“Your watch is an antique,” I say, changing the subject before I catch on fire.I’ve been admiring the thick chronograph on his wrist.I’ve never seen him without it.“A family heirloom?”
“Yes, my great-grandfather’s.Passed down from father to son, and now it’s with me.”
Everyone knows what happened with his parents.A drunk driver ran through a red light.Head-on collision.No survivors.
Sterling was sixteen.
“Ma says if you can’t pass down good habits, at least pass down good gifts.”She used a different word, but I’m not sure I can handle swearing in front of Sterling.
The corner of his mouth curls up, a hint of dimple at the edge, like he knows what I didn’t say.“I’d say she did pretty well on the first part.”
I crack the window down a little further, and he parks the truck in the loading bay of the complex.
* * *
We’ve done well, if I say so myself.Not that we had to move much in the end.A dresser, a television, a box of kitchen goods, the second half of my wardrobe.
My bed is all that’s left.
The sight of Sterling handling my mattress stirs warmth under my skin.The brand of his fingertips will remain under my pillow when I lie down tonight—the closest I’ll get to feeling his touch.
He’s walking backward with his hands full; we’re saved from having to navigate the entrance by one of the residents, who opens the door for us.
“Thank you,” I say, my mouth going dry when I get a good look at him.
Jaw-length hair, trimmed stubble, a flirtatious sparkle in his eyes …
He’s gorgeous, seeking eye contact the way only the most confident people do—eagerly—but smiling with a softness that is instantly disarming.Add in the tight pants and tattoos, and I’m already hoping to bump into him again.
“Happy to help, love.It’s all part of being a good neighbor.”
The bed jolts as Sterling adjusts his grip.“Hello, Lachlan.”
Lachlan licks his lips, then settles into a smile that’s hungrier than before.“I thought I recognized those thighs … among other things.You look good.”
“So do you.I like the hair; it suits you.”
Lachlan runs a hand through it, preening.“I know.”
It’s difficult to hide when I’m fighting to grip the other end of the mattress, but Sterling isn’t moving, and this beautiful stranger, who he clearly has history with, is looking between us like we’re the answer to a riddle that’s been bothering him for years.
“Moving in?Please say yes.”
“Mia is.”
Both men turn to look at me, setting off a series of fireworks in my belly.I have the ridiculous urge to wave.
“Even better,” Lachlan says.“Let me be the first to welcome you to the building.If there’s anything you need, anything at all, I’m Lucky, in 704.”
“Is that a name or a promise?”
Lucky’s laugh fills the foyer, stirring up butterflies under my skin.“Why not both?”
A muscle in Sterling’s jaw twitches.
The weight of the tension between them is heavier than the mattress I’m struggling with.“It’s nice to meet you,” I say.
“I have to get to the studio; otherwise, I’d help.Don’t be a stranger,” Lucky says, eyeing us both.“Either of you.”He winks on his way out.
