40

What a moron.

“Dad! Soli fell off the slide!”

It doesn’t click right away that the boy running up is talking to my persistent observer. But when I look at the kid, I feel a sting of shame. He’s staring at the man next to me with pure panic, and the guy immediately jumps up and rushes toward the slides. A couple of minutes later, he’s walking back to my bench with a crying little girl in his arms.

“Come here, sweetheart. Let me see what happened,” the father fusses over his daughter.

And I’m in complete shock. There’s no doubt she’s his daughter. She looks exactly like him. But what really blows my mind are the twin boys! They’re a carbon copy of their father, just mini versions. Same hair, same eyes, same skin tone, even the same moles! And the kids’ whole vibe matches him. All of them dressed in stylish, trendy clothes, leather jackets included, like some tiny gang. A seriously cool and bold family look.

“Daaad!” the little one wails pitifully. “It hurts so much!”

“Hang on, sweetheart. I need to check your leg,” the father soothes the little brunette, carefully examining her knee.

Damn. And some bitch landed a man like that. Unbelievable. He’s smashing all my stereotypes about bad boys and married guys and family men. Though… then why was he hitting on a random girl? Isn’t his wife enough? They’ve got a whole squad of kids…

“Do you need help?” I finally speak up, feeling ashamed of my foul mouth and everything I said to him, wanting to at least redeem myself a little.

“Yeah, thanks,” he takes the pack from my hands. “With kids, something always goes wrong.”

“I get it,” I smile awkwardly.

“Miss, thank you so much!” one of the boys suddenly addresses me. “Ever since Mom left us, Dad’s been all over the place! He didn’t even bring basic tissues to the playground. And he has three kids! At this rate, he’s going to forget one of us somewhere…”

And that completely knocks me out of reality. What do you mean, Mom left?!

“I’m not going to forget anyone!” Nazar snaps, though not harshly, giving his son a stern look. “There, sweetheart, it’s nothing serious. You got more scared than hurt.”

“It still hurts. Daddy… kiss my knee…”

Of course. It’s obvious the little one just wants extra attention from her dad. Like any woman, really, using dirty manipulation tactics. That’s what we girls do. And with time, she’ll learn how to twist men around her finger properly. For now… a little practice on Dad.

“Of course!” I play along with the little doll. “Didn’t you know that if you kiss the sore spot, the pain goes away instantly?” I can’t help smiling at the stunned look on the brunette’s face. And again, I can’t help noticing how ridiculously handsome he is. Maybe a bit too narcissistic, that’s why his wife left?

Nazar instantly catches on to our silent agreement and, giving me a knowing smile, kisses the little patient’s knee.

As much as I hate to admit it, I feel twice as ashamed for snapping at him for no reason. It’s obvious he’s a caring father and really loves his kids. For the first time in years, I feel guilt toward a complete stranger… and something else. Some kind of hope, maybe. That not all of them are brainless horny dogs, that there are actually decent exceptions, even with looks like that.

So I sincerely apologize for my rude and biased words, which surprises the brunette. But he really is breaking all my ideas about married men and fathers of many kids. Do guys like that really just show up randomly in a park?

But Nazar modestly assures me he wasn’t always like this. Like his wife leaving changed him. A very successful transformation, I might add.

And his boys aren’t fools either. Quickly realizing their dad needs help, they invite me and Kirill out for ice cream. Refusing would be stupid, since for some reason, I actually want to redeem myself in the brunette’s eyes.

And hey… if we get treated to something sweet, the sky’s not going to fall, right?