Hollywood Roommates

by Elizabeth Briggs

  It’s like I’ve stumbled onto the set of The Bachelor and at any moment some guy in a tux is going to hand me a rose. Except I don’t have a limo to get out of, just my old Ford Focus with no less than three warning lights on the dashboard.

  As I swing my leg out, green tea in hand, I’m gaping at the house so much that my kitten heel catches on the edge of the door and I stumble. I recover quickly, but not before spilling tea down the front of my dress.

  Classy, that’s me all right.

  I quickly grab some napkins from the glove box of my car and try to clean myself off. This dress is one of my favorites—mint green with white polka dots, tight in the bodice and flared at the waist, the epitome of retro cute—and I’ll hate myself forever if I’ve ruined it. I do the best I can to clean it up, then ball up the napkins and toss them in my car. I don’t think the dress will stain, but the wet fabric clings to my body in ways that leave little to the imagination. Not exactly the best way to make an impression.

  While it dries, I lean against the side of my car and take stock of my surroundings. The house looks like an architect’s wet dream, with square arches, huge windows, and hard edges. Everything is stark white mixed with metal and glass. Palm trees and ferns soften the ultra-modern exterior, as does the nearby lapping of waves and the cool ocean breeze. A huge fence surrounds the property, and as I stand there, the gate closes, trapping me inside.

  There’s no way this can be the right place. If it is, I definitely don’t belong here. I certainly couldn’t afford a room in that house, not on my measly salary. But I came all this way, through the windy roads of Malibu, and I might as well go inside. What other option do I have?

  I step up to the door, smooth my wayward red hair, and ring the doorbell. A soft chime sounds within. Through the glass, I can see all the way through the house to the sparkling ocean on the other side. Beachfront property. In Southern California. This place must have cost a fortune.

  A guy opens the door and my heart skips a beat because he’s definitely the most beautiful guy I’ve ever seen in person before. I’m not even exaggerating, he looks like an actual underwear model, the kind you only see in black and white and wearing Calvin Klein briefs. He’s got lush, dark brown hair with a hint of curl that’s effortlessly messy but probably took him hours to perfect, and his hazel eyes have a mischievous glint to them. There’s something familiar about him too, although I can’t place him.

  A sexy grin spreads across his face. “You must be Allison. Come on in.”

  I swallow back that awkwardness that comes from meeting someone so good looking and step inside. “Thanks.”

  “I’m Matt. Nice to meet you. Brooke never mentioned her best friend was so gorgeous.” He offers me his hand, except when I move to shake it, he bends to kiss my knuckles like some hero from a historical romance novel. The move is so unexpected and cheesy that I burst out laughing.

  “Please, call me Allie,” I tell him with a smile. This one’s a flirt, that’s for sure. I’m surprised Brooke didn’t warn me away from him instead of her brother.

  “Welcome, Allie,” a smooth voice says behind me.

  I turn toward the sound, and now I’m really tongue-tied because this guy is not only ridiculously handsome, but he’s famous too. Like, super famous. Followed by paparazzi hoping for a shirtless photo famous. Dated Taylor Swift and had a song written about the breakup famous. Named People’s Sexiest Man Alive this year famous.

  “Hi,” I manage to get out, though it sounds more like a squeak. Hey, I’m not shy. I teach high school kids, after all. But holy crap, I’m standing in front of Luke Hart. Even I can get totally star-struck. It’s never happened to me before, but I’ve also never been in a celebrity beach house before. Not to mention, his face is the epitome of masculine perfection and his body is seriously a piece of art. He’s ridiculously buff, befitting a guy who plays action heroes in movies. I’m pretty sure his arms are bigger than my thighs and my thighs are not small, trust me on that.

  That explains why Matt looks familiar. He’s Luke Hart’s younger brother, with the same sexy tousled dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and he’s also an actor, although not nearly as famous. He’s been in a couple of his brother’s movies in small roles, plus he was on a TV show that only lasted one season, but I can’t recall anything he’s done since.

  Luke holds out his hand and I stare at it for way too long before shaking it. I really need to get it together, but how? I’ve seen this guy naked before. Not in person of course, but on a giant movie screen, which might be even worse. Now all I can think about is how big he is.

  Literally.

  “I’m Luke Hart, but you probably knew that already.” He flashes me an amused smile, like he’s entertained by how nervous and awkward I am. He must get this all the time. “You met my brother already. And that guy over there is Shane Easton.”

  With all the eye candy on display, I didn’t even notice the other man in the room, even though he’s the one I was expecting to meet today. Brooke’s brother stands at the floor-to-ceiling window across from us, gazing out at the ocean. Even from behind, he’s an exquisite specimen of masculinity, with broad shoulders, a muscular back, and a perfect ass I try really hard not to stare at. But who am I kidding? I totally stare.

  Shane turns toward us slowly with the setting sun behind him, highlighting his profile. My breath catches and I pray he’s not as devastatingly handsome as he is on TV, but no, it’s even worse, because he’s somehow even better looking in person.

  The light catches his dark blonde hair and turns it to pure gold. My eyes linger over everything from his straight nose to his high cheekbones to his defined jaw with the perfect amount of five ‘o’clock shadow. His muscled abs are visible through his thin black t-shirt, and the sleeves end in exactly the right spot to show off his strong arms. He towers over me, looking every inch the sexy, brooding superhero he plays on TV, and my already racing heart threatens to run away from me entirely.

  I try to regain my composure, reminding myself that he’s Brooke’s brother and even though she said he’s a jerk, he’s doing me a huge favor. This is going to work out and everything will be fine.

  I step forward and flash him a big smile, optimism radiating from my pores, then hold out my hand to him. “Hi, I’m Allie Chambers. Thanks for letting me stay with you for a while.”

  His eyes, the color of the darkest ocean depths, slowly examine me from head to toe and a scowl spreads across his gorgeous mouth, like he’s offended by what he sees. Maybe it’s my dress, which is still damp from the tea I spilled on it, or maybe it’s my short, extra curvy body filling it. He probably only dates tall, skinny actresses in designer clothes and I’m the complete opposite of that. As his haughty stare fixes on my face again, I hold my hand out another few seconds, embarrassment creeping up the back of my neck.

  “You’re Brooke’s friend?” he asks, his voice dripping with disdain.

  What. A. Dick.

  I finally drop my hand. “Yes, I am.”

  His frown deepens and he pointedly looks away. I want to sink into the marble floor and disappear. It’s black and white and beautiful in a cold, stark way, like everything else in this living room, including the man in front of me. My green dress is the brightest thing here. I’m a scoop of mint ice cream that’s fallen off its cone and is melting on the sidewalk.

  I’m tempted to run out of the house, hop in my car, and speed away while praying I never see any of these guys again, but I’m tired of letting men step all over me and more than a little desperate too. Shane might think he can dissuade me from staying here with his complete lack of manners, but he’s nothing compared to the sixteen-year-old boys I deal with on a daily basis. I can handle him.

  “It’s nice to meet all of you.” I prop my hands on my hips, slap on a confident smile, and face the three people I’m going to be living with for the next few months. Three of the sexiest men in Hollywood…who happen to be my new roommates.

  Chapter Four


  SHANE

  Brooke’s friend is fucking gorgeous.

  There is absolutely no way she can move in with us.

  The second I saw her, it was like every part of me woke from a long sleep. She stirred something deep inside me with her bright smile, wavy red hair, and that retro dress that hugged her curves. And those curves, damn. A man could lose himself in a body like that for days and never want to come up for air. I tried to look away, to make the tightening in my chest and in my jeans stop, but by then it was already too late. The damage was done.

  I saw the way the other guys checked her out too. Matt, like she was going to be his next one night stand. Luke, like she was another fangirl he’d fuck to forget his ex-wife. I can’t let either of those things happen. Not to my sister’s best friend.

  “Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?” Matt asks, sliding an arm around Allie’s shoulders. He leads her to one of the boxy white sofas in the living room, while casually stroking her back.

  She sits beside him with a friendly smile and then launches into a long spiel without once stopping for air. “Well, I’m a high school English teacher, although I’m on summer break right now, so I’m only teaching a few hours of summer school. I have an older sister named Kristen who is a vet. Brooke and I were college roommates and we’ve been best friends ever since. I’m deathly afraid of spiders. I like to bake and craft and read. I love holidays, every single one of them. And anything that’s colorful and sparkly. Oh, and animals. Dogs, cats, birds, you name it, I love them all.”

  “No pets,” I snap.

  “No pets, got it.” She flashes me a smile, but it’s different from the one she gave Matt. This one says, bite me. It also shows off the dimples in her cheeks, which somehow manage to be both cute and sexy at the same time.

  “What happened to your last place?” Luke asks, from where he’s perched on the arm of the couch.

  Her smile falls. “My boyfriend dumped me and kicked me out of our apartment. I thought he was proposing. There was this plane and these flowers and—oh, never mind. Turns out he’d been cheating on me for two months.” She lets out a pitiful laugh, then quickly looks at me, her green eyes turning hard again as they meet mine. “Brooke said you have a spare room I can use for a while. I’ll pay whatever I can and after school starts again I’ll be able to save up some money for a new place.”

  Shit, this keeps getting worse. Not only is she a beautiful woman in a house full of single guys who are used to getting any girl they want, but she just got out of a serious relationship. She’s like a mouse caught between three cats, all sharpening their claws and eyeing her with hunger. Any one of us could pounce on her.

  Not that I would, of course. I have no interest in her. Seriously.

  “We need to discuss this,” I say, glancing at Luke and Matt. “Privately.”

  The guys both flash Allie their trademark charming smiles, then follow me into my office at a leisurely pace. I shut the door behind us and turn to them. “This isn’t going to work.”

  “What’s the problem?” Matt asks.

  Luke leans against the edge of my desk. “I like her. It was cute how flustered she got around us.”

  I give them both a level glare. “She’s a woman.”

  Matt grins. “Glad you noticed. I was starting to think you’d forgotten what that was.”

  I cross my arms, ignoring his jab. “One woman living with three men. You don’t see a problem there?”

  Matt shrugs. “It’s only temporary.”

  Luke rubs his chin as he considers. “There are definitely pros and cons to living with a woman. Pro, she’s really hot. Con, we can’t walk around in only our underwear anymore.”

  “I don’t see why not.” A slow grin spreads across Matt’s face. “Maybe she’d join us.”

  “No, she won’t,” I say. Why am I the only one who sees what a disaster this is going to be? With three cocky guys like us in one house, it’s a miracle we all get along as we do. Adding a woman into the mix will only complicate things. Especially one who we’re all picturing in her underwear at this very moment.

  “She has nowhere else to go,” Matt says. “I vote she can stay.”

  “Me too,” his older brother adds.

  My jaw clenches. “Too bad neither of you gets a vote. This is my house, not a damn democracy.”

  Matt rolls his eyes. “Fine, we don’t get a vote, but we can tell you when you’re being a dick. Like now.”

  “You took me in when I had nowhere else to go, and we should do the same for her,” Luke says.

  Matt nods. “If nothing else, do it because your sister is going to bust your balls if you don’t.”

  Dammit. As much as I hate it, they’re both right. I owe Brooke a big favor, and if I let her best friend stay here for a few months, then we’ll be even. It’s not like we don’t have the space in the house for Allie either. I can’t exactly say no. Especially when she has nowhere else to go.

  But this? This can only end badly.

  “Fine. I’ll let her stay on one condition,” I tell them. “We all have to swear not to sleep with her.”

  Matt blinks at me. “Seriously?”

  “I saw the way you two checked her out. You can’t tell me you weren’t thinking about fucking her.”

  “Us?” he asks. “What about you?”

  “There is zero chance of that happening.”

  Luke shrugs. “It’s a damn shame, but I’ll agree if you two do.”

  Matt gives a dramatic sigh. “Fine.”

  “I want it in writing too,” I add.

  “Of course you do,” Matt says, rolling his eyes again.

  With that settled, I throw open the door and walk back into the living room. Allie’s moved to the window to look out at the view of the ocean, and she turns toward us as we approach. The split second of nervous vulnerability on her face makes my chest tighten again, but then it’s gone, replaced by her determined eyes and a big smile.

  “Everything okay?” she asks.

  The other guys look to me, and I force out the words, “We’ve decided you can stay.”

  Relief softens her features and she moves forward like she’s about to hug me, but restrains herself at the last second. Barely. “Thank you. I can’t afford much, but I’ll pay you whatever I can.”

  “I don’t want your money,” I say, disgusted by the very idea.

  That only makes her stand taller. “Then I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you. I’ll cook, I’ll clean, I’ll do laundry. Whatever you need.”

  “We have people who handle all that.”

  Her eyes widen. “Oh. Right. But—”

  Luke rests a hand on her arm. “You’re not a servant. You’re our guest. Relax and enjoy your summer break.”

  “We’ll take good care of you,” Matt says, and I shoot him a harsh glare.

  “Okay,” Allie says, with a genuine smile for the two of them. “But you better believe I’m still going to bake for you.”

  “I can’t wait,” Luke says, even though his personal trainer would murder him if he so much as looked at a baked good.

  “I’ll show you to your room,” I say, before the other guys can charm her into their beds.

  I quickly debate which room to give her. The house is three stories, descending down the cliff toward the beach, and the three of us live on separate floors. I’m loathe to share my floor with anyone else, but I can’t stick her next to Matt either. Even if he doesn’t seduce her, she’ll have to put up with his revolving door of women every night. No, better to keep her close so I can keep an eye on her and make sure they both stay out of trouble.

  I head down the stairs without waiting to see if she will follow. A few seconds later, her footsteps sound behind me. “Luke is on the top floor with the living room and kitchen,” I tell her as we hit the second floor. “Matt is on this level, along with the gym and theater. You’ll be on the lowest floor with me.”

  “This place is amazing,
” she says, and I feel a touch of pride at the awe in her voice.

  We hit the lower level and I head directly to her room. It’s the smallest bedroom in the house, but it makes up for it with a walk-in closet, floor-to-ceiling windows, and direct access to the pool and the beach. The previous owners used it as a nursery, but I converted it to a guest room, though no one has stayed in it before.

  “Wow,” she says, as she steps into the room. “It’s so…”

  I wait for her to say something like “impressive” or “stunning.” Compared to what she’s probably used to, this room must be a big step up.

  “Bland,” she finishes.

  “Bland,” I repeat.

  “White walls. White sheets. White furniture. No art. No knickknacks.” She sounds horrified, but then she draws in a breath. “That’s okay. Nothing that a little decorating and a fresh coat of paint won’t fix.”

  My eyes narrow. “No paint.”

  She looks like she might argue, but then she nods. “How soon can I move in?”

  “As soon as you want.”

  “Thank you. I really do appreciate this so much. This room is perfect.” Her clear green eyes gaze up at me and she gives me a genuine smile. “If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what I would do. Live out of my car, probably.”

  Her words make me temporarily speechless, and as I stare at her soft lips I’m hit with the strongest urge to kiss her. Or throw her on the bed and show her how not bland this room would be with her naked skin and red hair against those white sheets.

  This is unacceptable. Allie is a complication and that’s the last thing I need right now. I have enough complications at work thanks to an ill-fated relationship with my co-star. I don’t need them in my home too.

  I thrust the keys at her. “Don’t get too comfortable. This is only temporary.”

  I can’t prevent her from moving in. I can’t kick her out. But I can do everything in my power to get her to leave.

  Chapter Five