“Damn, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I would do without Oz.” Memphis takes a few steps, as if he’s about to leave my room, so I move to the side, but just before he reaches me, he turns back around and checks the door to the balcony again. It’s still locked.
“You can open it if you want,” I offer, since he seems so curious.
He flips the deadbolt and pulls the door open. Once he steps out, I enter the room so I can continue to watch him. There’s a single chair and a table that I haven’t really used yet. There’s not much room for anything else on the small balcony, plus it overlooks the neighbor’s backyard, but he seems more interested in the side of the house and the drop down as he leans over to look into the garden.
“Make sure you keep this locked,” he says when he turns around to face me.
“Hello! Hello up there!” a thin voice calls.
“Oh crap.” I inch backward, even though I know there’s no way she could have seen me.
“Young man, hello.”
Memphis looks at me, and I freeze. I should wave him in and tell him to ignore her, but I don’t, so he spins back around and acknowledges the nosy old lady from next door. They should get along quite well actually. “Hello.” His voice is a little gruff.
“I’m Eddy. Your sister is a gem.”
“She’s not my sister.”
Dang it. I don’t want him telling her I live alone, so I step out onto the balcony before things can go more sideways.
“Um, hello, Eddy.” I try not to stand too close to Memphis, but he’s a fairly big guy, so I don’t have much of a choice unless I’m going to hop on the little table.
“Waylynn, have you told your parents I stopped by?” She’s glancing between me and Memphis, scrutinizing each of us in turn.
“I did.” I can feel Memphis looking at the side of my face. I tap the side of his leg with the backs of my fingers, hoping he’s not going to rat me out.
“Oh, I haven’t seen them around, dear.” Now she sounds concerned. This is going to get really awkward.
“Eddy, my parents don’t live with me,” I confess, then dart my gaze over to Memphis with a wide-eyed stare. I hope he goes along with this. “This is one of my roommates,” I tell her in a bid to keep her from telling everyone I live alone.
“Oh, well.” Her thin brows furrow deeply. “The Morleys sold to a buyer, not a broker, and there’s no multiunit homes on this street.” Damn it, I thought I would alleviate her concern and get her to stop asking about my parents, but now she sounds like she’s about to call the mayor and try to have me evicted.
Memphis is still staring at the side of my face. He’s probably trying to figure out what the hell is going on. “Oh no, I own the house, I’m not renting from a broker,” I tell her. I should have just kept my mouth shut.
Memphis lifts his arm and wraps it around my waist. “We’re not really roommates,” he says, and while it is the truth, it also implies that we’re more than roommates when he tucks me into his side. I can feel heat rising to my cheeks, not to mention I like the way his hand feels wrapped around my hip and the line of his body next to mine.
A heavy breath leaves my parted lips, and I relax against him. Heavens, he smells really good up close, and why does the heat of his body feel so amazing? You’d think I’d be pushing him away, not ready to bury my nose in the collar of his shirt.
Eddy surprises me when her lips curl and she smiles wide. “Oh, me and my Harold lived together before we got married too. It was a big deal back then. I thought we nearly killed my poor mother.” She waves her hand dismissively. “I’m glad to know you won’t be alone over there.”
Just as she says that, Oswald turns his truck into the drive. I see Eddy go up on her toes to try to see over the hedge, but she can’t see into my yard. “That’s my brother, Oswald. He’ll be around to keep an eye on Waylynn too,” Memphis tells my neighbor while he flexes his fingers on my hip.
“Oh, how lovely! Having a close family is so important,” Eddy coos up at us.
I use his arrival as an escape. “Well, we should go help with the groceries.”
“I’m always around, so let me know if you need anything,” she says while I try to back away, but Memphis doesn’t release me so much as take me by the hips and guide me back into my bedroom.
Now I’m going to have to explain what the hell just happened. Once we’re inside and I have enough space to pull away from him, I do. I don’t meet his eyes as I close the door and lock it.
When I pivot to face him again, it’s with an apology on my lips. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want her telling the entire neighborhood I lived alone, so I let her think my parents lived with me, but she kept asking, and then when she saw you and made the assumption, I just… I just…”
“Waylynn.” Memphis takes a step closer to me and tips my chin up. “Eyes on me,” he tells me and pauses for a few seconds as if to make sure I’m not going to look away.
I start rambling again. “I thought she might forget about me if—”
“She’s not going to forget about you. You live next door,” he interrupts with a slight smile.
