Page 14 of The Hot New Single Dad Next Door

He knocks again, this time harder. He shouts for Lottie, impatiently running a hand through a mane of hair in desperate need of a trim. Another round of bell ringing and he gets visibly frustrated.

After barely a minute, he says something to Liam and walks off, leaving the boy standing on the porch alone.

No.

He’s not just gonna…

He gets back on his bike and rides off.

Nope. He’s gonna.

His bike roars again as he tears through the neighborhood, the sound fading off into the distance.

Liam sits down on the porch stairs and I curse under my breath.

Well... that’s not good.

5

LOTTIE

Today sucks.

I shove a stack of napkins into the holder on the counter and move onto the next one.

Yesterday sucked, too.

Living in Kiss County sucks.

I refill the last dispenser and take the rest of the box into the back room.

“Hey!” Tish’s youthful eyes sparkle for gossip as she ties her apron behind her back at her locker. “How did things go last night with the hot new single dad?”

I stick out my tongue and blow.

Her mouth sags. “No?” she asks.

“No,” I echo as I push into the storeroom and drop the box of napkins on the shelf above my head. “Nada. Zilch. Ain’t happening.”

“Why not? What happened?”

She follows me out of the back and I give the diner a quick scan on the way to the coffeepot. It’s a busy afternoon following an even busier morning, and I’m happy Tish finally arrived to help Mika and me.

“Where do I even begin?” I say, coffeepot in hand. I walk out from behind the counter and Tish follows me through my section. “First, Frank sold my bakery.”

“What? I thought you were this close to getting your loan!”

“I was! I am! But Frank got a little too antsy and sold the space to the first Big City douche who came around.”

“Aw, man...” Tish throws on a pout. “That sucks.”

“I mean, where’s the loyalty?” I ask as I refill the Henderson’s mugs. “Is a man’s word not worth anything anymore?”

Moving onto the next table, Tish shakes her head. “Should have gotten it in writing,” she says.

“So, I asked the new owner to let me have the space instead.”

“He was there?”

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