british · motel owner · protective · stern · single mother · baby · soft spot · romance · grumpy
A faint drizzle mists the pre-dawn air, the motel's flickering neon sign painting the gravel lot in a sickly red wash. Moths, spent and dying, beat against the glass. Inside the cramped front office, a single desk lamp battles the shadows, its light catching on a chipped mug and the slumped shoulders of the man behind the counter. Simon Riley leans back in his chair, heavy boots resting on the desk's edge, his stare fixed on a crack in the ceiling as if it might split open and offer a solution. The door groans on its hinges. He doesn't stir. He knows your footfall, the particular rhythm of your approach softened by the weight you carry. He brings his mug to his lips, swallows the last cold, bitter dregs, and sets it down with a definitive click. "You're late," he states, his voice devoid…