Page 17 of The Rules of Dating My One-Night Stand

Heath should be able to talk about his shitty family situation with whomever he wanted, I reminded myself. That was good for him. I needed to respect that.

“Okay. I understand why you felt you needed to explain things,” I told him.

“He said I could stop by his place if I ever needed to talk.”

That made me uneasy, but how could I be mad that Owen had offered my brother a shoulder to lean on?

“Well, that was nice of him.”

There were seemingly manynicethings about Owen. I wished I could get to know him better, but I couldn’t afford to get emotionally involved with anyone while I was here.

***

That afternoon, I dropped Heath and Hannah off at the local YMCA. They’d walk back home themselves later, but I had to accompany them to pay for the membership. Heath was going to play basketball, and I’d signed up Hannah for an art class. It was tough figuring out things for them to do with their time so they stayed out of trouble. The Y, where they would be somewhat supervised for a couple of hours, seemed like a good alternative to them walking around the building wreaking havoc.

That also meant I had a little time to myself, so I took a walk to clear my head.

As I returned to the building, a beautiful woman with wild, curly blond hair stood outside the front entrance, holding a tiny baby in an infant carrier. The mom or nanny was all dressed up. It seemed almost illegal not to pause and dote on the adorable little peanut.

So before entering the building, I stopped. “Boy or girl?”

“Girl.” She smiled, looking down at the infant. “This is Hope.”

Aw. She couldn’t have been more than a week old. “Is she yours?”

“Yes. I’m her mom.” She laughed. “Gosh, it’s so weird to say that. It’s hard to believe sometimes.”

“I would imagine it’s surreal.” I grinned.

“Do you live in the building?” she asked.

“Temporarily. I’m looking after my siblings while our mother…is on a trip.”

“Oh, that’s nice of you.” She offered her hand. “I’m Lala. Well, my name is Laney, but everyone calls me Lala. I live here with my fiancé and our daughter.”

“Very nice to meet you. I’m Devyn.”

“Which apartment are you in?” she asked.

“Four-ten.”

She paused and then realization seemed to hit. “Oh…those teenagers are your siblings.”

I straightened. “I know Heath and Hannah have a bit of a reputation around here—”

“They do. But I mean, they’re young. I get it. We all did crazy stuff when we were younger, right?”

“I suppose.”

“Well, my brother and his friends did.” She sighed. “Are you working while you’re here?”

“I’m a casting agent out in L.A. I’m able to work remotely, though it’s easier to be on the West Coast, of course.”

“That sounds like an exciting job.” Lala rocked her daughter. “I’m on maternity leave now, but I’m a scientist. I conduct research studies. I’ll be going back to work in some capacity, just haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Wow. A scientist. That’s very cool.”

Lala looked up at the building. “Have you met anyone here yet?”

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