Waiting for You (RightMatch.com Trilogy) by Kathryn Shay

Mom calls them every year, but they enroll previous students first and nobody drops out. When girls graduate, they take a few new people, but I’m too far down on the list.” Kara frowned. “How do you know her?”
    Joe hadn’t wanted to tell the kids about his online-dating search. The internet was rife with predators and he didn’t want them to think they could go online to find boyfriends. “I met her through some people I know. I’m painting as a favor to her.”
    Kaelyn, his seven-year-old, stumbled into the kitchen. Her curly hair needed combing, but she was dressed in cute shorts and top.
    “Hey, sleepyhead.”
    “Hi, Daddy.” Like Kara, she kissed his cheek and grinned when she caught sight of the table. “Pancakes!”
    Kara started to get up.
    Joe said, “Sit, Kara, and finish your meal. I’m done. I’ll make some for Kae.”
    As he fixed Kaelyn’s breakfast, he listened to the girls’ conversations. Kara told Kaelyn what Joe was doing today—which Dana still knew nothing about. Kaelyn responded with suitable awe about the dance studio, which apparently her sister had told her about. But when he turned around, he saw a shadow of sadness on his younger daughter’s face. Whereas Kara was as graceful as a gazelle, Kaelyn wasn’t. She had artistic talent that she’d gotten from her mother, an interior designer, but felt bad about her physical awkwardness. He made a note to be more aware of that.
    After a pleasant half hour with his daughters, Joe dropped them off at their respective destinations and then, truck already packed, he headed for Devlin Dance. Yesterday, all Dana had said to him was, No matter what Ruth thinks, I’m still mad at you. Don’t talk to me. And go away.
    Not a chance, he thought, not one freakin’ chance. Sure, there were tons of hurdles to mount in this relationship, but he’d be damned if he didn’t give it the old college try!
    o0o
    While Ruth was out doing errands, Dana had come into the studio early Friday morning to make sure the rooms and the schedule were ready for the weeklong workshop to start on Monday. The girls were all good dancers and had taken classes from her for years. Still, they had a lot to learn. Even when she’d been at the top of her game, she herself had never stopped taking classes. Now she could think about that time in her life without gut-wrenching pain and only a modicum of sadness. She glanced over at a row of DVDs that had been made through the course of several years of her career. Though she’d come a long way, she’d never been able to watch one of those, and they were displayed only because she let the girls borrow them.
    There was a clatter from the front of the studio. Ruth rarely came in that way, as they had a private entrance in the back. Dana waited a bit and heard more noise. She was about to roll away from her desk when Joey appeared in the doorway. “Hi, pretty lady.”
    Her eyes narrowed, though her heart did a little two-step at seeing him. God, he was overwhelmingly male. “What are you doing here?”
    He held up a paintbrush. “I’m gonna spruce the place up.”
    “You’re kidding, right? I told Ruth to hire some people to do that.”
    “She hired me yesterday.” Leaning indolently against the doorjamb, he smiled at her. He had several of them—one of pure joy, one tinged with sadness and this one—cocky as all hell. “I got a lot to make up for, remember. Ruth’s a hard taskmaster. I won’t get out of line again.”
    Though she appreciated his irreverent humor online, this was not a joking matter. “Is nothing sacred to you?”
    His expression turned serious. “My girls.”
    She couldn’t very well criticize him for that. From what he’d told her online, he was a great dad, a trait she admired in a man. Her own father had always been focused on her career. When it had ended, he’d tried his best, but the crux of their relationship was gone.
    “As a matter of fact, my girls and I were talking about you