Page 12 of Mommy's Boyfriend (Be My Boyfriend 1)

“Erm, no, I can’t say I have,” I told him as I turned around.

“Well, they’re having a special rose exhibit for the next two weeks and I thought maybe you’d like to go check it out sometime… with me.”

The question had me stumped. Colin was a nice guy. He’s reasonably handsome, a little older than me, and he had a stable job. I was sure he’d make a great boyfriend, but in all honesty, I’d never been able to bring myself to be interested in anyone after Spencer and now that he was back in my life, Colin’s odds went from unlikely to absolutely not. Still, he was my boss and a nice person. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so I smiled.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I have Jayden to look after and all. I’d have to find a babysitter—”

“You can always bring Jayden along! Does he like flowers?” Colin asked, looking a little put out. It was a rather odd question. What four-year-old boy was interested in flowers? I glanced behind my shoulder to see Dahlia suppressing her laughter behind her hand. I didn’t want to be rude, though, and the offer was a sweet one.

“I’ll think about it,” I said to him in the nicest way I could. It was a bit of a cop out, but hopefully, I’d have gotten somewhere with the Spencer issue before Colin brought it up again.

“Great!” he replied with a triumphant smile. “I look forward to hearing from you when you’ve made up your mind.” He nodded at me before peering over at Dahlia. “And you, do you need any more change for your register?”

“Nu-uh,” Dahlia told him with a shake of his head. “But for the record, I do like flowers.” Her face was the picture of innocence, but I could see the mischievous glint sparkling in her eyes and I let out a small giggle.

“I’m afraid there aren’t any flowers in the office, just bills,” Colin replied curtly. “Get back to work, both of you.”

“Yes, Colin,” the two women replied in unison before bursting into laughter the moment Colin was out of earshot.

The day passed after that like any other. I was busy sliding items across the scanner and helping customers bag up their products and I guess I kind of spaced out a little. I couldn’t drag my thoughts away from the whole Spencer issue. All I kept thinking about was Jayden’s little face and how disappointed Spencer could make him if something went wrong. I tried to think of the right way to tell Spencer I secretly had his child four years ago, but it wasn’t easy. I couldn’t imagine any scenario where he wasn’t going to explode and end up angry with me. It was really bumming me out and making the day drag on.

I was caught up in my imaginary scenarios that when I glanced up at the next customer approaching the check out, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Stood in front of me was none other than gorgeous, sexy Spencer. His eyes were watching me carefully, those cloudy gray eyes gauging my reaction to his presence. I couldn’t help it. I don’t think it had really sunk in that he was here in Halston. I blinked once and then another time.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out in a tone I hoped was more shocked than rude.

“Oh, I just desperately needed a fix for my bubble-blowing addiction,” he said. Before I could look confused, Spencer lifted up a pack of gum in his hand and smirked over at me. I could hear Dahlia letting out an amused giggle and I felt my face flushing. Just his presence was enough to make me feel warm all over.

“Right,” I said with a polite smile as I rang him up and he paid for the gum.

“While I’m here, I can’t help but hope you might come for lunch with me? Since I’m in the neighborhood and all,” he suggested and gave me a sincere look. He leaned his arms on the counter and suddenly, he was so close to me that I couldn’t help breathing in his strong, musky cologne. It was overwhelming.

“Uh, I… I’m not… I…” I sputtered, feeling far too out of control for my own liking.

“It’s about time for your break, isn’t it, Rylee?” Dahlia interrupted while slamming down a sign at the end of the conveyor belt that said ‘CLOSED’. “I can cover you for it, no problem.”

“That’s mighty kind of you,” Spencer said with a smile in my best friend’s direction and I couldn’t help but freak out a little at the thought of Spencer getting more comfortable in my world. He’d already met my mom, now Dahlia, and maybe soon even Jayden!

“I’m a very kind person,” Dahlia added with a pointed look in my direction. “You’re welcome, Rylee.”

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