Fall in Love Book Bundle: Small Town Romance Box Set

by Grover Swank, Denise

  “The last tenants started a fire somehow,” Lauren explains. “Anyway, the entire house was remodeled because of it, which explains the hike in rent, but both of you already paid for the semester, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Wait.” I blink, looking at Jagger. “Both of us . . . meaning . . . you’re moving in here?”

  “It appears so.”

  “Here?” I point at the floor beside me. “To this house?”

  “Yep.”

  “I can’t . . . ” I shake my head slowly. When I clicked the box saying I was okay with living with a guy I was not expecting him to be the guy. “We can’t . . . ”

  “I agree.” Jagger cocks his head, crossing his arms. “You should take your deposit back.”

  “Me?” I press my hand to my chest. “You take your deposit back.”

  “And forfeit the place to you? To Lawrence?”

  “What does Lawrence have to do with anything?”

  “You tell me.” He raises an eyebrow.

  My face heats instantly at the memory he elicits with three little words. They were the words he’d said to me when I told him I was dating someone and could never, ever hook up with him again. It was that same night he told me Lawrence was a serial cheater. My stomach tightens. I shake my head. There’s no way I can live with him. I’d agreed to be roommates with whomever they paired me with, thinking that I could get along with anyone, but this was clearly impossible. Jagger hates me and I return those feelings to be sure. And really, universe? I mean, I’ve managed to stay away from the guy for years and now this? There’s no freaking way.

  “Is there a problem?” Lauren asks.

  “Do you have any other properties available?” I look at her because I definitely can’t look at him right now.

  “Classes already started.” She raises an eyebrow. “This is it.” She looked at the two of us. “Unless you want to try the dorms . . . ”

  “No.” We both say it with finality in unison.

  “I haven’t lived in the dorms since freshman year,” Jagger says. “Maybe you want to try the dorms again for your fourth year in a row?”

  “I guess someone’s been keeping score on my life,” I shoot back.

  “So, will you make it work or should I look for someone else?” Lauren looks between the two of us. “I have other people outside waiting just in case.”

  “We’ll make it work.” I take the keys she’s holding out from her hand and follow her to the door.

  “I’ll email the final contract to each of you.” She smiles. “Enjoy, and please don’t burn the place down.”

  “We won’t.” I smile as she closes the door behind her, then exhale as I turn to Jagger, who is standing just a few feet away, watching me.

  “You’re really going to stay here?” he asks.

  “Where else would I go? You heard her.”

  “I assumed your daddy could get you out of this somehow.” He scowls. “Or your boyfriend.”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m trying not to count on my father for anything.” I lick my lips and look away. “And I’m sure you heard me when I told your brothers that I’m no longer dating Lawrence.”

  “Right, right. You finally saw the light.”

  “What is your problem?” I meet his eyes again. “Seriously, what is your problem? You’ve been nothing but rude every single time I’ve seen you, which is a lot these last few days.”

  “I agree.” He starts walking toward me.

  My heart jumps with each step he takes. By the time he stops directly in front of me, I feel like I’m shaking. He reaches a hand out and my mouth falls open—to ask, to plead, to talk—but I can’t form any words, and when his fingers graze mine and he leans into me ever so slightly, I think I’m a goner. The tip of his mouth pulls up as he grabs something out of my hand and pulls away. He brings his hand up and dangles a key, his key, I realize.

  “I guess you’re about to start seeing a lot more of me. See you later, Roomie.” He winks and turns away, leaving me standing there balking like an idiot.

  Better that than the alternative. Better that than him kissing me, right? I’m not sure. I never was and never will be, but it’s fine because it’s not going to happen again. Especially now. Definitely not now. I have to keep my wits about me if I want to survive living in the same house as Jagger Cruz.

  Chapter 4

  Jagger

  “You did not just say what I think you said.” Maverick doubles over in laughter. “Hold up.”

  “Stop.” I kick his ankle lightly. “People are staring.”

  “People are always staring at us.”

  “You gonna work out or what?” Mitch yanks his earphones off his head, the Kendrick Lamar song he’s listening to blasting loudly now as he sets the bar down and sits up on the bench.

  “I’m just here for moral support. My shoulder’s still healing,” I say.

  Unfortunately, I’m nursing an injury that took me from being starting tight end to sitting out the last few games of the season last year. It took all summer for me to accept that I may be done with football. All summer of watching my father’s old major league baseball videos and sorting through photos with the family. Since he’s officially being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, we were asked to pick out some family pictures and old videos of him, all while I sulked and tried to mend my shoulder back to health, knowing that it might not be enough. Throughout it, my parents gave me lectures about how life is more than just about one thing. My father, who lived and breathed baseball, and my mother who lived and breathed track until she hung up her cleats after she got pregnant with Mitch, but that was after she’d won a gold Olympic medal. What they really wanted to do was berate me for giving up baseball and becoming a football player instead, but they didn’t. That part was said in silence.

  To say my summer was difficult is an understatement, but I’m fine now. At least I thought I was, until my brothers and I came back to North Carolina and I started working out with them again. Mav is a freshman and on the UNC hockey team. Mitchell is a junior and plays baseball. He was, to everyone’s surprise, the only one who followed in our father’s footsteps. Everyone expected us to play baseball because it’s what you’re expected to play if you’re Dominican. We just happened to be athletic as hell and were good at most sports. Growing up, we dabbled in hockey, baseball, and football and could have secured a scholarship in either of the three sports, but football was what really captured me in high school.

  Part of me always thought I turned my back on baseball because I knew it was so important to my dad. Too important. And his legacy was not something I could bear on my shoulders. A small part of me always wonders what if though, especially when I go to Mitch’s games. Especially when I go to those games with Dad and see the pride in his face. No one would bat an eye if I decided to switch sports, but football was what made my adrenaline spike and I loved that feeling. My brothers and I were always at the top in our respective sports. The best in our high school, the top ten in our state, top thirty in the country. So, yeah, hurting my shoulder absolutely crushed me, because even if I don’t make it as a starter in the NFL, I could have definitely made a team as a backup. I’m sure of it. Maybe I still can. I’m just not sure I’m willing to open myself up to the failure if I don’t.

  “Jag, why don’t you tell Mitchell how you’re rooming with Josephine Canó,” Maverick says, pulling me away from my thoughts.

  “No shit.” Mitch starts laughing. “In that cute little cottage by campus? You and Jo? Surrounded by a white picket fence?”

  “Fuck you both.” I groan, running a hand through my hair. I’m not thrilled about rooming with Jo, but at least this conversation is a welcome distraction. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

  “You can just give back the deposit and move back in with me,” Mav suggests. “Blanca and I are over for good.”

  “You say that every time Blanca and you break up.” I shoot him a look
.

  “This time it’s real. She’s moving back to California to pursue the filmmaking thing and, well, you know how I feel about long distance.”

  “Speaking of long distance,” Mitch says. “Does that mean Misty’s moving in too?”

  “No.” I scowl. “What the hell would I know? I can’t even wrap my head around seeing Jo three times in a week after not seeing her for over a year.”

  “That’s because she was living closer to Duke before.”

  Closer to Duke. I feel my jaw twitch. Closer to Lawrence. Lawrence, who’s still the star quarterback for the Blue Devils. Fuck that guy.

  “I ran into Dr. Elsa,” Mav says before I get a chance to ask how he knows that.

  “When?”

  “When I went to speak to my academic advisor.” He looks at me with a raised brow. “I asked about Misty and Jo and she filled me in. They’ve been going through some shit after their grandfather died.”

  “Right.” I look away. My brothers attended the funeral. I chose to stay in New York drowning my sorrows over my shoulder in a bottle of Macallan and random pussy.

  “Look, you can either stay mad because she chose Lawrence over you or you can let it go and start over. Either way, you’re not going to be able to avoid each other anymore.”

  “We’ll see.” My lips purse.

  Every time Lawrence is mentioned, the sour taste in my mouth returns. It’s not just that she picked him over me, it’s that Lawrence and I have been in competition most of our lives, and even though it was friendly before, it felt personal when he made the moves on Josephine. The fact that she let him, that she fell for his southern charm, is what really kills me. Not that I’d ever admit that to her.

  Chapter 5

  Jo

  “I think that’s it, right?” Misty asks. “You don’t have much. I’m kind of surprised.”

  “The place is furnished. Besides, I dropped the rest of my stuff back at Mom and Dad’s.”

  “Did you pick your room?” She sets down the bags in the living room and shuts the door as I set the bags in my hands down as well.

  “Not yet.”

  “I already picked.” Jagger’s voice booms from the hallway.

  He runs a hand through his thick hair as he walks over to us, wearing a baby blue UNC Athletics T-shirt and basketball shorts. I try not to give him the pleasure of catching me checking him out.

  “Hey, Jag,” Misty says beside me. “I heard you got lucky and were paired to live with my favorite sister.”

  “Your only sister,” I add.

  “You mean she got lucky.” He raises an eyebrow and walks over to Misty pulling her into a quick hug. “You moved back? I thought you decided to take a year off to travel?”

  “Have you met my dad?” She shoots him a look that makes him laugh. “That was short-lived. I only took one semester off before starting. I’ve been at Duke for a while now.”

  “Duke?” Jagger groans. “Why?”

  Misty laughs. “I guess it was my way of getting back at my parents. Like, yeah, I’ll go to school, but it’s going to be the one you don’t approve of as much.”

  “Gutsy.” Jagger grins. “So what are you studying? Something in the medical field?”

  “Journalism, actually.” She laughs. “I know. I know. Everyone thought I’d be a nurse or something.”

  “Journalism? Nice. I bet my mom would be glad to offer you a job at the magazine.”

  “I’ve thought about interning there, actually. I’ll have to see how next summer looks.” She moves closer and nudges me. “Jo’s the one with the perfect GPA. Dad wants her to go to med school instead of PA school.”

  “She always was a huge nerd.” Jagger’s eyes dance as he looks over at me.

  “Yeah, okay.” I roll my eyes. “I’m going to go pick my room.”

  “I already told you, I picked for you.”

  “That’s not how this works. You see why this is impossible?” I look at my sister and move past Jagger and make my way down the hall. “As it is, we have to share a freaking bathroom.”

  “We shared a tub when we were kids,” he says, his voice close behind me. “Remember?”

  “Unfortunately.” I shut my eyes.

  This is a mistake. I just broke up with my boyfriend, which means I definitely should not be feeling this way when another man speaks to me, but here I am, heart pounding in my throat, hands sweaty.

  “I picked this room for you, by the way.” His voice is still too near, too deep, too seductive, and I know him, he’s not even trying to get to me, this is him without turning up the charm at all.

  I take a deep breath and look around the room. It’s nice enough. Queen-size bed, television, closet, dresser. I turn around and nearly slam right into his chest, which is exactly at eye level with me since I’m wearing flats and he’s a giant. I crane my neck to meet his eyes.

  “Excuse me. I want to see your room.”

  “Go right ahead.” He moves out of the way and follows me to the room across the hall.

  Like, right across the hall. Literally two steps away since the hall is so narrow. I let out a laugh as I push the door open. It’s the same exact layout as the other room, but this bed is bigger and takes up a lot more of the room. He has three open bags, two on the floor and one on the bed, and clothes everywhere already, which makes me wonder how much time he beat me back here by.

  “So, you get the king size?” I shoot him a look over my shoulder.

  “I’m bigger than you. I thought it was only fair.”

  “Right.” I sigh, walking out of the room. “I’m only letting you keep it because I’m not in the mood to argue right now.”

  “Josephine Canó doesn’t want to argue?”

  “I really don’t.” I walk back to the living room, where Misty is typing away on her phone.

  “I know I said I’d help you unpack, but I have to get back. My landlord is at my new place.” She looks up at me with a sigh.

  “It’s okay. I’m okay.” I offer her a smile, but whatever she sees on my face makes her expression turn sad and sympathetic. She steps forward and wraps her arms around me, squeezing me tight.

  “I’m so sorry I have to leave you like this. Just focus on unpacking, or don’t. Take a nap. Go for a jog. Come out to the party tonight. It’s a block away, so you can walk there and back.” She pulls away and wipes the tears from my face. “You’re stronger than you know.”

  “I just . . . ” I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I hate him.”

  “I know.” She hugs me again and sighs. “I’m serious about the jog. It’s a nice day out and it’ll help clear your head.”

  I nod, wiping my tears as I pull away. I decide to do as she says and unpack and go for a jog afterwards. Jagger’s in his room, door closed, playing music, so it’s not like he’s going to notice what I’m doing. I’m grateful for the space he’s put between us, and even more grateful when I hear him leave the house right before I go for a jog. My sister’s right, it helps clear my head and stop thinking about Lawrence every five seconds.

  Chapter 6

  Jagger

  “What are you so riled up about?” Maverick asks as I walk over.

  “Who says I’m riled up? I’m fine.” I grab one of the red cups from his hand and take a sip, my mouth souring as the liquid goes down my throat. “God. This tastes like poison.”

  “It’s the punch the sorority is known for.” Mav glances at me. “How would you know what poison tastes like?”

  “Well, if there was ever something poison would taste like it’s this.”

  “I hear it sneaks up on you and knocks you on your ass.”

  “This stuff?” I chuckle, taking another sip. “Yeah right.”

  “Famous last words.” He raises an eyebrow and takes another sip, cringing. “You’re right though. Is it me or is it really sour?”

  “It’s kind of sour.” I take another sip for good measure.

  “Jagger!” The voice is shrilled
in my ear as someone attempts to jump on my back.

  I turn sideways and see Jessa with a wide smile on her face. She’s wearing shorts that I know will give everyone a view of her nice ass and a shirt so small that all you can see is her cleavage, or the cleavage she managed to make with what she’s working with. I fucked her last year, on and off, so I know exactly what she’s working with.

  “Hey, Jessa.” I smile at her. “Who are you here with?”

  “My sisters.” She points at the four girls behind her, who are ogling me and my brother, and states their names as the goes.

  “Nice to meet you, ladies.” I nod.

  “You’ve met them before.” Jessa rolls her eyes and looks over at her friends. “He forgets everyone.”

  “I do. I’m sorry.” I shoot them a sympathetic smile. “Do any of you have anything to do with the poison we’re drinking?”

  “It’s so good, right?” Jessa puts a hand on my forearm and squeezes. “I would give you the recipe but then I’d have to kill you.”

  “I’d love to see you try.” I raise an eyebrow and take another sip. Two of her friends have already taken a place on either side of Mav and are talking to him.

  “Maybe I’ll show you.” She lowers her eyes and her voice as she steps even closer to me, smashing her tits on my arm. “I wouldn’t object if you take me home tonight.”

  “Maybe I will.” I meet her bright blue eyes and wink. She smiles wider.

  “I have to introduce my Littles to some people, but I will be back to cash in on that offer.” She leans in closer, pulling me down slightly until her mouth is near my ear and swirls her tongue along the shell. My cock stirs. She lets go and pulls away. “See you later.”

  “See ya.” I put my cup up as a goodbye and watch the five of them walk away.