“Wildcard Little, welcome to the purchase I’ll probably never financially recover from.”
James led her down the path and into the house without any more fanfare. Rose split her attention between her surroundings and the man next to her as they walked through each room. No one was hiding or ready to attack during the first-floor tour of the kitchen, dining room, living area, laundry room, or bathroom. The same held true for the upstairs. James gave a flourish when they made it to the guest bedroom she would be staying in for the near future.
It, like the bubbly personality that occasionally surfaced in its owner, was a surprising contrast to the work-in-progress look of the rest of the home. Everything was…soft. Soft on the eyes and seemingly to the touch. Even the small knickknacks and framed pictures on the walls had a feeling of warmth emanating from them.
This wasn’t just a guest bedroom. It was a room that had been set up with extreme care and with a heavy feminine hand.
Was James just that good at design or had a woman helped him with this?
A question that Rose hadn’t thought to ask until now blared across her mind.
Was… Was James in a relationship? His ring finger was bare but that didn’t mean he wasn’t taken.
How had she disrupted this man’s life without knowing a thing about his life?
What if she wasn’t just intruding in his life but also his—
“I know what you’re thinking,” James said, setting her hospital bag on top of the vanity next to the bed and interrupting her internal spiral. “Normally, I should get some kind of HGTV award for this little oasis, but I’m sad to say, this was all Mom.”
Rose’s worries skidded to a halt.
“Your mom?” she repeated.
He nodded.
“She said she didn’t care how long it takes me to fix this place up as long as I have a nice place for company,” he said. “I think she was meaning that more for her than anyone else. She wasn’t exactly a fan of me buying this heap.”
In a rare change, James seemed to express a feeling of doubt.
“To be honest, I hadn’t really planned on it either.”
He sighed and switched back to the tour in the span of a breath.
“The bathroom in the hallway is nice too and my room is on the other side of it down the hall. Feel free to roam anywhere. This place may not look the greatest but it’s functional and safe. You won’t go falling throughany holes in the ceiling or accidentally use pipes that will spray water everywhere.”
“Ah, the two movie pitfalls of renovating,” she said with humor.
James shrugged.
“You laugh, but my first month here?” He pulled a blank expression. “Both happened.”
That lack of emotion wiped away with a laugh. One Rose shared in.
It blocked the reality of their present predicament for a while. James excused himself to let her get settled and took a phone call somewhere else in the house. Rose used his absence to her advantage and called her parents.
Hiding what had happened with the bomb had been impossible once it hit the local news, never mind the gossip. Rose had known this impossibility would back her into a corner, so she had been preemptive and come out swinging before that happened. She had called her parents as soon as the first doctor had spoken to her once she had woken up in the hospital.
The Littles weren’t totally gobsmacked that Rose had found herself in another dangerous situation. They were, however, very reactive to the fact that this time around there had been an explosion.
“Seven Roads is supposed to be a sleepy town, but I swear all you seem to be getting is nightmares!” her mom had exclaimed once she realized Rose was fine. “We can find you a better life here. One that isn’t this—this dangerous!”
Her father had been less loud. And demanding.
“She’s not wrong, Rosy. You have to admit your lastfew tumbles in Seven Roads have been pretty spectacular. Not in a good way, either.”
“Which means I should be good from here on out,” Rose had tried to assure them. “I’ve been through the extreme parts, now we should be at the boring, paperwork ones.”
It was a lie.
