Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(78)

And was this who Nora really was?

No wonder she hadn’t told me about it. She was probably hoping I wouldn’t see it.

Either that, or she didn’t care. She’d have some excuse ready about her boss putting pressure on her to write another article about sex and this was the compromise.

I read it again, looking for a way out—looking for a way to not be furious. But the stuff about befriending a single dad’s kids to get what you wanted stood out as if it had been typed in bold red letters. I couldn’t stop thinking about Riley. About all the times Nora had invited her over for iced tea on her porch, or taught her how to do her hair, or helped her pick an outfit. Going to her art show, chaperoning her dance.

Had all that been part of the game? Did Nora use my daughter to get to me?

It didn’t make sense. I’d called Nora out on this being nothing but a fling and yeah, she’d balked at first. But it had been an argument that had lasted all of an hour, if that. We’d been on the same page, even if it had taken her a little longer to realize it. She couldn’t have been telling me what I wanted to hear just to keep the fling going.

Could she?

The problem was, I’d been waiting for this—waiting for the other shoe to drop. It always did. I had a miserable history of choosing the wrong women. Brooklyn was the last in a series of bad relationships. So much of why I’d mostly stayed single since having Riley was because of this—because what happened to my daughter when things went bad?

Damn it, Nora. Why did she have to make Riley like her so much?

The more I thought about Riley and her relationship with Nora, the angrier I got. My protective instincts pushed aside reason. A voice in my head tried to tell me to calm down and take a breath.

I didn’t listen.

But why should I? She’d used my daughter as a way to get me to bang her and she’d only agreed to take things to the next level so I wouldn’t stop. Where did this end for her? Where did she think this was going? Was it just a fling that would fizzle out and we’d go back to being nothing but neighbors?

It didn’t help that she’d stung my pride. It wasn’t just my sister who read her column. Kari did too, and so did a bunch of my clients. I’d told them to. And now they were all going to read about how Nora had played the single dad next door—me.

I got up and grabbed my keys. I had another client later, but I needed to deal with this now. My mom was picking up Riley from school and I wanted to make sure she didn’t go straight to Nora’s. Not until I could figure this out.

With my temper hanging by a very thin thread, I went home.





33





NORA





The article I was working on was making me happy. I was going from relationships to fashion, exploring fun ideas for first date attire, especially for my readers who were tired of the usual. No little black dresses here. I was all about fun, flirty tops, curve hugging bottoms, and shoes that added bright pops of color.

My fashion wish list was getting dangerously long. Job hazard.

A knock on my door pulled my attention from the latest trends in feminine footwear. I made sure my work had saved, then went to the front door.

I opened it to find Dex standing a few feet away, as if he’d knocked and moved back. Something was wrong. His brow was furrowed and his shoulders were tense.

“Hi. Is everything okay?”

“Can I come in?”

Not sure what was happening, I stepped aside. He came inside and I shut the door behind him. “What’s wrong?”

He stood still, his back to me. “Were you going to tell me?”

“About what?”

“The article.”

Had they published it already? “The single dad article? Is it out already?”

“Yes.”

“That’s so odd. It was supposed to be next week. I didn’t even get the email that it went live.”

He whirled around, his eyes flashing with anger. “Does it matter?”

I eyed him warily. I didn’t understand what had him so upset. The article didn’t use his name or any identifying details. “I suppose this means you read it?”

“Yes, I fucking read it. Maggie called me.”

“And obviously you’re mad.”

He looked at me like I’d just said the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. “Um, yeah. And the fact that you’re surprised by that tells me a lot.”

“I knew the article was a bit of a risk but I didn’t think it would make you angry.”

“How could it not make me angry? Of course I’m fucking angry. You had no right to use our relationship like that and you really had no right to use my daughter.”

“I didn’t use Riley. What are you talking about? The article doesn’t share any personal details.”

He shook his head. “You know what? I’m glad this happened now. The longer this went on, the worse it would have been. I should have known not to get involved with someone who’s fucking allergic to real relationships. And I never should have let you anywhere near my daughter.”

I gaped at him, a mix of anger and betrayal practically choking the words in my throat. “How could you say that? Dex, I don’t know what’s in that article that has you furious with me but I swear, I didn’t mean to hurt you and I would never do anything to hurt Riley.”