Irresistible (Neighbor from Hell #11) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,88

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 most days as she finished working the glitter 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 Devin smile.

“Hmmm,” Charlie said, pursing her lips up in thought 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 he 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.

Coming May 2020…

Excerpt from:

Devastated: An Anger Management Novel

“Oh, my god, please make it stop,” Kylie muttered with a tragic sigh as her cell phone continued to chime.

She wanted to cry.

She really did but crying would require energy that she didn’t have right now. Besides, she was going to need all her energy to drag herself out of bed and see what the horrible man wanted.

Why did she have to sign those papers?

Damn Big Daddy and his love of…

Well, she wasn’t exactly sure what he’d been on when he’d burned the apartment building down, but whatever it was she cursed it for putting her in this situation. Even as she struggled to keep her eyes open long enough to sit up on the bare mattress that she’d passed out on a few hours ago, she knew that the fault was hers and hers alone. She’d made a deal with the devil, literally, and now she was paying for it.

Another chime, this one somehow more persistent than the last, had her whimpering pathetically as she reached for her phone. For a moment, she simply held the phone in her hand, praying that this nightmare would end, but the next chime destroyed her dreams and had her sitting up with a groan.

Office in twenty minutes.

Worrying her bottom lip, Kylie glanced from the text, demanding her presence back down to the bare mattress that she never wanted to leave. After a few seconds of indecision, she took a deep breath as she forced herself to climb off the bed and not look back as she made her way to the bathroom, terrified that if she caught even a glimpse of the pillow-top mattress that she would lose this battle.

But God, did she want to lose, Kylie thought with something close to a whimper as she managed to drag herself the rest of the way to the bathroom. Once she was inside the large room that was twice the size of her last apartment, she made quick work of using the bathroom, doubling up on tasks whenever possible so that by the time that she stepped inside the large shower stall her teeth had been brushed, her hair combed, her vitamins taken, her nails had been quickly filed down to a smooth, efficient length, her clothes were laid out for her alongside a fresh planner, pen, and notebook to help her stay organized. All that was left was for her do was to step beneath the ice-cold spray of water and choke back a scream or two as the brisk water gave her the shot of adrenaline that she so desperately needed.

Once she was wide awake and feeling energized, she finished her shower, fixed her hair, got dressed, placed her planner and aforementioned items in her messenger bag and headed for the door, ready to face the day with five minutes to spare. As