The Office Rival: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

“Oh my God.” I stop him, raising my palm to his face. “Who the hell is talking about marriage here?”

“I just assumed because the two of you are single—”

“He’s not single. Have you not listened to Mom at all?”

“I try not to. It’s what happens when you’ve been married for forty years. You tend to zone out. Your mother could talk a glass eye to sleep,” he says, scratching his belly.

I ignore his ramblings and move on inside to join them in the kitchen. Mom has stacked a plate of pancakes in front of Haden. Looking quite pleased with his hefty appetite, she pours him some coffee, and I nearly grab the cup from him.

God, I miss it so much.

“Your sister will be arriving this afternoon with her friend, Melissa,” Mom tells us.

“My sister is a lesbian,” I mention casually to Haden.

“Presley Victoria Malone!” Mom scolds.

“Well, it’s the truth, Deidre,” Dad says with a mouthful of toast. “God gives ya what He gives ya. Gemma is a good girl.”

“So, you’re saying I’m not?”

“Poodle, truth be it… this baby wasn’t exactly planned. Besides, what happened with you two? Because Reverend Keith could sure have a word with the both of you.”

I groan at the mention of Reverend Keith. If my parents’ grand plan is to try to marry me off to the Jerk, it’s time to set the record straight. Unlike my usual opinionated self, I struggle to get a single word out and look at Haden for answers. His eyes lift while grabbing a napkin to wipe his mouth. My gaze wanders down to his full lips, glazed in maple syrup. Gliding his tongue along his lips, his eyes continue to watch me with a quizzical stare.

Oh my God, Presley, look away. I shake my head to pull myself out of this pornographic maple syrup fantasy and focus on the question. We hadn’t really come up with a story, so I guess there’s no better way than stating the obvious, and Haden takes charge by leading the explanation.

“Presley and I have been friends for a while, but, of course, she was engaged. I’d always had a thing for her but respected her relationship. When she broke it off, I wanted to take things further.”

With a steady gaze, I look at him thinking what a lie he’s spun. Apparently, I hadn’t been privy to his talents yet.

“Presley has told us you’re engaged to someone else?” Mom interrogates.

“Yes, I am.”

This is probably the moment I need to throw him a lifejacket. But this is fun, so I sit back and watch the show unfold. Let’s see what other lie he can come up with.

“Well, I’m sorry if I’m out of place but marrying another woman when expecting a child is somewhat confusing?” Mom continues to pry.

Haden takes a long sip of his coffee and places the cup on the knitted coaster. “I can understand why you think that. Eloise came into my life before I knew about the baby.”

He shuffles awkwardly, so I throw him that much-needed lifejacket.

“Look, Mom and Dad, Haden and I had our fun and well… this is what happened. If you don’t mind, I’d like to give him a tour of the house, then maybe show him around town.”

I don’t wait for their response and motion for him to follow me. As soon as he catches on, we make our way upstairs, and I show him to the guest room.

“I’m apologizing in advance for the plaid. Mom is a little, um…”

He laughs. “She’s a mom. She’d get along great with my mom. It was the plaid generation.”

I let out a similar laugh. “And my sister, Gemma… sorry about blurting that out.”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologiz

e for everything.”

I lean against the wall as he sorts out his bags. “This is weird.”