Page 29 of The Hot New Single Dad Next Door

“You can joke about it,” I say with a nod. “I’ll... catch up eventually.”

Summer bows her head, accepting that. “So, what makes it complicated?” she asks. “Other than the obvious, of course,” she adds, giving Liam a warm smile, but he’s too busy peeling the crust off his bread to care.

I glance across the diner, feeling my eyes pulled toward Lottie’s natural gravity. She’s standing at the register, chatting with a customer on their way out. She laughs with a genuine smile that I feel deep in my chest.

Cute doesn’t even begin to describe her.

“She hates me,” I say.

Summer snorts. “No, she doesn’t.”

“I bought her bakery.”

“You bought a bakery?”

“The space for my shop,” I explain. “She wants it. Been saving for years to open up a bakery in town, but I bought it before she could.”

“Darn,” she says teasingly. “What a jerk.”

“Kind of feel like one, not gonna lie.”

“She’ll get over it.” Summer takes a sip from her coffee. “It’s not like you slighted her on purpose.”

“I know. But I feel conflicted about it.”

“That’s because you’re a good guy. Not an A-S-S-H-O-L-E bone in your body,” she spells out for the kids’ sake.

“It’s business,” I muse. “It’s not personal. But still.”

“Well, in my business, no mother trusts her child with a man she hates. Just putting that out there.”

I shake my head, giving Lottie another glance. This time, we make eye contact and she smiles, waving at the table from the register.

“Go talk to her,” Summer says.

“Why?” I ask.

“Because you want to. Because she wants you to.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

Summer raises that knowing brow again.

“She’s working,” I say.

I jolt as the toe of her shoe collides with my ankle under the table.

“Ow!” I hiss.

“Go talk to her,” she says again.

“Why are you pushing this, Summer?”

“Because I love you, you’re my best friend, and I’m firmly invested in your personal happiness and well-being. Now, go talk to the pretty lady or I will.”

I glare at her as I rub my ankle beneath the table.

Summer moves to stand up.

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