Page 6 of Fake Daddy

“All right, Tyler, what do you think?”

Spinning him around, I show him the back view with a hand mirror reflecting off my station’s mirror.

“You even got the curls right,” he marvels as a slow smile accentuates a dimple on his right cheek that I remember from when we were kids.

“Looks good, son,” the man says as he stands next to me. My skin prickles with awareness, and it suddenly hits me.

This is Cort Baker.

My former stepdad.

A man I used to call fake daddy to tease him.

Oh, dear lord. I’ve got the hots for my mom’s ex-husband.

“Better than the guy you take me to,” Tyler teases Cort. “Think you might need to sit in Darling’s chair.” He winks, and Cort’s eyes wander over to me in the mirror, rolling up and down my body in appreciation.

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” He scrubs a hand along his jaw. “Think you got time today for another wash and cut?”

Clearing my throat, I dip my head and move to clean my instruments before answering. “Once I’m finished with Evan’s cut and consult, I’m sure I can.”

“Consult?”

I peek up to see Cort grimacing at his younger son.

“Mary told me Evan wants to colour his hair and asked me to talk him through the process to figure out what his options would be.” I’m reticent because even though I knew this family for a time, I won’t step between parents over their child’s hair choices.

“Right, she told me that. Why, Ev?” Cort asks as the boy slips into my chair.

Can I even call him a boy? Sure, I’m seven or eight years older than him, but he’s almost half a foot bigger than me.

“I wanted something different. Thought colour might be it.” Evan's cheeks pinken, and I sense this might be over a girl.

“Nothing crazy,” Cort replies as he moves to sit in the chair that Evan vacated, while Tyler moves to the waiting room.

“Sure thing, Dad.”

I stifle a chuckle at Evan’s cheeky grin.

“Don’t let him talk you into anything outrageous,” Cort warns me. There’s this look in his eyes that causes me to blush.

I wonder if he recognizes me.

I notice the attraction in Cort’s eyes and realize I can’t keep up my silence. He needs to know who I am, and I need to be shaken out of this attraction because it’s forbidden in the most taboo sort of way.

“So, Mary told me you were still into gaming, Evan. What do you like to play?” I feel Cort’s inquisitive eyes on me. Did she tell him?

“Madden is my favourite. I’m not any good at playing the sport, but I can game myself into the Super Bowl.” He chuckles at his own joke.

“You always were good at any games we played.” I smile and glimpse the recognition in his eyes.

“Yeah! Mom told me about you, showed me some pictures, but I didn’t remember much. You always made cayenne popcorn and swamp water during our tournaments.”

“I forgot about those.” They were some of the best memories during our time together. Our parents would give the three of us one weekend a month to eat junk food and play video games until the boys went home on Sundays. “Good times,” I murmur.

“Darling Lavigne,” Cort murmurs. “Jesus.” He sits back and swipes his hands up and down his face. “I didn’t recognize you.” Sitting forward, he watches me intently as his eyes roam my body like he’s seeing me for the first time.

“I wasn’t sure if Mary would have told you, but I didn’t feel comfortable not telling you, but then I wasn’t sure how to tell you, and well, now here we are, I guess.” I bite my lip to stop the rambling.

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