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Prologue

Well, this was unfortunate, Charlie thought as she stood there, taking in the largewet, covered in flour, and what appeared to be cocoa powder, his tie was burnt, his shirt was destroyed and he had absolutely no idea who she hich was understandable since he normally went out of his way to avoid her

That was confirmed seconds later when that familiar expression that she was used to by now crossed his features, the saure out where he knew her froaze darted down to her shirt, the one that she wore every day to work, the sa, he took in her curly chestnut hair pulled back into a ponytail before looking down at her Harry Potter watch and-

That was apparently enough to jog his memory

“What can I help you with, Charlie?” Devin Bradford, her boss for the past five years and the reason why she no longer left food unattended in the break-roo as he reached down and pulled a pink jus off and tossed it aside

“I’ not taking that two-bedrooe, kitty litter, and other things that had turned her stolanced back down at the post-it note in her hand to ht address

She did, which meant…

“You’re here about the in-law aparth as he rubbed his hands slowly down his face

“Maybe,” Charlie murmured, ood idea, not with her quitting and everything Not that he knew that she was quitting, and since she didn’t plan on telling him until she was ready, she felt that it would be in her best interest if she got back in her car, drove to work, and spent the rest of the day hiding in her office with the hopes that he would forget this ever happened Then again, ht as she stood there, blinking up at the largedown at her

Maybe not, Charlie thought, when he said, “This isn’t fucking happening”

“Okay,” Charlie said as she bit back a sigh of disappoint this apartment

If she was going to od, she really hoped this worked, she was going to need a cheaper apartive up her two-bedrooht now Well, she did, but since she’d let Ben talk her into setting a deadline to get her coure out a na within the year, she had to do this The only way that she was going to be able to do that was by saving enoughback on her expenses

She’d already canceled her cable, figured out a way to cut her cellphone bill in half, switched her car insurance, canceled all those memberships that she’d told herself that she would use one day but never had, Googled ways to cut her utility bills in half, set a budget and at soave up those expensive creamy Frappuccinos with an extra shot of butterscotch and chocolate syrup that she liked somore so that she wasn’t dependent on takeout Asa soal faster This apartment was three hundred dollars cheaper than the rest of the apart and would definitely help, but it didn’t look like that was going to-

“I quit!” the small woman covered from he

ad to toe in flour and green glitter said as she tightened her hold around the tan handbag covered in black ic marker and ran for it

“Shit!” Devin said, looking anxiously over his shoulder before glancing back at the small woman as she tripped over her feet and-

Quickly picked herself back up as she threw a panicked look over her shoulder, released a terrified screa as Devin bit out, “Shit!” again After one last look over his shoulder, he went after her For aas the small woman ran towards her car only to rethink that plan when she spotted Devin co, “You can’t o back in there!” as she went

Wondering if she should expand her search to include rooms for rent, Charlie slipped the post-it note back in her pocket, turned around to head to her car only to turn right back around again and invited herself in when she heard a child say the onna need matches” Once she was inside the house that looked like it had been hit by a tornado, Charlie carefully , stepping over toys, crayons, and Legos as she went When she opened the kitchen door, she co from the house

---

“This isn’t fucking happening,” Devin said as he stood there, forced to watch as the woive this another chance tore out of his driveway, leaving a cloud of dust behind

What the hell was he going to do now?

He was going to panic That’s what he was going to do, Devin decided as he walked back inside his house, pulling his phone out as he went and began scrolling through his contacts, trying to figure out hoas going to convince his mother to put off her vacation for another day so that-

“What’s your favorite dinosaur?” he heard Dustin ask as he opened the kitchen door and found the sently working her fingers through his son’s soapy hair only pausing long enough to add more shampoo before she continued

“That’s a tough one,” Charlie said with a thoughtful frown as Dustin, who never sat still, cal for her to answer him

“I’irl, said from where she sat on the counter, wrapped in her favorite Mickey Mouse toith her wet hair neatly combed and a clipboard with one of the rental applications that he’d printed for the in-law apartment on her lap

He’d been putting off renting out the in-law apart older and Bradford Creations growing, Devin didn’t have much of a choice He needed help, which hy he’d been hoping to rent the aparte for low rent and a few hours of babysitting a week What he hadn’t expected was for her to show up

He didn’t knohat it was about her, but since the day that she showed up for an intervieearing an Indiana Jones tee-shirt and the cutest fucking smile that he’d ever seen, Devin hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her Within the first thirty seconds ofher would be ain and tossing her resume in the trash as soon as she left only to find hi her that the job was hers before she made it to the front door

It had been afor the past five years and it had nothing to do with her job He wanted her God, did he fucking want her It didn’t matter how many times he reminded hi about her It was the reason why he’d turned the second-floor storage room into her office and avoided the break-room when he knew that she was in there because he wasn’t supposed to want her

He’d made a promise to his children when they were born and he planned on keeping it That ht his attention in the first place She was nothing like the wo with an unhealthy obsession with Harry Potter and the bluest fucking eyes that he’d ever seen

“That’s a good idea,” Charlie said with one of those warm smiles that he tried not to think about litter out of Dustin’s hair and gestured for him to cover his eyes

“What’s the next question?” Dustin asked, obediently covering his eyes so that Charlie could rinse his hair

Frowning, Abbi glanced down at the application and said, “What’s your favorite ice crea him smile

“Hhtful before adding, “that’s a tough one, but I think I’h”

“That’s Daddy’s favorite, too,” Abbi said, nodding solereen crayon

“Are the brownies done?” Dustin asked, re him of the reason that they were in this mess in the first place

“Al over at the oven as the scent of warht his attention