And in due time, Paul must make a decision. With whom does he fall in love? Either one gains him a son, creating an instant family. Through the daily trials and tribulations of dating, babysitting, and just having a good time, will Paul find the man of his dreams and become a happy father in the process?

Daddy Business

The cottage itself was one floor with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and small kitchen that opened into a living room area. Its floors were walnut, and yellow-golden dim light shined inside from a faux Tiffany lamp on a hallway table.


Dugan told me, “I have a caretaker up here who helps me out. Her name is Anna. She’s in her sixties and watches over the place. She lives through the woods in her own cottage.”


I heard crickets, a loon on the lake, and listened to the calming wind as it blew against my ears. Dugan left his son in the backseat to sleep as he carried our bags into the cottage. Once inside, checking out all the rooms, I critiqued them as cozy in size and nicely decorated by a woman’s touch. The three, floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room area, at the front of the cottage, overlooked the lake. A silver, blueish moon shined in the heavens among the twinkling stars.


Chapter 34