Renting Romance

Brooke’s irresponsible mother gave her the job of finding someone to rent out the master bedroom in a last-minute resort to pay their debts. With her head almost above water and Kyle moving in to rent, she drowns again. This time, their debts double and everything is hopeless. No one thought that they could save her. No one, except Kyle. Kyle takes on his landlord’s life as a personal challenge. He thinks he can fix everything, because, after all, he breaks everything and somehow fixes it. Kyle wants to change Brooke’s way of working, partying, and living. “You have potential,” he reached a greasy hand across the car hood to get a bolt, “You are hard-working, and . . . CRAP,” he leaned further into the car. The metal muffled his voice and he came back up with a cute smudge or grease on his nose, “But I think I can show you how to make money while having fun.” “Oh really,” I crossed my arms and leaned on one leg, “and how is that?” I half joked, partially felt offended, and 100 percent could not stop thinking about the cute smudge right between his dark eyes. “How do you think I can afford your high rent?” He closed the hood dramatically. I would have been impressed if there was not a grease rag hanging out the hood still. I pulled it out for him. “I don’t know,” I shoved it into his hard chest, “how do you, genius?”