The next morning, Alec sat at the kitchen table with his tea and toast, trying to forget the disastrous dinner date Daisy had orchestrated. Part of him wanted to scold Daisy for the stunt but deep down he knew his daughter was only trying to help. It wasn't her fault that he wasn't made for candlelit romances and fancy dinner dates. But then he wasn't made for dating, period.
Just then a hesitant shuffle at the doorway broke into his thoughts. Without looking up, he exhaled softly, "It's okay, Daisy, I'm not mad." Alec assured her.
Daisy slowly walked in, "Hi," She smiled awkwardly.
"Hi." He replied taking another sip from his cup.
She slowly pulled up a chair sitting beside him, "So, you're not mad?" Daisy asked carefully.
Alec shrugged, "Well, I'm not happy about what you did but I'm not mad." He said.
Daisy sighed, "I swear I was just trying to help," She replied. "I just hate seeing you alone. I just want you happy." She added sincerely.
Alec let out a quiet chuckle. "I appreciate it, but I'm fine," He said, setting his cup down. A smile tugged at his lips as he noticed her hand stealing the last piece of toast, "Besides, I already have someone who makes me happy. And she's sitting right here and stealing my breakfast." He said playfully swatting at her hand.
Daisy giggled, popping the toast into her mouth with a triumphant grin. "Well, you weren't eating it fast enough." She said simply.
He shook his head, smiling. "You're a menace, you know that?"
"Can't help it. Runs in the family," She smirked.
Alec glanced at the clock and sighed. "Bus will be here soon. Go get ready for school, yeah?" He said tapping her shoulder lightly.
Daisy nodded but then leaned in to wrap her arms around his shoulders.
Alec smiled giving her an awkward pat on the back.
"Love you, Dad," She mumbled into his shoulder.
"Love you too, kiddo," He replied, grinning softly.
She pulled away, her smile now glinting with mischief. "Oh, and by the way…" She said slowly moving toward the stairs. "I set up a Tinder account for you!" Daisy announced before dashing upstairs.
Alec nearly choked on his tea. "What?" He said standing from his seat.
But Daisy was already halfway up the stairs. "Don't worry, I used a good picture of you!" She called before shutting her bedroom door.
Alec just plopped back down into his seat baffled, "I take it back, she's like her mother." He muttered.
Meanwhile, Clara sat cross legged on her couch, with her coffee cup in one hand and her phone in the other. She tilted her head as she scrolled lazily through the Tinder profiles, not really expecting to find anything. She wasn't even sure why she was even bothering, most of the profiles weren't very impressive, a lot of forced smiles, gym selfies, and bios that read like bad résumés.
She was about to close the app when one profile made her pause, the photo wasn't flashy, just a man with dark brown hair and a beard with an awkward smile. She kind of liked that, there was something about the warmth in his eyes, something sincere and genuine that peeked her interest.
Curious, she tapped into his profile, scanning the sparse bio. It was simple but honest. No boasting, no empty promises, or clichés just a short bio, stating his name was Alec Hardy and that he was a DI for the Broadchurch police, a divorced father and just looking for love, again.
Clara bit her lip, smiling. There was something about him that felt different. Something genuine plus he was kind of cute.
"Why not? She smiled softly, shrugging, swiping right.
Clara set her phone aside and sank deeper into the couch, her coffee in hand, a quiet spark of optimism flickered in her chest, like maybe, just maybe, something good was finally on its way. And his name was Alec Hardy.