When we were in high school and did job shadowing, she created a spreadsheet of the variety of business jobs out there, the average salary, the growth potential, the hours worked, and also the low end of each career before she decided which career she was going to job shadow.
I tagged along with a vet because I liked animals.
It drove her crazy thatthatwas my reasoning. And that is why my decision to not live with her has everything to do with preserving our relationship.
“I just don’t think it would be a good idea,” I tell her bluntly. “We get along so well when we don’t live together.”
“Ugh. I hate that you’re right,” she sighs. “Oh no. I’m missing a call from Kingston. He was checking on the plumber redoing the cat café bathroom.”
“You’d better go save the toilets, then,” I say with a laugh.
Willa clears her throat. “I keep thinking we’ve got everything under control there, and then something else happens. It’s become so consuming, I’m starting to have dreams about the café. Anyways, I’m so glad you found a place and are going to live near me. Hopefully, we’ll get to hang out…” She trails off, as if she’s reading something. “Ah, yes, I have some free time in the summer. Of next year.”
We both laugh, and then she hangs up to answer Kingston’s call.
I shove my phone back in my pocket and stare at the door. I told Willa that I’d found a place to live and she didn’t have to worry about me. She’s my baby sister after all.
But now that I’m about to have a roommate, I’m second-guessing myself. It’s not like I really know the guy. I should just book a hotel room and then apartment hunt like a normal person.
I spin around, determined to climb back into the safety of my car, which has two temperature settings—hell hot or ice cold.
But I freeze mid-step when I see who’s coming up the sidewalk toward me.
A shirtless Miles Granger.
The man who owns this house.
The one who invited me to move in and be his roommate.
So. Very. Shirtless.
He’s busy looking at his watch and wiping sweat off the back of his neck with a piece of fabric; it must be the shirt that hemisplaced. His short reddish-brown hair is damp, either from the light mist in the air or from exertion.
I have to stop staring.
But when I step forward, I stumble down the first step off the porch. I didn’t realize I had backed so close to the stairs. I lean back, trying to use my giant duffel bag to counteract my weight, hoping to recover before Miles notices my faux pas.
The duffel bag throws me off-balance, and I crash backward onto the porch, landing on my butt.
Before I can scramble to my feet, Miles is there with his large hands, grasping my arms and helping me stand. He lifts me up, duffel bag and all, and sets me on my feet. His hands wrap completely around my biceps, and now I have to question if weight lifting at the gym is even doing anything for me.
I come face-to-face with a bare, glistening chest with a wonderful set of pecs.
“Ah, hello there,” I manage to say as I greet each of them before I lift my head to stare at Miles’s eyes.
They’re bright green, and with his reddish-brown hair and sun-kissed skin, it’s a killer combination.
Bad idea, Lucy. This guy is offering you a place to live with ridiculously low rent. You can’t get yourself kicked out for having a crush on him.
“Sorry I was late. I thought I’d be back by now, but I was running a slower pace today.” He gestures to himself, and it brings my eyes to his abs again. His warm breath creates a fog in the air, and I wonder how the sweat hasn’t turned into icicles yet. “Are you okay? I should have warned you that the porch stays iced over on cold days like this. You had me worried when you slipped like that.”
“How are you not wearing any clothes?” I ask, forgoing his question about my well-being. My pride might not recover. “Er,what I meant to say is, it’s so cold out here. How are you not frozen?”
Miles lets go of my arms and brushes past me to enter a code on the keypad on the door. “I prefer to run when it’s cold out. What about you?” He glances over his shoulder to look at me with those intense eyes.
I prefer never to run. But I just smile and nod.
He steps to the side and gestures for me to go into the house. His eyes twinkle as he says, “Welcome home.”
