He grinned at the mention of his mate. “I will.”
Then he was gone, and I was left wondering what the hell I’d do if I did decide to take a vacation.
Chapter 2
~August~
Athump sounded from upstairs, then another a moment later. I shook my head and turned my attention back to my book, wondering what the renovation crew was working on. Then I remembered that one of them had told me they expected to finish at the end of the previous week. Which meant that the noise was probably coming from one of my new roommates.
I grabbed the receipt that was my current bookmark, set the book aside, and made my way upstairs.
The first thing I noticed was that the front door had been propped open, the second was the stack of boxes on one side of the living room. I glanced out to see several more boxes being carried up the sidewalk.
“Let me,” I stated, grabbing two boxes off the top as the person carrying them paused outside the door to check their footing.
The man shouted in surprise but followed as I moved to add the boxes to the pile. He set his on the floor, then turned to face me.
I blinked. Until then all my upstairs roommates had been college students—early twenties and tired of living in dorms, but not yet ready to give up a shared living situation. However, the man in front of me was much closer to my age—probably in his late twenties or early thirties.
And he was good-looking. He was obviously an alpha, but his soft brown hair, moderate build, and kind brown eyes all made my dick twitch.
I cleared my throat, trying to reign in my wayward thoughts. I extended my hand. “Owen. I’m in the basement room.”
He studied me for a second, then a smile spread across his handsome face. “Terry,” he replied, accepting the handshake. “I’m going to be in the converted garage.”
“Good choice,” I stated. “Almost as big as the master, but without the price bump of the en suite.”
He laughed. “Pretty much the reason I picked it. What’s the basement room like?”
I shrugged. “Technically it’s the biggest and has its own en suite. But I only pay a bit more than the master due to the inconvenience.”
One of his eyebrows rose. “Inconvenience?”
I chuckled. “There aren’t interior stairs. So every time I want to use the kitchen I have to go outside and through the back door. It gets kinda dangerous in the winter because ice likes to build up on the steps.”
“And you didn’t want to move up when the rooms were open?”
I shook my head. “I like my man cave, and since I eat most of my meals at work I don’t need to worry about coming upstairs all the time. It’s better to leave the easy access for those who need it. Besides…” I paused and rubbed the back of my neck. “Until now, all the upstairs renters were college students. They were always cool, but we’re from different worlds.”
He chuckled. “I get it.”
I motioned to the open door. “Shall we get the rest of your stuff in?”
“I can get it.”
“And it’ll be done faster if I help,” I argued.
He studied me for a minute, then laughed. “Ok. I’ve only got a few more boxes anyway.”
I raised an eyebrow “No furniture?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Gonna check online listings for stuff later.”
I rubbed my beard. “I maaaay…” I started, drawing out the word, “be able to help with that.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well… my cousin got mated recently. He left most of his things with his old roommate, in case it would be easier for her to find somebody. But it seems most don’t want the furniture, so he was planning to post it for sale soon.”
