Love Notes & Lifelines

The job was simple. Always answer the phone-no exceptions-then solve the caller's catastrophe as efficiently as possible.



The rules were simpler. They contact you, not the other way around. Never give them your real name, number, or any personal information not required to help a newly single dad keep his head above water.



And never, ever get involved with a caller.



Simple, right?



Becker Hayes was not who I was expecting to call during my shift with the Single Dad Hotline. He's my boss's boss. In the boardroom he's rich, powerful, detached. In my calendar he's the enigmatic one-time kiss I was never supposed to see again. But on the other end of the phone, he's vulnerable and reeling from becoming guardian to his young nieces.



I'm not thinking straight when I offer him a little help off the books. Not when my mother's illness is winning the battle and I'd give anything for a distraction from the loneliness.



So when the Single Dad Hotline blows up my life, what's a girl to do but say yes to everything he's offering?