“Perfect. I need to leave in the afternoon. Come on over whenever you want in the morning, and then the place is all yours for two weeks.”
Heather felt incredibly leery about this idea, but on the flip side, she’d love to get two full weeks of silence. The shouting next door wasn’t just noise. It grated on her nerves. She could hear every word that asshole screamed. None of it shocked her, but it still infuriated her to no end.
“I’ll be there about noon then.”
He gave her another squeeze. The rain was finally letting up. “I think I have a sweatshirt in my car. I’ll run and grab it so you don’t freeze. Then we can help Bex and Sweets clean up.”
“Thank you.” She was beyond unnerved as he released her and jogged toward his car. All she could do was watch him. The man was even sexy when he jogged. Maybe more. She needed to shake the unwanted attraction for him. Be grateful he asked her to watch his house, not go out to dinner.
She could do this. What harm could it do?
Chapter 2
Neil felt ridiculous about the amount of cleaning he did Sunday morning in anticipation of Heather’s arrival. It was completely unnecessary. There was no way she was going to judge him based on his dusting or vacuuming skills. And besides, why would he care if she did judge him?
Neil had the strangest relationship with Heather. They weren’t really even friends because they’d only spoken to each other a few times. Okay, probably they’d talked dozens of times in the last year or so, but only politely in passing at large group functions.
He had her number in his phone because at least four of the guys had shared it with him. He felt like they must have a calendar set up to decide which one of them was going to try to set him up with Heather each month.
Heather was damn near the sexiest woman he’d ever known. Her big green eyes and brown curls tended to stop his heart. But she was painfully shy. She rarely met his gaze and only responded to him using the fewest words necessary.
Shy he could handle. It was actually cute. Endearing maybe. But he seriously doubted she was remotely interested in him. Either him or perhaps dating in general.
He knew from word of mouth through the women in her posse that she hadn’t been on a single date in a few years, not since she’d been lured into that asshole Hawke Richman’s web and treated to his shitty abuse.
Neil didn’t know the specifics about how that fucker had treated her, but he knew how the man had treated Shayla, so he could imagine. He wasn’t sure why that interlude in her life had caused her to stop dating altogether. If he had to guess, she was holding all men at arm’s length. And he couldn’t blame her.
The most absurd thing of all Neil had done this morning was stock the fridge. Nope. The most absurd thing was adding a bouquet of colorful flowers to the grocery list.
When the doorbell rang, he wiped his hands on his jeans, glanced around the room, and took a deep breath. “You’re a fool,” he muttered as he shuffled to the door.
Heather was standing out front with two suitcases. She had on jeans, a white T-shirt, and a light-pink cardigan.
“Hey. Did you find it okay?” Neil asked as he reached out to grab both of her suitcases.
“Yep. No problem. And…” she pointed at the suitcases, “I don’t want you to think I’ve brought everything I own or anything. It’s just that I need one of those for work. It’s filled with uniforms and travel stuff.”
He set them both down inside the house and closed the door. “No worries. You’re entitled to bring whatever you want.”
She took several steps farther into the living room. “Did your housekeeper come this morning?”
Shit. “No.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t have a housekeeper.”
She ran her fingers over the back of the couch and then stared at the track marks she’d made in the suede fabric. She lifted her gaze to meet his, eyes wide, brows high. “Am I permitted to sit on the couch?”
He chuckled. “I didn’t want you to think I’m a slob.”
“Uh-huh.” She strolled over to the glass table against the wall at the entrance to the hallway. After staring at it a moment, she reached up and moved the colorful decorative bowl about a millimeter to the right. Turning back to him, she grinned. “It was crooked.”
He groaned. “Maybe I went overboard.”
“Why? You didn’t need to impress me. Now, I don’t know how you really live and I’ll be afraid to use the stove.”
“Please don’t. I swear, I’m not always this anal.”
Her gaze roamed up and down his body, making his heart rate pick up.
She smirked. “I’m pretty sure you are. Even your casual shirts are pressed.”
He reached for the hem of his navy, short-sleeved button-up and yanked one side so it sat on him crooked.
She laughed. The sound was musical. Heather didn’t laugh much. At least not around him. “Okay, show me these plants that need daily care.” She was teasing him, and he liked it.
He winced. “Yeah, about that…”
“You don’t have any plants do you?”
“None that are living, no.” He snapped his fingers. “Wait, I bought some flowers for the kitchen table. Do those count?”
She wandered toward the kitchen area of the great room. “They’re gorgeous. I promise to feed them next Saturday and add more water. Anything else you need me to do?”
He nodded toward the door that led to the garage. “I’ll show you how to work the alarm.” He pointed at the island on the way by. “And there’s a key.”
She didn’t move from where her hip was propped against the kitchen table. “Neil…”
He spun around. “What?”
She narrowed her gaze, not saying a word.
He sighed. “Look, you said you weren’t getting any sleep in your apartment. This house would have sat empty for two weeks. It’ll be better with someone staying here so lights turn on and off every day and someone doesn’t spot it and think it’s a good target to rob.”
“It’s a stretch.”
“Can’t I just be a nice guy?”
She rolled her eyes. “You are indeed the nicest of all guys.”
He smiled and straightened his shirt. “Good. My work here is done.”
“Did your friends ask you to do this?” She shoved off the table and put her hands on her hips. “Wait, did mine?”
He shook his head. “No. I didn’t tell anyone and no one suggested it either. The thought never even occurred to me until we were standing there in the rain and I remembered how tired you were.”
“I’m not going to date you, Neil,” she insisted.
“I didn’t ask you to. And what’s wrong with dating me anyway?” He lifted the corner of his dry-cleaned shirt and pretended to sniff it. “Do I smell?”
She groaned. “Yes. I noticed yesterday.”
His eyes shot wide. Please tell me she’s kidding.
“You smelled perfectly clean, including your fabric softener. You smelled exactly like the sort of man who would own a pristine house like this.”
He narrowed his eyes and glared at her playfully. “The way a dude smells can’t possibly tell you that much about how he lives.”
“No? You sure?”
He shuffled toward her. “I was in the military. Old habits and all.” He snagged her hand and hauled her along behind him toward the alarm panel. He’d put a sticky note next to the panel with the instructions on it.
She laughed. “Is that for me or the burglars?”
“There won’t be any burglars because you’re staying here to ward them off with your movement and car and the use of electricity,” he pointed out.
“Right…”
He showed her how to arm and disarm the alarm and then moved around the kitchen, pointing out where things were, including opening the fridge. “I didn’t want you to have to go to the store today, so I left you some things.”
“You do realize how weird this is, right?” she questioned a
s she followed him toward the hallway.
“Nope. Not weird.” He refused to admit anything was weird. Instead, he kept up the tour, pushing open each door down the hallway. “Office. Hall bath. Guest room. Master.” He stepped inside the master bedroom. “I put clean sheets on my bed this morning.”
“I’m not sleeping in your bed. I’ll use the guest room.”
“Why not? This bed is nicer. It’s not like I’m going to be in it too.”
She shuddered. “It’s just…weird.”
“There’s that word again.” He stepped in front of her, stroked under her chin with one finger, and continued, “Not weird, I tell you. Stop it.”
“Well, thank you. I appreciate the gesture, but only if you don’t have an ulterior motive. I’m looking forward to sleeping without someone yanking me out of a deep REM shouting about why the apartment is a pigsty.”
“No one is going to shout that in my house, are they?” he teased, reluctantly releasing her chin.
She followed him back to the great room. “You can’t know that for sure. I’ll be here for two weeks. You don’t know if I’m a slob or not.”
“Somehow I doubt it, but also I don’t care. Be as sloppy as you want. Leave clothes on the bathroom floor. Leave dishes in the sink. Go completely crazy.”
She laughed. “That’s your idea of crazy? Now I know for sure you’re anal. I intend to leave dishes sitting on the coffee table and strip down in the living room so that my clothes are strewn all over the house. And you can’t do anything about it.”
He nearly swallowed his tongue as he spun around. “You’re going to strip in the living room? Dammit. I should have installed a camera in here.”
Another chuckle. “Guess you should have thought of that. Now, you’ll never know.”
“Unless I return and your clothes are still lying all over the house. Maybe you could tuck lacy lingerie in strange places so I find it later, like down in the couch cushions.” This banter was unexpected and nerve-wracking.
“Mmm. Maybe I don’t own lingerie.” She spun around and headed for the couch. “If I lift these cushions, will I find out you vacuumed under them?”
Maybe he should have been insulted at the way she kept ribbing him about his type A personality. Probably if she were any other person, he would be aggravated by the barrage of jokes. But from Heather, he knew it was all in good fun. The woman didn’t have a mean bone in her body.
When her fingers aimed for the corner of the couch cushion, slowly threatening to lift it while she glanced over her shoulder, daring him to stop her with her eyes… Yeah, he couldn’t stop himself from closing the distance, grabbing her wrist, and spinning her around so that she faced him.
“Maybe I did have an ulterior motive,” he murmured right before kissing her.
She sucked in a breath as their lips met, but she didn’t push him away. In fact, if he wasn’t mistaken, she swayed slightly toward him. It was enough to encourage him to flatten his palm on her lower back and haul her closer.
He deepened the kiss, angling to one side and demanding entrance with a swipe of his tongue along the seam of her lips.
When she parted for him, he gave an imaginary fist pump. He forced himself to keep the kiss gentle and light though, and didn’t let himself get carried away. Long before he would have liked, he released her lips but not her body.
She was flushed and licked her lips with her dainty tongue. “Neil…”
He didn’t like the sound of her voice, but it was time to take a step back and pray he hadn’t just fucked things up. He drew in a shaky breath. “Okay, so we have chemistry.”
“That was never in doubt,” she said, shocking him.
His cock jumped to attention.
“I’m still not dating you or anyone else.”
“Just out of curiosity, why?”
“Not to sound cliché, but I’ve sworn off men.”
He smiled. “I figured that, but why exactly?”
She sighed and dropped down onto the couch.
He rounded the coffee table and took a seat next to her. “Does this have anything to do with that pilot you dated?”
She turned toward him, pulling one knee up so she could face him. “Let’s just say he sealed the deal.”
“He was an asshole. And he’s dead. Why are you letting him have so much power over you?” Neil prayed he wasn’t overstepping.
“Look, I know you’re a nice guy, so I’ll give it to you straight because I trust you not to tell everyone my business.”
“Okay. I promise. I would never tell a soul anything you asked me not to, Heather.”
“Trust me. I’ve had years of counseling, so I’m super clear that I’m a bit screwed up in the head and irrational, but that’s who I am. I’ve only known abuse. I was born into it. My father verbally abused my mother my entire life. When I left home the day after my graduation, I never looked back. My father was a dick, and my mother was pathetically weak.”
Neil reached out a hand, his instinct being to grab hers, but he stopped short. He needed to let her continue.
“I wish I could say he didn’t abuse me too, but he did. He never went a day without shouting. Nothing was ever good enough for him. If I made my bed, the sheets weren’t straight. If I fixed a sandwich, he’d come by and bitch about a bread crumb.”
Neil winced. “You must hate my house.”
She offered an odd, coy, teasing smile. “Nope. It’s fine. You said I could tuck my panties in the couch cushions. At least I know they won’t get dirty since you vacuumed under there.”
He groaned. How was she able to keep this conversation so light? It was matter-of-fact to her. A story. Something she lived through and already dealt with in counseling. “Did you move here when you were eighteen then?”
“Yes. I was lucky. I had just enough money saved to get myself established.”
“That must have been hard.”
Heather nodded. “I’d always wanted to be a flight attendant. I’d never been on a plane, mind you, but for some reason on television it looked so glamorous. I figured I could travel all over and see new places every day of the week. So, I applied with Open Skies, got the job, and moved here with the clothes on my back and a suitcase that contained less than I brought to stay here for two weeks.”
“Did it turn out to be all you dreamed?”
She shrugged. “Mostly, I’d say yes. I love working for the airline. Too bad I couldn’t escape the cycle of abuse. I dated one guy after another. All of them treated me like shit. Hawke was the last straw. He was the first man to actually hit me. It did something to me. Yanked me awake somehow.”
Neil swallowed. “I hate that for you,” he said softly.
“It is what it is.”
“Now I’m going to sound cliché, but not all guys are assholes.”
She smiled. “That may be, but I’m living on my own for the first time in my life. I can’t tell you how liberating it’s been. I couldn’t afford to live without roommates until now. When Raeann and I broke our lease last year, I was nervous at first, worried I would be lonely by myself or unable to quite pay the rent. I found the most inexpensive one-bedroom I could manage and I’ve never regretted it.”
He nodded. “I can see how that would be liberating.”
“You have no idea. No one tells me where to put anything or how to do things right. No one complains if the milk is sour or my panties are on the couch.” She chuckled.
“This is a theme. Do you regularly strip in your living room? Just curious. The visual is embedded in me now. I’ll never shake it,” he teased.
“Maybe. Maybe not. You’ll never know.”
“What if I want to see for myself someday?” he encouraged.
“Too bad. My apartment is like a haven for me. I’ve never had anyone over. Not even my friends. I always go to their places. Plus, all of them have more space to entertain than me.”
She sighed. “It’s not that I’m a total slob. I’m not. It’s just
that I’m enjoying the freedom of not being judged. Ever. For any reason. It’s lifted an enormous weight off my shoulders. Sometimes I intentionally leave shit lying around just because I can. I’ve been known to glance around, hand to my ear, waiting for someone to bellow at me. Nope. Crickets.”
He winced. “Now I wish I hadn’t cleaned up before you arrived. I feel bad. Please don’t think you have to keep my house tidy. You don’t. Leave your thongs on my couch if you want.” He winked.
“Considering you won’t be here, I’ll be fine. I’ll just put the place back the way I found it before you return. It may be absurd staying here, but I’m not kidding about the lack of sleep. It’s not just that my asshole neighbor screams at his wife or girlfriend or whoever she is. It’s that it triggers me. I get twitchy when men shout.”
“I can understand that.”
She sat up straighter, flattening her palms on her thighs. “So now you know why I’m not going to date you or anyone else for that matter. I’m enjoying my freedom. Granted, not gonna lie. I don’t trust men. Not at all. Doesn’t matter that you may be the nicest man alive and I have about ten friends who would vouch for you in a heartbeat. I don’t trust easily.”
“I get it.” I hate it, but I get it.
“See, abusive men never start that way. They’re so charming when you meet them. They lure you into their trap before they turn on you and pounce.” She shuddered. “It’s always the same. And women who don’t know anything else, we fall into that trap over and over. And then we believe it’s an anomaly the first time he shouts at us. He even apologizes. He’s so sorry. It will never happen again. Blah blah blah…
“And then it escalates. I’m lucky I’ve never been beaten to death, to be honest. The only thing that probably has saved me and kept me from ending up in a horrifying relationship is the fact that my dad never hit me or my mom. Not that I saw anyway. So, when Hawke struck me, I snapped out of it. That was taking things too far, even for a woman living in the cycle of abuse.”
“Wow, you really have had a lot of counseling.”
“Yep.”
She drew in a deep breath. “No idea why I just told you all that. It’s not like me to overshare.”
Jetway Page 2
