Finally (Neighbor from Hell #12) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,2
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 cream?” making him smile.
“Hmmm,” Charlie said, pursing her lips up, looking thoughtful before adding, “that’s a tough one, but I think I’m gonna have to go with chocolate chip cookie dough.”
“That’s Daddy’s favorite, too,” Abbi said, nodding solemnly as she scribbled something on the application with a green crayon.
“Are the brownies done?” Dustin asked, reminding him of the reason that they were in this mess in the first place.
“Almost,” Charlie said, glancing over at the oven as the scent of warm brownies caught his attention.
“What about the muffins?” Abbi asked, making him frown.
She’d made muffins?
God, he fucking loved muffins.
“Five more minutes,” Charlie said, making him realize how much time he’d wasted trying to convince the babysitter that hadn’t lasted the week to come back.
“Are you going to take the apartment?” Dustin asked as Charlie picked up a facecloth and began working on removing the glittery-paste mess from behind his ears.
“That’s up to your dad,” Charlie said, rinsing the facecloth as Devin stood there, thinking of all the reasons that this was a bad idea, but one look at his smiling children’s faces had him doing something that he already regretted.
Chapter 1
One Week Later…
She should probably be concerned that someone was in her bed, Charlie thought as she rolled over and found herself smiling when she spotted her new BFF sitting on the bed next to her, wearing the cutest pair of tighty-whities that she’d ever seen, with a large bowl of Fruit Loops on his lap as he watched SpongeBob Square Pants.
“I made breakfast,” Dustin said around a mouthful of Fruit Loops.
“You did?” Charlie asked, biting back a yawn as she sat up next to him.
“You were out of toast,” he said, gesturing to the tray on the bed in front of him.
“I see,” Charlie said, taking in the large bowl of Fruit Loops, the glass filled to the rim with chocolate milk, fruit snacks, a Hostess Cupcake, and the mess covering the tray and felt her lips twitch.
“That looks delicious. Thank you,” she said, helping herself to the other bowl of cereal and settled in next to him to watch SpongeBob.
“You’re welcome,” Dustin said as she glanced at her alarm clock and noted the time.
“Why are you up so early?” Charlie asked as she reached over and turned her alarm off before it could go off.
“Meeting with my teacher,” Dustin said, shrugging it off as he placed his bowl down and reached for the Hostess Cupcake and broke it in half.
“That sounds like fun,” Charlie said as she accepted her half of the cupcake and took a bite.
“She doesn’t like me,” Dustin mumbled, making her frown.
“Why do you say that?” she asked, finishing the cupcake.
Shrugging, Dustin said, “Because I can’t read,” only to follow that up with, “Why is your bed in the living room?” before she could say anything.
“Because a bed is more comfortable than a couch,” Charlie said, deciding not to mention that she’d decided to use the bedroom as an office so that she could get her unnamed business up and running part-time to make sure that this was going to work before she risked everything.
“It really is,” Dustin readily agreed with a nod as he reached for the glass of chocolate milk only to make a bigger mess.
“Here,” she said, smiling as she carefully pulled the tray closer so that he could lean over and take a sip.
“Thank you,” he said, wiping his mouth on the back of his arm before returning his attention to his bowl of Fruit Loops as something occurred to her.
“How did you get in here?” Charlie asked, already deciding that she’d leave the door unlocked from now on since there really was nothing like being served breakfast in bed by an incredibly handsome man.
“The key,” Dustin said around a mouthful of cereal.
“That would do it,” she said, nodding solemnly as Abbi walked in and climbed onto the bed with a yawn as she sat down on the bed next to her twin brother.
“Daddy’s looking for you,” Abbi mumbled sleepily as she reached over and helped herself to a spoonful of her brother’s Fruit Loops.
“I’m with my lady,” Dustin said, making her lips twitch.
“We’re not supposed to be in here,” Abbi said, confirming Charlie’s suspicions.