Mommy's Boyfriend (Be My Boyfriend Book 1)

by Victoria Snow

  With a small smile, I approached Jayden’s racecar bed and sat down at the edge. “Jayden, honey?” I whispered to my sleeping child. When that didn’t rouse him, I lifted my hand to stroke his thick blond hair. “Come on, sleepyhead. It’s time for you to start the day.”

  That got his attention. The toddler lifted his head from the pillow with a drowsy expression. He brought one of his small fists to his eyes and rubbed them sleepily. “Mama, is it morning already?” he asked in his cute, high-pitched voice.

  “Yes, baby. Come on now, you don’t want to be late for pre-school, do you?”

  The mention of his school had him shooting up. “No! I wan’ see Miss Grayson and Steven!” he cried out in excitement, still unable to pronounce his words properly, before scooting out of the bed and hurrying to his closet. He began pulling out his clothes in our familiar morning ritual and I rolled my eyes lovingly.

  “What do you want to wear today, Jayden? Dinos? Cars?” I asked, approaching him and helping him to sift through his mountain of clothes.

  “I wan’ cars!” he answered with joy. “Mommy, can I have cars?”

  “Of course, baby,” I told him. “You can have whatever you want.”

  After I finished helping him get dressed, Jayden decided he wanted to go show Granny his clothes, so he hurried to my mom’s room while I went downstairs to get started on his breakfast. At the same time, I prepared my lunch for work and thought long and hard about the whole Spencer situation.

  My mom was so important to me that I couldn’t risk any gossip about her just for the sake of some sordid fling with Spencer. After all, I was lucky to have a mother who loved me and was willing to help me raise my son. I knew a lot of people who wouldn’t do that for their children. There’s no way I’d have ever been able to work and raise Jayden at the same time. After all, Mom even altered her work schedule to help me! She started working half days on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that I could work and she could pick up Jayden from pre-school for me. Honestly, she was an angel. She was totally my rock and I didn’t want to jeopardize that for some guy I barely knew, even if he was Jayden’s dad.

  Once Jayden’s scrambled eggs were ready and my lunch was all packed, my mom walked into the kitchen holding Jayden’s hand and they were both grinning wide. As soon as Jayden saw me, he came running over and wrapped his arms around my leg, giving me a big hug. I smiled. Jayden was the center of my world now. No matter what, I had to put him first.

  I leaned down and picked him up and hugged him tight. “I love you, little man,” I told him before heading over to the dining table and setting him in his booster seat. I proceeded to help him feed himself spoonful after spoonful of eggs before cutting up some fruit for him. Jayden, however, wasn’t quite as interested in his nutrition as I was.

  “Eggy, eggy, egg, egg!” Jayden cried excitedly as he mashed his spoon into the dish over and over until the scrambled eggs became very, very scrambled. “Egg scramble. Scramble the eggy.”

  I tried so hard not to laugh. “Jayden, your food is for eating, not playing,” I told him, even though I couldn’t help but enjoy how much fun he was having.

  “I eat the egg,” Jayden said with a serious face, staring in my direction. “I play with the egg!” he screamed once more before jamming his spoon so hard against the dish that it clattered and the egg spilled over the edges.

  Despite the mess, I couldn’t help but laugh. It was something so profoundly innocent and wholesome that I was reminded once again of how lucky I was and how excited I was to see Jayden grow up. I knew he was going to make a great adult one day.

  When Jayden’s breakfast was finally eaten, after a lot of bribing and persuasion, I cleaned up the mess and grabbed his little rucksack along with my own before heading out the door. Dropping him off at pre-school was easy. Jayden was always so excited to go and play with his friends. It was easier to leave him now than it had been at the start, but I always still felt a pang when I left him behind.

  It was just a ten-minute walk to the grocery store and I arrived with more than enough time to spare. I intended to go and check who else was working today in the hopes of seeing Dahlia, but when I went into the staff room, the only person waiting for me there was Colin. Colin who had asked me to go on a date with him just yesterday. My heart sunk and I prayed to any and every god that he might just ignore me.

  The gods were not kind to me that day.

  “Rylee! You’re bright and early today. That’s just what we like to see in all our employees!” he greeted me in a far too cheerful voice for nine in the morning.

  “You know me, Colin. Ever the overachiever,” I told him, feeling like a fraud.

  What kind of overachiever dropped out of college?

  “Well, since you have a few minutes before you start, would you mind coming to the back room and helping me with pricing a pallet of canned soup?” he asked with a hopeful expression. “Jesse the stock room boy just called in sick and I don’t have anyone I can call in.”

  I hesitated for a moment. I wasn’t sure I relished the thought of being alone with Colin for a long period of time, but it would also be a nice break from the check outs. “Sure,” I told him eventually and shrugged. “Why not?”

  Pricing the stock actually wasn’t as bad as I thought. It was a little bit repetitive placing the same labels over and over again, but it wasn’t exactly hard. Colin made for great company too. Despite his proposal yesterday, I was sure we could be great friends. He really was a friendly, funny guy. I was getting a little lost in my own thoughts that I forgot he’d started telling me a story. I turned to him and tried my best to pay attention to the end of it.

  “That was when my friend Ian told us all, with a straight face no less, that he honestly thought chocolate milk came from brown cows. Apparently, his dad had told him that as a kid and growing up, he’d just never really questioned it. Can you believe that?” Colin told me with a guffaw of laughter.

  “I’ve heard little kids say that before, but I can’t imagine a grown man still believing it,” I said with a wide smile. “You set him straight, right?”

  “Of course, I did, but only after some merciless teasing.” He nudged my arm with his and I could feel his body steadily moving closer to mine. I wasn’t enjoying how friendly he was suddenly becoming. I put a little bit of space between us and tried to focus on the task at hand.

  “Anyway,” Colin began as he changed the subject. “You know, Rylee, I do really value our friendship. I enjoy working with you and spending time together, but I can’t help but think we could have something more. Don’t you?”

  I bristled. This was exactly the conversation I was hoping to avoid. “It’s… It’s complicated, Colin,” I told him, feeling totally overwhelmed by how many strange things were happening to me lately. “I have a son to raise and a career to focus on. It isn’t easy and I need to keep a clear head in order to do those things. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, there’s no reason for me to get in the way of any of that,” Colin argued before leaning on one of the pallets and putting down his pricing gun. “I’m really looking forward to becoming a father one day soon and I think Jayden might really like me if you gave him the chance. I’m great with kids.”

  I felt stumped by his response. I expected most guys to be put off by the fact that I’m a single mother with a kid that belonged to someone else. I hadn’t ever even really considered being with someone while I raised Jayden. The two ideas seemed so completely separate. When I really thought about it, I began to wonder if Colin and Jayden might actually get along… I stopped that thought. It was wrong.

  He was my boss after all!

  “It doesn’t matter anyway,” I told him with a defiant jut of my chin. “I’m still your employee and I don’t plan on quitting anytime soon. I really need this job. I can’t risk it for something as silly as a relationship.”

  “If that’s the only thing that’s keeping you from going on a date with me, then you don’t need to worry,”
he said with confidence and stepped closer to me once again. “All we have to do is fill out the correct paperwork, file it with Human Resources, and it’s all good! We might have to meet with them at Head Office at some point, but those are all just minor details. As long as we keep everything above board, there’s no way the store will stand in the way of our relationship.”

  It was then that I realized Colin was incredibly close to me. My eyes widened as his hands moved upward and he placed them on my shoulders and stared down into my eyes. It was such a similar way to how Spencer had looked at me just two days ago, but it felt entirely different. There was no heat between us, no spark, but Colin still seemed so determined.

  “I think you forget how special you are, Rylee. You deserve to have someone in your life who can help you with everything. Someone who really cares about you. I think I could be that guy.” His expression looked genuine and soft. I could tell that he really meant what he was saying, but somehow it just felt wrong. I wasn’t attracted to him and stringing him along would just be plain wrong.

  Except, I did really want someone in my life who could help me during those rough days where I feel exhausted and couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed. The more I thought about Jayden having some kind of father figure, the more appealing it sounded. Colin was a nice guy, even if he hardly compared to Spencer. He was nowhere near as intelligent, witty, or charming. Even though Spencer was here right now, who knew what could happen in the future? After all, he was the one who took off on a six-month long trip to Chicago without so much as a phone call. I didn’t know how long he might stay before he up and vanished again…

  “I’ll think about it,” I finally told Colin with a gentle smile. “That’s the best I can do right now.”

  I noticed that Colin’s expression changed to one of disappointment. It seemed like he really was interested in me and I liked him a lot, even if it was just as a friend. I hated seeing him frown. I wanted to reassure him.

  “I promise, I’ll really, really think about it,” I added and touched his hand.

  Colin only nodded in response before turning away and carrying on working on pricing up the cans. It didn’t take long, we had finished almost all of them, but we carried on chatting in an upbeat way, even if it was a little more awkward than before.

  As we were finally leaving the back room, I turned to Colin. “I’m pretty sure that pricing gun saw more action this morning than I’ve seen in the last five years!” I joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

  Colin laughed whole-heartedly and put his hand on my shoulder, smiling down at me. “You really are something, Rylee Bratton,” he whispered and I couldn’t help but smile back for a moment.

  My smile was wiped away in an instant, however, when I looked up to see the person that seemed to be haunting me lately: Spencer. This time, however, Spencer looked pissed.

  7

  Spencer

  It had been just another Thursday morning for me up until I spotted Rylee in the grocery store with another man’s hand on her. I had been out for a jog in the morning before showering and deciding to see if Rylee might be working today. In spite of her reluctance to get involved with me again, I still found myself longing to see her. I wanted to look at her face and find a way to get through to her. I had to. I wasn’t going to lose her—not again.

  But when I arrived at the store, I never expected to see her with another man. Jealousy overwhelmed me and I felt my whole body tense. I really, really did not like the idea of Rylee being with another man. Admittedly, they were clearly co-workers who were wearing similar uniforms and name tags, but still, I didn’t like the way the brown-haired stranger was looking down at her and smiling. I wanted to walk right over there and slap his hand right off her shoulder, but I knew I was just being dramatic. I couldn’t do that to her. If I did, she’d probably be humiliated and never speak to me again.

  It hurt, however, to see her smiling back at him. Since I’d arrived back in Halston, Rylee hadn’t smiled at me, not even once. I wanted so badly to be the one to make her face light up like that and seeing someone else capable of doing it made jealousy bubble up inside me. I did my best to try and quell it, but it was overwhelming me.

  Trying to be sensible, I maintained my best poker face and approached her. “Rylee! It’s so good to see you. How are you doing?” I said in a way that seemed far too lively to be honest.

  Rylee frowned over at me and drew her eyebrows together. “Spencer? What are you doing here?” she questioned.

  “Oh, your mother asked me to pick you up and take you out to dinner with us tonight,” I explained with a pointed smile at the man stood next to her. “And who might this be? A colleague?”

  “I’m Colin, I’m technically Rylee’s boss,” the brown-haired man said by means of introduction. “Speaking of which, I need to go check something on aisle three. It was nice to meet you, Spencer.” He disappeared into a crowd of shoppers and I stopped paying attention to him, instead turning my gaze back to Rylee who still looked as beautiful as ever even while wearing her bottle green work uniform.

  “So, are you okay to go for dinner with us this evening?” I asked, prompting her to response.

  “I don’t get it. Mom didn’t mention anything about going out for dinner tonight,” she told me with a perplexed look on her face. “Why didn’t she tell me about it herself?”

  “It was meant to be a surprise!” I said with a smile, quickly thinking of an excuse to explain it. “Of course, we needed someone to come pick you up. Unless you want to walk all the way to the restaurant?”

  Rylee took a deep breath and gave me a half-hearted smile. “No, of course not,” she answered with a shake of her head.

  “Great!” I replied, feeling pleased that my plan was working. “What time does your shift end then? I’ll come and collect you.”

  “Seven,” she told me.

  “Wonderful. I’ll meet you out in the parking lot at seven then. I’m looking forward to it.” I shot her a wink before turning and walking out of the store and feeling more resolute than ever that I needed to find some way to convince Rylee that we belonged together.

  * * *

  I spent the rest of the day practically vibrating with excitement and counting down to seven when I would get to see Rylee again. When the clock turned seven, I was already waiting outside, impatiently tapping my foot against the concrete. I’d made an effort with my appearance and I was wearing an expensive black shirt with a pair of denim jeans. Still, I knew I couldn’t really compare with guys half my age, but I hoped that Rylee was the type of woman who didn’t care.

  A few minutes passed before Rylee appeared still wearing her uniform and my face lit up at the sight of her. She let her hair out of the bun that had been tied on top of her head and now her stunning blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders instead. Every time I saw her, I was overwhelmed by her beauty.

  “Good evening, Rylee,” I greeted and took a few steps toward her.

  She walked toward me with her arms crossed and she avoided my gaze. Clearly, she was still feeling awkward about everything. “What is this all about, Spencer?” she asked, her posture stiff and unyielding.

  “If you get in the car with me, I’ll happily explain everything,” I told her.

  She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh before saying, “Fine.” We both climbed into the car and I set off in the direction of the place I wanted to take her.

  “Where’s Mom?” Rylee questioned, staring over at me and pouting.

  “She isn’t coming. It’s just going to be the two of us,” I answered as I kept my eyes trained on the road. “I suggested to Robin this morning that I should take you for dinner and help get you on the same page as us in terms of the fake boyfriend plan.”

  Rylee nodded her understanding before turning and looking out the window again. She didn’t seem to show any interest in maintaining a normal conversation with me which didn’t bode well for me, but I wasn’t going to give up without trying my b
est.

  “Besides, I figured it would give us the chance to talk and clear the air about what happened yesterday,” I added with a quick glance to my right.

  Rylee wasn’t looking at me. Instead, her eyes were trained on the passing countryside as she stared out of the passenger side window. I desperately wanted her to look my way again. I wanted to see how she really felt about spending time with me, whether she was excited or annoyed. But instead, she kept her face turned away and it was frustrating.

  “Where are we going?” she asked after a beat of silence.

  “I have a nice little spot in mind,” I explained. “It’s not far and it shouldn’t take us long to get there.” We’d already passed the outskirts of Halston by that point and after a few more minutes of driving, I turned down a back road that was made of gravel.

  “There’s no restaurant this far outside of Halston,” Rylee pointed out.

  “That’s because we aren’t going to a restaurant,” I responded with a devilish smirk.

  Rylee turned to me then and I took the opportunity to glance over at her. Her face was unreadable. I couldn’t tell how she was feeling at all and I hated not knowing. I turned my eyes back to the road and focused on driving instead, determined to reach our destination as quickly as possible. It was only a minute or so before I found the turning that led to a small parking lot. I drove inside and parked up before switching off the ignition and climbing out of the car.

  “You’re taking me for a hike?” Rylee asked as she followed me with one skeptical eyebrow raised. She looked over at the trail markers and studied them for a moment before looking down at her feet. “I’m not exactly wearing the right shoes for this. Not to mention I’m in a skirt… My work uniform of all things,” she complained.

  I grabbed a large rucksack from the backseat of the car and nodded. “It’s a short trail, don’t worry. We’re not going far and if you struggle, I can always carry you.” I caught her eye and winked in her direction. She rolled her eyes at me but followed me regardless. That had to be a good sign, right?