by Codi Gary
Unlike Rylie. When Marley finally released her, Dustin studied Rylie’s sweaty, red face, with a stripe of dust across the bridge of her nose.
It made her look young and adorable, but Dustin couldn’t think like that anymore. Rylie was no longer someone to be flirted with and tormented.
She needed to be protected.
It was why he’d offered her his pool house. It was the one thing he could do for her that he wished someone had done for his mother. A safe place to get back on her feet.
“You call me if you need anything. Are you sure you have a place to go?” Marley asked.
“Yes, I’m fine, really.”
Marley seemed resigned. He wasn’t surprised that she couldn’t even spare a greeting in his direction. It wasn’t as though he’d always been the most charming fellow to her.
Once Marley was in her car and driving away, Dustin finally spoke.
“What now?” he asked.
“I just have to leave Asher a check.”
“A check for what?”
Rylie leveled him with those dark eyes and his mind automatically compared them to hot, chocolate fudge.
Damnit.
“I owe him money, and I pay my debts. I’ll only be a few seconds.”
Dustin wanted to argue with her, but he just leaned against the moving truck and waited for her to come back outside several minutes later.
Several seconds ticked by as she stood in front of him, playing with the hem of her shirt. “He’s never hit me before.”
Dustin had a hard time believing her, but he didn’t argue. “Okay.”
“I just wanted you to know that he didn’t. That I wouldn’t have…have stayed.”
The pain in her voice was so thick; his hands itched to reach out and pull her against him. But he resisted the temptation. It wasn’t his place to comfort her. Not only did they work together, but he was possibly about to become her landlord.
Talk about a buttload of complications he did not need.
“I understand, Rylie. You don’t have to explain any of it to me.”
She sniffled, hiked her purse up on her shoulder, and when she lifted her chin, he could see the glassy sheen to her eyes, knowing she was probably holding back tears.
“I think I would like to stay in your pool house, if the offer still stands.”
“It does.” He waved at Mark, who was sitting in the cab of the moving truck. Once he got the signal, Mark headed out toward Dustin’s place.
Rylie sounded as though she was choking on something. “Wow, you actually told them to take my stuff to your house before I’d even agreed?”
He clapped his hands together, ignoring the outrage in her tone. “Yes, yes I did. Are you hungry?”
Rylie shot him a suspicious glance and he chuckled. “Again, just a kind, concerned gentleman who figured if he was starving, then you must be too.”
She seemed to weigh her answer before responding. “You would be correct in that assumption.”
“Perfect. What are you in the mood for? Victoria is amazing—”
“Who is Victoria?”
He blinked at her interruption. “My chef.”
Rylie rolled her eyes. “Of course, you have a chef.”
Dustin walked ahead of her and opened the passenger door of his car. “I know what you’re thinking. I’m just flashing my wealth and privilege around, but having Victoria makes sense. I can afford to pay her, she has gainful employment, and since my hours tend to fluctuate, I do not always have time to cook and clean. It’s reasonable to assume I would have a whole staff employed, so I don’t know why you’re surprised.”
Rylie just muttered to herself as she climbed into his car. “Are you taking me to Something Borrowed?”
“No, I figured we’d just head to my place and after dinner, unpack the truck. We’ll carpool in the morning.”
She sighed, but didn’t argue. He opened his door and hopped behind the wheel.
“I do appreciate this and I promise that I will start looking for a place tomorrow—”
He shot her a dark look as he started the car. “Like I said, just trying to help.”
“Well, I’ll be the perfect guest. You’ll hardly know I am there.”
Single, sexy Rylie living less than five hundred feet from him?
What did I get myself into?
Chapter 5
Twenty minutes later, Rylie’s wide-eyed gaze swept around the pool house, her jaw slack with shock.
“You look like you’re trying to catch flies,” Dustin teased.
Rylie snapped it closed, and shook her head slowly. “I thought your pool house would be…small.”
“It’s only two thousand square feet. My house is—”
“I saw the mansion; I don’t need to know the dimensions.”
Dustin clucked his tongue at her. “It’s rude to interrupt.”
“It’s also in poor taste to brag.” She slid her hand across the marble countertop in the kitchen. This home was gorgeous, modern, and way more than she could ever afford to rent. She wasn’t sophisticated or complicated; she liked simple décor with a homey, country feel.
This was like stepping into one of those million dollar homes on the street of dreams.
“Touché. I guess talking about the size of my houses might give the impression I’m making up for something.”
Rylie’s cheeks burned as she caught his meaning. “Do you always have to go there?”
Dustin chuckled. “Sorry, old habits die hard. Sexual innuendos seem to be ingrained into my personality.”
“Charming.”
“Women usually think so,” Dustin said, drawing an eye roll from Rylie. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Okay, well, let’s grab dinner and I’ll help you unload the truck.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I am, so no use arguing.”
Rylie wasn’t really planning on it. As awkward as it was to accept his help, she was emotionally drained and not looking forward to unloading her stuff alone.
“I’ll take your help,” she said with a smile.
“Good. Food first though.”
“Agreed.”
Dustin opened the sliding glass door for her, and they walked around the in-ground pool. The sun was still up at six in the evening, and so was the temperature. The blue water looked awfully inviting, but there was no way she was going to ask to use his pool. She already felt as though she was taking advantage of him.
He opened the back door of his house for her, and when his hand settled on her lower back, leading her into the dining room, she shivered.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“No, that’s crazy. It’s still a hundred degrees outside.”
“Yeah, but I keep the house at a cool sixty, so I figured maybe the change in temperature had gotten to you.”
“I’m fine,” she squeaked. She took a few quick steps and the warmth of his palm dropped away. She didn’t like the flash of disappointment that crept unbidden to the surface at the loss of his touch. Rylie didn’t want him or any man. She was going to swear off men indefinitely and focus on herself.
Rylie grimaced as she thought of her mother needing to focus on herself after she’d gotten sick.
I’m nothing like her. I don’t have a responsibility to a child and a loving husband.
They walked into the dining room to find the long redwood table set with plates, silverware, and stemware. A bottle of wine was in the middle of the table and all around it were platters of food, enough to feed a professional basketball team.
“Wow, does she do this for you every night?” Rylie asked.
“No, she usually makes me several dinners I can reheat easily, but when I mentioned I’d have company, I guess she assumed it was roman
tic.”
He held one of the dining room chairs out for her and she sat, her stomach growling as the smell of food reached her nose. She eyeballed the dish of mashed potatoes with cheese and bread crumbs on top.
“This looks so good.”
Dustin took the seat across from her and waved a hand. “Ladies first.”
Rylie was conscious of Dustin watching her as she scooped a small portion of the rich looking mashed potatoes onto her plate, then the green beans, and a chicken breast. She was trying very hard to be ladylike when she really wanted to pick up the dish like the Beast in the Disney cartoon and throw etiquette to the wind.
She had just taken her first exquisite bite when she noticed Dustin had piled his plate high, but wasn’t eating. Instead, he was watching her.
Intensely.
She swallowed the creamy potatoes and tilted her head. “What?”
“Nothing.”
He took a bite, his gaze still on hers, and she knew he was thinking something.
“You want to say something to me.”
Dustin shook his head and poured wine into his empty glass. “Nope. I just want to eat and get started on that truck.”
Rylie let it go, slipping another mouthful past her lips. He held the bottle of wine out to her and she shook her head. Instead, she reached for a pitcher of ice water and poured it into the wineglass to her right.
“You afraid to drink around me?”
“I told you, I’m not a big wine drinker.”
“Probably because you’re used to the six-dollar shit.”
Rylie resisted the urge to flick a spoonful of potatoes at him. “There you go, flashing your money around.”
He quirked a brow at her, and she was beginning to resent that look. “Most women don’t mind it when I wine and dine them.”
“I’m not most women.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
The way he said it made Rylie wonder if he thought that was a bad thing.
* * * *
The meal had been excruciating, but not because he didn’t like Rylie or didn’t want to be around her.
It was the way she’d looked after that first bite of food. Her eyes had rolled up into her head, and he could have sworn she moaned a bit.
He wasn’t about to point that out and embarrass her, but damn, it had been hot.
Too hot.
Now, they were outside the pool house gate, lugging boxes. It was dusk, with hardly any sun left in the pinkish-purple sky, and muggy. The T-shirt he’d changed into after dinner was now sticking to his back, and as he picked up the last box, he was ready to strip down and jump into the pool.
He walked through the sliding glass door and set the box down. Her stuff had only taken up about half the truck, but the books were heavy and made up about six medium-size boxes.
“You ever think about getting a Kindle or something and downloading all these paperbacks?”
She shook her head as she lifted a bag of clothing off the floor. “I like the smell and feel of real books.”
Dustin wrinkled his nose. “Whatever you say.”
She laughed from the bedroom, a husky sound that went straight to his dick. “I don’t mind ebooks. I have an app on my phone for when I get stuck places and forget a paperback, but staring at a screen isn’t the same.”
Dustin preferred reading on his iPad, but to each their own.
He clapped his hands, then rubbed them together, speaking loudly, “Well, if you don’t need any help in here getting settled, I was going to take a swim. Do you care to join me?”
The rustling in the back room stopped, and he wondered what her expression was at this moment. Was she disgusted, thinking he was asking her with nefarious plans in mind?
“No thanks, I’m really tired. I think I’m going to just get in my pjs and start a new book.”
Probably best. He didn’t know if he could handle seeing Rylie in a bathing suit, soaking wet and…
Shit, I need to just stop thinking. “Okay, well, feel free to use the pool anytime.”
She walked out into the hallway wearing a T-shirt and sweats. Her hair was sweaty and pulled up in a haphazard bun, and she still had that little streak of dust he’d noticed hours ago.
Somehow, he found this look just as attractive.
She smiled shyly, clutching a book in her hand. “I really appreciate you letting me stay here, and I promise I won’t bother you.”
Dustin frowned, the urge to tell her he wanted her to bother him strong.
He really needed that swim.
* * * *
Rylie finished washing her face and brushing her teeth ten minutes later, embarrassed when she’d seen how dirty and disgusting she was. Now, feeling at least halfway human, she sat down in the big, comfy chair in the living room, pushing her glasses up her nose. She wore contacts outside the house but at home, it was nice to give her eyes a rest.
Besides, if she started crying, she didn’t want to deal with her contact lenses getting all funky.
It still hadn’t really hit her that three years of her life with someone was over. She didn’t regret leaving, but the ache was still there. She should have left sooner, when it started to get bad, but it was hard to let go of her first love and after losing her dad… Well, it was tough saying good-bye.
Rylie wiped at her cheek as she opened her new T.J. Kline romance, being careful not to break the spine. She’d just reached the part where the heroine was stuck hanging over the front seat of her car with her butt in the air when she heard a splash and looked up.
Outside the glass doors, she watched Dustin pop up over the side of the pool, and climb out, the solar lights illuminating what she’d already thought was underneath all his snappy suits.
Dustin was built. Like washboard abs, broad shoulders that nipped down into narrow hips, and firm, muscular legs built.
Rylie swallowed hard as he walked by her door to the end of the pool and dove in, disappearing from sight.
She shook herself, her cheeks heating as she realized that she’d been ogling him. She was supposed to be immune to men, completely swearing off the entire lot.
She was obviously one sick individual.
Trying to concentrate on her book again, she was distracted by every splash outside and when she read the same line three times, she finally gave up, slid her bookmark into place, and stood. She picked up her cell phone from the counter and dialed Marley, turning her back to the glass door.
“Hey, I was just about to call you. Are you doing okay?” Marley asked after the second ring.
“Yeah, I’m good. Swearing off men, of course.”
“I don’t blame you. I want to kick his ass—”
“Don’t please? It’s over now, and despite how it ended, it wasn’t all bad. I just want to move on with no regrets.”
“Good for you. So, where did you end up? Are you at the Love Shack Hotel?”
Rylie bit her lip. Marley was her friend and she loved her, but if she told her she was staying in Dustin’s pool house, she would blow a gasket. Probably call Rylie crazy.
Which wouldn’t be far from the truth, considering Rylie felt a little nuts.
“No, but don’t worry, I’m safe. Just tired.”
“You’re being weird and mysterious. Please tell me you aren’t living in your car.”
“I’m not, I swear. I’m good.”
“All right, I’ll let you be mysterious today, but tomorrow is another story. Get some rest and we’ll talk soon. If you need anything, call okay? Love you.”
“I love you too.”
Rylie ended the call and glanced over her shoulder. The motion activated porch light was off and it was dark outside, which probably meant Dustin had gone to bed.
After making sure the door was locked, she plugged her phone into t
he charger and set it on the nightstand in the bedroom. She’d already hung up her clothes and slipped the rest of them into the dresser against the wall at the end of the king-sized bed. She still had a ton of boxes to unpack, but she didn’t want to get too comfortable. She didn’t plan to be here that long.
Rylie pulled her iPad from the night stand drawer and shut off the light just before she crawled between the soft sheets. She sighed as the smooth fabric caressed her feet; Asher had always preferred flannel sheets, even in the summer. These were cool and smooth and probably cost a small fortune, nothing like the itchy, hot fabric on their old shared bed.
Pushing the bitterness back, she turned on an episode of Who’s the Boss on Hulu and set the tablet on the nightstand, along with her glasses. Curling onto her side, she tried to relax, to just enjoy the show, hoping it would help her fall asleep.
After three episodes, she gave up and turned the device off. As she tossed and turned some more, flashes of Dustin crept into her mind. Hard. Wet. Shirtless.
Flopping onto her stomach with a groan, she mumbled aloud, “Stop thinking about him, idiot.”
It didn’t work, but it was worth a try.
Chapter 6
The high-pitched melody of Rylie’s alarm woke her. She groaned as the sound exacerbated the heavy thud in her head. Reaching for the device to turn off the offending sound, it took her several seconds to remember where she was.
She cracked an eye open. The room was still dark, thanks to the blackout curtains covering the single window in the room. She yawned and stretched, wincing at the sore muscles in her shoulders and arms from all the lifting. As she lay on her back and stared up into the abyss, she swallowed hard.
She was single. She was on her own. And she had no idea what she was going to do.
The first thing I should probably do is shower and get dressed. Then coffee.
But getting out of the warm, comfortable bed she’d had so much trouble falling asleep in proved to be a challenge all on its own. When the sound of knocking on glass woke her once more, she realized she’d fallen back asleep. Pressing the button on her phone to light up the home screen, she cursed. She only had twenty minutes to get ready for work.
