The Dating Dilemma by Mariah Ankenman

Author:Mariah Ankenman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: City Life Fiction; Contemporary Romance Fiction; General Humorous Fiction; Humor & Satire Fiction; Romantic Themes Workplace; The Dating Dilemma; Mariah Ankenman; Entangled Publishing; Amara; Stand Alone Romance; Single Title Romance; Romantic Comedy Book; New Romantic Comedy; RomCom Book; Romcom Novel; Popular Romance; Mile High Firefighters; Series Romance; Fake Dating Romance; Pretend Relationships Romance; Matchmaker Book; Reformed Playboy; The Wedding Dilemma; Romance book; Romance novel
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2022-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

“Ms. Martin?”

Lexi stopped short of running directly into Mateo. The sixteen-year-old was nearly an inch taller than her, but her head had been down, reading the latest “sorry but we’ve picked another applicant” rejection from one of the grants the center applied to. Dang it! She really shouldn’t be reading while walking.

“Hi Mateo, what is it?”

“Is your boyfriend coming in today? The firefighter guy.”

She opened her mouth to say “he’s not my boyfriend” but he kind of was. At least that’s what they were telling most people and, since Dyson’s sisters were coming to the center on the reg now, she supposed she should let everyone there think they were in an actual relationship.

“Yes, he is. In fact”—she pulled her cell out of her pocket to look at the time—“he should be here any minute. Why?”

Mateo shuffled on his feet, his gaze falling to the worn gray hallway carpeting. “I just had a question for him, no big deal or anything.”

Lexi wasn’t a parent, but she knew when one of her center kids said “it’s not a big deal” it was usually in fact a very big deal. She hoped Mateo wasn’t in any kind of trouble. As much as she told her kids to come to her when they needed something, some of them were too embarrassed or too scared to ask for help. She had no idea what sort of help Dyson could give Mateo, but she’d do anything in her power to make sure the kid got it.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she ignored it.

“As soon as he gets in, I can send him your way.”

Mateo shrugged. “If he has work to do first, that’s fine. I just have a question for him.”

“Okay, but I’ll leave it up to him what he wants to do first. After all, he’s volunteering, so if he wants to talk to you before he gets to work, that’s fine with me.”

She didn’t want Mateo to feel guilty if Dyson decided to talk to him before addressing the center’s repairs. Mateo was such a sweet boy, and he knew how much this place needed help, but often these kids were so busy looking out for their family and friends, they forgot they were important, too.

“I’ll let Dyson know you have a question as soon as I see him.”

“You have a question for me?”

Lexi started, turning at the smooth, familiar voice behind her. Her heart rate kicked up as Dyson stood there, dark blue jeans, heather green T-shirt, dirty blond hair slightly tousled, like he was in need of a haircut and couldn’t quite get it styled properly in the interim. Her stomach dipped, butterflies taking flight as her entire body fell in sync with a common mission.

Doing Dyson.

“Uh, Lexi…”

Dyson’s eyes widened and he nodded toward Mateo. She turned her head to see the kid blushing bright red. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she prayed to every deity in the world that what she assumed just happened did not in fact happen.

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