Mr. Roommate: Single Dad & Virgin Romance

“And you must be Hannah.” Brent turned to me and extended his hand. “Come on inside and I’ll show you the place.”

“He seems nice…” I whispered to my father once Brent had taken a few steps into the house.

“Anthony seemed nice too.” My father shot me a glare and then stepped into the doorway of the house.

Brent

Hannah turned out to be as gorgeous as her profile picture and even more so in real life. She had curves that I couldn’t ignore, even if I wanted to. The way her jeans hugged her hips made them look like they were carved on her body. She looked around the house aimlessly while her father studied every inch of it with an intent curiosity. He stared at every photo as if he was trying to get them to speak to him and as he walked around the house he gave everything a gentle nod or a disapproving shake of his head. I really couldn’t read him

. It seemed strange that he would even consider letting his daughter move in with a man she didn’t know. I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to do that with Melody, but we were many years away from that even being something I had to consider. After they had the grand tour, we all reconvened in the living room.

“You have an alarm system, I see.” He pointed to a box on the wall. It was old, but it still worked.

“I do.” I nodded. “This is a very safe neighborhood, though. I don’t think we’ve had as much as a random stranger walking the streets in years.”

“I can believe that.” He nodded in approval. “The guard at the gate is a nice touch as well.”

“Frank?” I chuckled. “Well, the gate does the work. Frank just waves most people through if he recognizes the car.”

“Are you considering this place?” Hannah looked at her father and her tone reflected surprise.

“Maybe.” He walked over to the liquor cabinet and picked up my bottle of Scotch. It was a gift from Steve, and I hadn’t opened it yet. “Is the girl in the photographs your daughter?”

“Yes, that’s my Melody. She’s a handful.” I smiled and nodded.

“She’s cute.” Hannah walked over to one of the photographs. “She doesn’t live with you?”

“No, she lives with her mother. That’s actually why I need a roommate. My wife—well, ex-wife—stuck me with a mortgage I can’t easily afford while paying child support.” I let out a sigh. “Not that I would ever consider skipping a payment. I’d rather live on the streets.”

“My daughter means as much to me as Melody means to you. You get that, right?” Her father put down the Scotch and turned towards me.

“Well, of course.” I nodded quickly.

“You’re a boxer?” He walked over to my trophy case that he had looked at intently during the tour.

“I used to be, but I quit after I got married. Now I just beat up the bag in the garage.” I chuckled.

“My daughter’s ex-boyfriend is a basket case. Even if we’re on the other side of the country, I wouldn’t put it past him to show up here.” He turned to me.

“Dad!” Hannah snapped at her father angrily. “You don’t have to tell everyone about Anthony.”

“I’m just saying—Brent here seems like the kind of guy that could handle things if that asshole shows up.” He tilted his head towards me.

“Come on, he’s not going to show up here.” She glared at her father for a moment and then turned her head towards me. “We’ll be going now—I’m sorry we wasted your time.”

“Hold on now.” Mr. Smith held his hand up. “I think I like this place.”

“What?” Hannah’s mouth opened in shock. “You do?”

“I wasn’t entirely convinced I could handle you living with a man you don’t know, but Brent seems like an honorable guy. I would feel good knowing you had someone like that around if anything went wrong.” He walked over and extended his hand to me. “If you want a roommate, I think this could work.”

“Well…” I was a bit surprised, but I did need a roommate. I reached out and took his hand. “I definitely need a roommate.”

“Excellent.” He shook my hand. “I’ll fly out when I can to visit, but I’m trusting you with my daughter—I hope you understand how much faith I’m putting in you.

I’ll make sure her half of everything is covered—you just make sure she gets to class everyday when school starts—deal?” He released his grip on my hand and his arm fell to his side.

“Deal…” I nodded.