But as I opened the front door, two voices drifted out. Tanner’s and another guy. Maybe one of his brothers had returned early, possibly to check out the new tenant. Me!
I walked into the living room, a huge smile on my face as I readied myself to meet my second landlord. Tanner's eyes lit up when he saw me, not so much theother guy. They looked nothing alike and his sour expression was anything but welcoming.
“Hi. I’m Candrin, your new tenant.”
“Hardly,” he sneered.
Shit! Was I being given the boot after only two nights? I hoped I’d get my money back.
“This is my friend, Blake,” Tanner said, his face creased in an amused smile.
“Oh sorry.” Not a brother. I still had my room, even if I had little else.
Blake looked me up and down and his expression didn’t improve as he basically dismissed me. “As I was saying before we were interrupted, there’s this new restaurant I want to try.”
This was awkward. Did I walk backward hoping no one would notice or say, “I’ll just leave you two alone.” But Tanner saved my ass by asking me to join them. Blake’s eyes narrowed and I was definitely getting a vibe that he didn’t want me around.
“Thanks but it’s been a long day. I’ll make myself something to eat and head upstairs.”I gave a little wave and left. Blake was still trying to convince my landlord to go out while I fossicked in the bag of food Molly had given me. There was a bag of popcorn. That was food, right?
The instructions were pretty simple. Put it in the microwave and wait until the popping stopped. Simple. I had one ear on the conversation in the living room where Tanner was wavering about going out, saying he couldn’t afford it.
You and me both.
It took me a while to figure out how to operate the microwave but doing research on my phone helped. I’d never used the one at the office, preferring to order in at lunch time.
After setting the timer, I checked my emails and messages. Nothing from Mr. James saying it was all a sucktastic joke and to stop playing at being a tenant and come home.
Blake was at the whining stage, saying he needed a night out and he hadn’t seen Tanner in over a week. Were they together as in a relationship? Gods, if I had to listen to that voice, I’d plug my ears.
I sniffed the air at the acrid smell of burning. Had the popping stopped? There was still an occasional pop. Nothing worse than unpopped corn. I’d almost broken a tooth on that once.
“What the hell is that stink?” That was Blake.
“Candrin, you’re burning something,” Tanner yelled.
Damn! How did I stop the stupid microwave? The timer was set for another minute. Shit! There was no time to do research so I yanked the cord and the humming from the microwave stopped.
“Please tell me you’re not saying that because your new tenant can’t boil water.” Blake had stopped near the front door but not before glaring at me as he passed the kitchen.
“As I said, it’s too expensive, but have fun without me. Say hi to the others.” Tanner shut the door behind his friend and strode into the kitchen.
He scrunched up his nose, looking adorable while doing it. “Burned popcorn. Yum.” He yanked open the microwave door and jerked his head at the kitchenwindows. “We need fresh air.”
I definitely did because his scent smacked me in the face, and curled itself around me, squeezing the air from my lungs. Even though the atmosphere was heavy with charred popcorn, Tanner’s aroma trampled it and headed straight for me as if I was a deer in his headlights.
6
TANNER
Warm milk and a cuddly blanket
I rolled over for what felt like the fiftieth time that night. I would doze, wake, roll, repeat. My brain just wouldn’t stop running. Candrin telling us he couldn’t afford dinner out had really weighed on me and in an odd way.
Blake and I had told each other more than once that we couldn’t do something the other thought sounded fun due to lack of funds. It wasn’t as if not having money for extras was a new concept to me or something that was even unusual in my life. But with Candrin it sparked this protective side in me. I wanted to tell him I had his back and to pay for him myself.
But that would’ve been inappropriate. I wasn’t his mate or even his friend really. He was my tenant and if I made him uncomfortable and he had to leave… where would he go? He had nowhere and no one and that sucked. I refused to make it worse.
The sound of movement on the stairs startled me. Candrin was sound asleep and my brothers were still gone. “Fuck.” I grumbled to myself and climbed out of bed as silently as I could.
