The House Mate (Roommates, #3)

Addison

Max: How’s your day been, pretty lady?

I stared down at the text glowing back at me and couldn’t stop the grin spreading across my face.

Addison: We’ve had an amazing day. The baby just successfully put all the shapes in their proper holes, entirely unassisted. I don’t want to call it too early, but I’m predicting a prodigy.

I shifted Dylan from one hip to the other and set the phone down to pour myself a second cup of coffee.

It had been a long night. Despite having gotten to bed before midnight, I had tossed and turned until the wee hours, replaying every moment with Max in my head.

It had been perfect. Magical, even, as corny as that sounded.

My face literally hurt from smiling so much, and it was getting to the point that I knew I had to cool it before we went for our afternoon walk. If strangers saw me looking this crazy happy, they might think I’d escaped a padded room and stolen someone’s baby.

I took a long sip from my cup, expertly navigating it away from Dylan’s busy little hands. “No, no, sweet pea. Hot, remember?”

She gave me a three-toothed jack-o’-lantern smile and nodded once. My heart melted, and I smooshed a kiss to her smooth, plump cheek.

I couldn’t remember ever feeling this happy and satisfied with my life. Of course, the second I had that thought, a dull sense of worry burrowed in behind it, but I shoved it away.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Nope. I refused to be the worrywart who shat on everything good for fear of the other shoe dropping. Seriously, Max and I weren’t even an item yet. We’d decided to take things slow and see where we ended up. Even if it didn’t work out, we agreed.

Dylan came first.

I thought back to my interview with Max, and a sense of unrest swept over me.

That one dark cloud had been hanging over me this whole time, and I wished like hell I’d handled it differently. When he’d asked about my training and education, that had been the time to come clean. Let him know that, yes, even though I had enough credits to graduate, I still had one more class requirement to get my teaching certificate, and life had gotten in the way.

Probably, it wouldn’t have changed anything. I’d still have gotten the job and it would have been fine. Hindsight was as clear as day. But I’d been desperate and terrified to lose the opportunity, and now?

I shot a glance at Dylan and sighed. Now I just couldn’t take the risk.

My phone buzzed, and I set my coffee mug down to grab it.

Max: Speaking of fitting the right piece into the proper hole, you busy later?

It was followed by a hilarious-looking eyebrow-waggling emoji that had me belly laughing.

I tapped out a quick reply.

Addison: Very smooth, Mr. Alexander. As romantic as that was, I’m still pretty sore from yesterday, so I might need some more convincing.

I was still chuckling at our playful banter when the doorbell rang a couple of minutes later.

“I wonder if that’s the new changing-table pad I ordered for your room,” I said to Dylan as I sat her in her high chair and touched a finger to her nose. “Be right back, lovey.”

The skip was back in my step as I peered out the peephole. The woman standing there didn’t look like a UPS delivery person to me, and I frowned.

She was gorgeous. Dark blond hair fell in soft curls over her shoulders. Full, high breasts strained from a too-tight T-shirt, a pair of second-skin jeans clung to her curves, and her makeup was flawless.

I swung the door open and pasted on a polite smile. “Hi, there. How can I help you?”

The woman blinked her wide eyes once, then twice, before the answer hit me like a brick to the side of the head.

Dylan’s mother.

Until now, I’d always thought that Dylan looked like her daddy. She had his expressions and that same little dimple in her chin. But as I stared at the woman I now knew to be Jenn, I realized I’d been dead wrong. Dylan was the spitting image of her stunningly beautiful mother.

The air left me like a popped balloon, and I tried to think of something . . . anything to say.

Luckily, she saved me the effort.

“Who are you?” she asked, eyeing me warily up and down.

It took all I had not to run a hand through my mussed hair. That was, until I realized I was wearing a baggy AC/DC T-shirt and a pair of faded leggings I’d had since college.

“I’m the nanny. My name is Addison.” I opened the door wider and waved a hand to usher her in.

From what Max had told me, the woman wasn’t a psycho, and he hadn’t told me to keep her out. It hardly seemed my place as the new nanny to tell the woman who had given birth to Dylan that she wasn’t welcome, but at the same time, Max hadn’t said to allow her in either.

I cursed myself for not pressing the issue harder when I’d thought of it early on. He’d seemed so sure she was out of the picture . . .

“Hi, Addison, I’m Jenn. Dylan’s mom.” She stepped into the foyer and glanced around.

I followed her gaze and wanted to weep with relief as I saw the place through her eyes.

It was clean, but also looked lived in. The blanket fort near the couch and the makeshift pots-and-pan drum kit made it very clear that the baby and I had spent some fun time together, a fact that made me feel marginally better.

“I saw the resemblance right away,” I said, leading her into the kitchen, wondering if I was doing the right thing. “She looks just like you.” I shot a glance at the clock and realized Max would be home within the next half hour, and he could make that decision for himself.

Jenn squealed as she caught sight of the baby, who was playing with a cone and a set of colorful rubber donuts in graduated sizes.

“There’s my girl!”

I stood to the side, my stomach pitching wildly as I waited to see what would happen next, telling myself not to feel hurt no matter what. This was Dylan’s mother. Yeah, Jenn had left her here, but that didn’t change the fact that she’d carried Dylan for nine months and then raised her for the first year of her life.

But Dylan barely even looked up before going back to playing with her toys.

Jenn’s mouth went tight with what looked like irritation, but I was sure must be hurt, and I instantly felt awful for her.

“She’s probably just tired,” I announced with a dismissive wave. “She’s decided that two naps a day are for wimps, so we’ve been working through her cranky time in the afternoon. Dylan, your mommy is here. You want to come out and say hi?”

She perked up as I held my arms out to her and tugged her from her high chair.

Jenn held out her arms expectantly, but Dylan shook her head.

“No.”

This was getting more awkward by the second. I shot a glance at my phone, wondering if I should sneak away and call Max after all. I didn’t want to leave the baby alone with Jenn, but at the same time, I was starting to wonder if I’d made a mistake by even letting her in.

Jenn’s pretty face was flushed with what looked like irritation, and I held the baby more firmly to my hip. This was not the tearful reunion I’d have expected at all.

“Does Max know you were coming, or should I give him a call and let him know you stopped by?”

“I spoke to him last night, actually.”

That sent me reeling as a thousand thoughts attacked me at once. Why hadn’t he told me about her call? He’d had more than one opportunity, both last night and this morning when we chatted over breakfast and he’d given me a quick kiss good-bye. Even a text could have worked if he’d forgotten.

But he hadn’t forgotten. That would be a pretty big thing to not recall.

Which meant he’d intentionally hidden it from me.