I rubbed the top of my head as I stood and faced the customer. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t hear you come in.”
The man took a step back, a look of shock crossing his face so quickly that I almost missed it before his expression turned to a scowl.
My stomach did a flip-flop, and my heart pounded in my chest.
And not because he was mad at me, which he seemed to be, but because he was devastatingly handsome. Tall—at least six feet—with dark hair, sharp cheekbones, a strong jawline that was covered with the perfect amount of facial hair, and green eyes.
“Did you know that only two percent of the population has green eyes?” I blurted out.
His eyebrows rose.
Great. Now, he thought I was weird.
“Sorry. Most people don’t realize how rare it is, so when I see another green-eyed person, I tend to point it out.”
He stared at me, clearly unimpressed.
“What can I get you?”
“Just a coffee. Black.”
“Are you sure? We have a lot of options.” I wanted to try my hand at making a latte. Anyone could pour a cup of coffee.
“Coffee,” he repeated.
“What size?”
He took a deep breath and clenched his jaw. “Large.”
“One large coffee, coming right up,” I said with a smile.
The man blinked at me.
Okay. He clearly wasn’t the friendly type.
I hurried and got his order ready, not bothering to try and make small talk anymore.
“Here you—”
He dropped money on the counter, picked up his cup, and walked out the door.
“Thanks for coming in,” I said to the empty room.
“Who are you talking to?” Zara asked as she came back in.
“That guy,” I said, pointing out the window. “He’s not very friendly. Is he always like that?”
Zara laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“That is the crankiest person I have ever met. He’s like a grouchy old man, except he’s not old.” She shook her head, as if it was sad. “What did he order?”
“A coffee. No cream. Is that his usual?”
Zara shrugged. “No idea. He’s been in here maybe three times since we opened. He’s not a regular.”
I was both relieved and sad. I was glad I wouldn’t have to deal with his sullen attitude, but a part of me wanted to see him again. I thought that might have been my hormones talking.
“Oh. So, I don’t have to worry about him coming here again?”
“Not unless you break something.”
“Break something?”
“His family owns the hardware store. Hughes Hardware. That was Gabe.”
“I’ll make sure not to break anything, I guess.”
Zara patted me on the shoulder. “Smart woman. He’ll only break your heart.”
I sputtered, “But I’m not even interested.”
She smiled. “Sure you aren’t.”
4
Gabe
I stared out my window, tapping the pane, as the time on my watch moved closer to two with no sign of the realtor and her client.
Maybe Peggy wasn’t clear about what two o’clock sharp meant.
“Would you stop?” Max asked. “They’ll be here.”
I scowled over my shoulder. “I have a tight schedule. I have a table I need to finish up tonight.”
My brother lifted his hand toward the window. “They’re here. No need to get all bent out of shape.”
I stepped over to open the door, and Max stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.
“Be nice. We need her more than she needs us.”
I shook off his hand because I hated that he was right.
I opened the door as Peggy and the potential renter climbed out of Peggy’s car.
I almost turned right around and went back inside.
It just had to be the barista who wanted to rent the place.
This morning, I had been pissed as hell when I found out my coffeemaker broke. I didn’t have time to buy a new one before I had to get to the hardware store, so I took myself to The Busy Bean.
When the new barista popped up from behind the counter, I was surprised. I’d expected to see Zara or Audrey. Not the brunette with the ruby-red lips.
Fucking ruby-red lips that made me think of sex. I had never seen natural lips that color before. I’d kissed enough women to know what was lipstick and what wasn’t.
I groaned. I did not need to think about sex when it came to my renter.
This was a business transaction. I was going to be her landlord.
So, why did I want to strip off her shirt and find out if her nipples were the same scarlet color?
And now, my dick was letting me know he liked the idea too.
I quickly stopped to pick up a rock in the yard and subtly adjust myself before either woman noticed.
When I stood, my brother smirked.
Asshole, I mouthed to him.
“Hello, Max. Gabe,” Peggy said. “This is Charlotte Granger. Charlotte, this is Gabe and Max Hughes.”
She held out her hand. “You can call me Charli. No one calls me Charlotte.”
My brother shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“I can see the resemblance. You two definitely look like brothers, except your eyes are blue.”
I looked away and rolled my eyes. Was she about to tell Max how much of the population had blue eyes?
As if anyone cared.
But she didn’t say anything.
When I turned back, she had her hand out to me.
No way was I shaking her hand. My cock was finally going down. I didn’t need it getting stiff again.
I spun on my heel. “Why don’t we look inside?”
“Excuse his manners,” Max said to her. “He’s got a permanent stick up his ass.”
Charli giggled, but I kept walking. I didn’t care if she thought I was impolite. She wasn’t here so we could be friends.
I knew a lot of people thought I was rude, but I didn’t have time to sit and make small talk with every person I met on the street. I had too many things to do in too little time. Being brusque made life easier.
Besides, my brother and my father were nice enough for all three of us.
The four of us walked through the front door and into the living room.
“Peggy said that you were looking for a furnished place.”
“Furnished is perfect,” Charli said. “I left all my furniture back in Virginia with my ex-boyfriend. It’ll take me a while to make enough money to buy all the essentials.”
“That’s great,” Max said. “Otherwise, we’d have to have a huge yard sale or pay for storage.” He started pointing out things in the room. “The couch, chair, end tables, coffee table, and bookshelf are all yours to use. You’ll have to buy your own TV though. My dad took his for his bedroom when he moved in.”
“This was your father’s place?”
“Yes,” I answered. “And I live in the other half.”
“You…you live there? Not Max?”
My brow furrowed. “No. The units only have two bedrooms. Max has a wife and two kids, plus our dad, living with him.”
“Oh. I didn’t know.”
I opened my mouth to point out my brother’s wedding ring, but Max spoke up before I could say anything, “It’s okay. We just met.” He smiled. “There’s no way you could know everything about us right away.” He glanced at me and narrowed his eyes.
I got the message—quit being a jerk.
“So, are both of you my landlords?” Charli asked.
“Yes, but you’re mostly going to be dealing with Gabe since he lives right next door. If you end up renting the place, don’t hesitate to let him know if you have any problems.”
“Let’s keep looking, shall we?” Peggy said.
We walked through the small dining room and headed to the kitchen. When we got there, we realized that C
harli hadn’t followed us.
I backtracked to see her running her hand over the dining room table.
“Please tell me this comes with the place.”
“You like it?”
“It’s gorgeous.”
“It’s made from reclaimed wood. It used to be part of a barn door.”
She looked up at me, her mouth in an O shape. “Do you know who made it?”
I smiled. “You could say that.”
Her eyes were huge.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re smiling.”
Not anymore. I frowned. “Come on,” I snapped. “Let’s look at the kitchen.”
She followed me to where Peggy and Max stood, waiting.
Charli walked around, opening the fridge and freezer and looking through the cupboards.
“Around the corner is a pantry. It’s kind of out of the way, but it still serves its purpose.”
She walked around and opened the door. “Hey, I like it. One can never have too much storage.”
We headed down to the basement. It was unfinished, but it was where the washer and dryer were. It was another reason we had moved Dad to my brother’s house. Stairs were getting harder on his joints, and Max’s laundry room was on the main floor.
Next were the bedrooms.
“This is the largest,” Peggy said.
The room was simple. It had a bed, two nightstands, a dresser, and a small closet.
“There is only one bathroom in the hall for the whole house, but since you’re the only one living here, I figured that wouldn’t be a problem.”
Charli waved away her concern. “It’s completely fine.”
Max cleared his throat. “The bed came from our guest room—we took Dad’s to our place—so it’s hardly been used.”
She put her hand on his arm, and I scowled.
“That’s so sweet of you to think I’d be worried about that.” She took her hand back and pulled a cell phone out of her back pocket. “I need to add bedding to my shopping list.”
We moved on to the second bedroom.
“This one is unfurnished, so you can use it for additional storage or a second bedroom,” Max said.
“But you need to talk to us before you let anyone move in with you,” I quickly added.
Charli chuckled. “I don’t think you have to worry about me finding a roommate anytime soon. Not only do I not know anyone in town, but I am also excited to live by myself.” She tapped her phone against her chin. “I think I’m going to turn it into an office.”
“An office?” I said skeptically. “What does a barista—”
Max socked me in the gut.
“Oof.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Max said. “I bet Gabe could even make you a desk for a decent price.”
“Make me a desk?”
“Let’s go outside and look at the backyard,” I said before anyone could answer her.
“Do you mind if I paint the walls?” she asked as we walked outside.
“No,” Max said at the same time I said, “Yes.”
I pursed my lips. “You can paint, but we have to approve the colors first.”
Charli smiled. “Deal.”
We walked around toward the back.
“We share a backyard, as you can see, although we each have our own patio slab.” I pointed to the door. “That leads back to the kitchen and the basement.” I turned to the detached garage. “We only have one garage, which you’re not allowed to use. That’s my workspace. You can, however, park in the driveway.”
“That’s odd that it only has one garage and driveway,” she said. Then, she blushed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that to sound like an insult.”
“That’s okay,” Max said. “It used to be a single-family home. It was run-down and old. New owners tore it down and built the duplex, so a family member could live close but have their own space. Since it was all in one family, they didn’t bother building a second garage.”
“That makes sense. And I don’t mind parking outside.”
“You moved here from Virginia, right?” my brother asked.
“Yes.”
I snorted. I’d been to Virginia in winter. It was nothing like Vermont. “You just wait until it snows. You’ll have to scrape your windows and heat up your car before going anywhere.”
She shrugged. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“We’ll see.”
My mom had been from the South and couldn’t handle the cold. I had been young when she left, but I remembered her complaining every winter. I sometimes wondered if that was one of her reasons for leaving us.
“If everyone feels comfortable, I have the paperwork on me. We can all sign right now, and Charli can move in today. You still want a deposit and first month’s rent?” Peggy asked Max and me.
I watched Charli brush a hair back from her face and lick her lips, and I suddenly knew it would be a bad idea for her to live next door to me, no matter how hard I tried to avoid her.
She was a walking hard-on.
“Deposit and two months’ rent—first and last,” I said.
Max shot daggers at me with his eyes, and Peggy sputtered, “But that’s not what we talked about.”
I lifted a shoulder. “I’m sorry. After doing more research, I found that it is standard in a lot of places.”
My brother narrowed his eyes and shook his head at me.
I was going to get yelled at later.
Not that it was going to stop me.
“I’m sorry, Charli,” Peggy said. “We’ll keep looking.”
Charli smiled. “It’s okay. I can make it work.”
I clenched my jaw. Why was she still smiling? And why couldn’t she take the hint?
Peggy put her hand to her chest. “Oh, thank the Lord.” She grinned. “Let’s get these papers signed, shall we?”
5
Charli
Several hours after signing the rental papers and going shopping, I walked into my new place and took a deep breath.
It had a slight musty smell of something that had been closed up for a while, but that could be easily fixed. I went through and opened all the windows to let the fresh air in. After the sun went down, I was going to shut all the windows and light some candles, and no one could say anything otherwise.
To say I was excited to live on my own was an understatement. I’d lived with my ex since college, roommates while I was in college, and my family before college. I’d never lived completely by myself, and it was going to be great.
No one to eat my food. No one to tell me to go to sleep when I was reading in bed. No one to share the TV with. No one to share a bathroom with. That was going to be the best part.
I held my arms out and took a deep, relaxing breath.
The place was all mine.
When I had first walked in, I had known I was meant to live here. It was an instant connection. Plus, it was close enough to work that I could walk when the weather was nice. It was perfect.
I had unloaded all the stuff in my car before I went to the store, so I went back outside to bring in my new purchases after I brought in the groceries and put them away.
The couch was a nice gray but rather boring, so I’d picked up some pillows to brighten the room. I’d selected purple, pink, teal, and yellow pillows, which I carefully lined up on the couch. I turned and flopped down on the seat and stared at the flat screen TV in front of me.
My ex and I had bought it together, and it was one of the things that I’d made sure to pack in my car. It might have been a little unfair of me to take the television without asking, but he had gotten all the other furniture. He could purchase a new TV.
I was going to have movers bring the rest of my stuff from Richmond. Most of it was clothes, but I knew I had to get on that sooner rather than later. I was going to eat into my already-tight budget.
Paying the extra month of rent hadn’t helped, but there was no way I would have let Gabe Hughes stop me
from living here. I could tell he didn’t want me around, but that was his problem.
The joke was on him because I wouldn’t have let the place go even if it had taken almost everything from my bank account.
I pushed myself up from the couch, grabbed the TV tray I had bought, and carried it to the spare bedroom. It wasn’t the big, beautiful writing desk I wanted, but it would do for now. And until I had more money for an office chair, one from the dining room would work just fine.
I was giddy as I set up my little office. This was the reason I was most excited about living all alone.
Since college, I had wanted to pursue writing and become a published author, but I never really felt like I had the support of my ex. I had managed to write a book in the last two and a half years, but it had taken me forever to finish it. With working full-time and having an active social life, there hadn’t been a lot of time.
And when I had spent time writing, my ex would say things like, “I don’t know why you bother,” or, “That’s such a waste of time.”
I already had a voice inside me that said I couldn’t do it, so when Felix said stuff, it was easier to set my dream aside than to try and fail and have him tell me he told me so.
But here, where I had no boyfriend to please and no friends to bug me to go out, I could write whenever I felt like it. As long as I wasn’t working at The Busy Bean. That was the only thing to keep me away, but I had to make money somehow, and so far, I was pretty sure I was going to really like working there.
Besides my sad TV tray and dining room chair, I carried in my plant that I’d brought from my old apartment. She’d been with me since I’d moved out of my parents’ home and gone off to college.
And the last piece was my laptop. I set it down, opened it up, and stood back to admire my work. I couldn’t wait to get started on my new life.
I slid into the chair and turned on my computer.
I didn’t have a lot of time to write tonight even though I was dying to.
I needed to shop around to find the cheapest moving company that would be willing to pick up my boxes and drive them down here. I had to unpack what clothes I had brought with me and the other stuff I had crammed into my car.
And it was getting close to dinnertime. I should make myself something to eat if I didn’t want to starve.
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