Page 8 of Faking It With the Single Dad

The unexpected compliment throws me off, and I’m unsure how to respond.

“Well,” I say after a moment, straightening up. “If you’re done with your coffee, I’ve got work to do.”

Ryan stands, towering over me as he adjusts his jacket. “I’ll see you around, Bella.”

I watch as he walks out. Even after he’s gone, I still feel quite unsteady. The man is as infuriating as I remember, and just as impossible to ignore.

Two other customers walk in, and soon Ryan Blackwood is the last thing on my mind.

I’ve got bigger problems in life, and one of them is my landlord, who seems to think I’m his unpaid assistant. He keeps bugging me with outrageous bills like it’s my full-time job to deal with his nonsense.

“I’m not home, Glenn!” I snap, balancing my phone between my ear and shoulder while wrestling with the jammed bathroom door at work. “If I were home, we could talk about this. But you know I’m working right now.”

Glenn mutters something insulting, though I can’t quite make it out since he’s chewing loudly on a mouthful of food. The muffled noise doesn’t help, but I can guess it wasn’t anything pleasant.

“Listen, Glenn, I told you I’ll pay, and I will. The business is doing fine. And no, I’m not doing any…favorsfor you.”

I end the call and, after a moment’s thought, switch my phone to silent.

What a disgusting creep.

If he weren’t offering such cheap rent, I wouldn’t have to deal with his repulsive face.

I splash water on my face at the sink and dry off with a handful of paper towels. My fingers rake through my hair as I glance at my reflection in the mirror. Dark circles under my eyes tell the story of endless eighteen-hour workdays.

My tired gray eyes stare back at me. My hands move to my hair, brushing against the uneven edges. Lacy, my best friend, keeps nagging me to fix it, but it’s much easier to take kitchen scissors to my thick red hair when it gets too long.

I’ve never liked my hair long. As a kid, I remember the workers at the orphanage yanking me down the stairs by it. They said it was my fault my family died in a car crash, and I only survived because I was a witch. That’s why I was a redhead, according to them. It didn’t matter that I was only a year-old baby when it happened. The first thing I did when I got away from that horrible place was cut my hair short. No one can grab it now. No one can use it to hurt me.

I sigh and keep looking at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

“I’m not ugly,” I tell the uncertain face staring back at me. My pale skin is flushed from the cold water, and my high cheekbones are bare without makeup. But my mouth feels too big, and I still don’t like the mole above my upper lip.

Still, I wouldn’t go as far as to call myself ugly.

“So why can’t I find a decent man?” I grumble into the empty room. “Twenty-nine years, and people still think of me as the woman who was left at the altar. It’s just downright humiliating.”

Of course, my reflection doesn’t have any useful answers. I shake my head, grab a handful of dry tissues, and go to work away my troubles.

But I should know by now that my troubles always have a way of finding me.

***

“Mommy, where are you?”

I’m jiggling the rusting lock on my apartment door after a quick change out of my work clothes, but I answer. “I’m two streets away from Lacy’s place, baby. I’ll pick you up soon.”

Luke sounds tired. Lacy must’ve worn him out with all the toys and games she bought him last Christmas. It worked, though. On a normal day, Luke would have been making Lacy call me over at five. Right now, it’s almost seven. The call ends, and I jiggle harder.

“You’re not looking great these days, Bella.”

As I finally lock the door, I glance over my shoulder and feel disgusted when I see Glenn loitering in the hallway. “What do you want, Glenn?”

“I’ve been leaving you messages—”

“And I already gave you half the money.” I shove the key into my bag. After his call earlier, I had to ask Lacy for help, and she sent me some cash.

He steps closer, and it takes everything in me not to grab him by the throat. Glenn blocks my way. “I know money’s tight for you. I could let you slide on rent for a few months…if you give me something in return.”

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