Roommating (Preston's Mill #1)

by Noelle Adams

  “I don’t think you really do,” Chris interrupted. “I think your heart was in the right place, but somewhere along the line, things changed. Heather’s upset and rightfully so. You asked me to lie to her, Tom. I’ve been trying so hard to get her to trust me, and we were finally on our way there, and then this whole situation came up.”

  “I didn’t ask you to lie. If you lied to her, then you did that yourself. I get that you’re mad at me, but don’t be blaming me for a mess you made on your own. I’m sorry if I put you in an awkward position. I really am. But you know why I asked you not to mention this, Chris,” Tom said. “And you said you understood.”

  “I do. I swear to you that I do, but Heather means more to me than anything else. I can find another job. Hell, I can find another place to live. But I can’t find another Heather,” he said gruffly. “She deserves the truth…from both of us. She’s stronger than you think and…she’s hurting Tom. Because of us.” He cleared his throat. “Because of me.”

  “You know that’s exactly what I was trying to keep from happening.”

  “I didn’t betray your confidence. I want you to know that. But it cost me. I…I’m sorry, Tom, but you’re going to have to come clean with your daughter because I’m not going to keep another secret from her. I love her. I want a life with her. But that’s never going to happen if I’m torn in two directions.”

  “Chris,” Tom began, suddenly sounding very weary, “I’m sorry it ended up tearing you up.”

  “And I don’t mean to be blaming you for what happened. I’ve got stuff of my own I need to work on. I know that. But I just don’t want to be put in this position again.”

  “So you won’t be. We won’t let it happen.You don’t need to leave the company—”

  “Yes. Yes, I do,” Chris interrupted. “It’s the only way for me to prove to Heather that she means the world to me. Let her have it, Tom. The business. The truth. She may be a grown woman, but she still needs her father.”

  “I know. But I wish you’d reconsider—”

  “My decision’s made. For the first time since I got back to Preston, I know I’m doing the right thing and for the right reason.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  Chris smiled. “Say that you understand and you wish me luck.”

  “Always, Son. Always.”

  When they hung up, Chris looked over at Jace and saw his friend smiling. “Well…I guess you heard.”

  Jace stood and picked up Chris’s beer and handed it to him. “So what are you going to do? You know, for a job?”

  “No idea,” Chris said, but it didn’t even bother him. He felt lighter and happier and…hopeful. “I’m not even going to worry about that right now. I’ve got some money saved up, and I know I’ll be okay in that respect. Right now, I have to go and make sure that Heather’s okay and work this out.”

  “You think she’s going to be open to this? To you just walking away from the business? Isn’t that feeding right into her crazy assumption about you?”

  “She thinks I’m going to leave, and I’m not going to do that. I guess I’m going to find out if she was as serious about us being together as I was. For all I know, she may want us to stay as partners and quit seeing each other.”

  Jace’s eyes went wide. “What are you going to do if she says that’s what she wants? Will you go along with it?”

  Chris opened his beer and took a long pull of it before putting the bottle back down on the coffee table. “Hell no. That’s not even an option.”

  Jace grinned. “So?”

  “So I’m going up there and putting it all on the line—it’s her that I want, not her father’s business. And I’ll gladly go and flip burgers in town or go to work for another construction company—not as a foreman because I don’t want to compete with her—if it means that we stay together.”

  “You’re that serious about her?” Jace asked. “That sure?”

  Chris nodded. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”

  “I envy you, man. I really do.”

  With a smile, Chris patted Jace on the back and turned to walk toward the door. “Don’t envy me yet. This could all blow up in my face.”

  Jace laughed. “Nah. I don’t think it’s going to be easy, but you’re not going to fail.”

  “From your lips to God’s ears,” Chris said with a wink as he walked out the door.

  With his heart beating a little rapidly, he made his way back down to his apartment. But he stopped and did something he’d never done before first.

  He knocked on Estelle’s door.

  “Who is it?” she snapped from the other side of the door. “What do you want? I have a gun!”

  Chris chuckled. The woman was never boring, that was for sure. “Estelle? It’s Chris. Can you open the door?”

  She did and glared at him. “Of course I can open a door? You think I’m so old that I don’t know how to open a door anymore?”

  Rather than argue, he got right to the point. “I need to ask a favor, Estelle.” Her eyes went wide, and she immediately began fussing with her curlers as if they were threatening to break free. “I need you to know that I’m going to go into my apartment and convince Heather that I love her.”

  “Oh…well…”

  “It may get loud in there. We’ll probably argue.”

  “That’s not the way to convince a woman that you love her, Christopher. I thought you had better manners than that.”

  He smiled at her and laughed a little. “I do. But let’s just say Heather and I have had a misunderstanding, and I’m hoping to throw myself at her feet and beg for mercy.”

  “Now that’s more like it,” Estelle beamed. “But what does this have to do with me?”

  “I need to make sure that you’re not going to come down the hall waving a golf club or a baseball bat at me. I wanted you to know what’s going on so you don’t have to be scared, and I wanted to tell you thank you.”

  One of her wrinkled hands fluttered over her heart. “Thank me? For what?”

  “For always being concerned for us. I just didn’t want to worry you tonight.”

  She blushed. “Christopher,” she said softly, “that’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done for me.”

  He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Now wish me luck!”

  “Young man, you’re not going to need it. Heather’s far too crazy about you to let you get away!”

  He grinned at her and winked. “Let’s hope that you’re right!” He waved and continued down the hall until he stopped at his door.

  With a steadying breath, he let himself back in.

  Fifteen

  For ten minutes after Chris stormed out of the apartment, Heather could do nothing but sit in a stunned daze, occasionally petting Lucy when the dog came up and tried to nuzzle her.

  Chris had left. For good. Just like she’d known he would eventually.

  Maybe she’d overreacted earlier. Maybe she shouldn’t have needed to get away from him for the night. But she hadn’t known that was the end of the entire relationship.

  Evidently, it was.

  Chris always ran away. That was what he did.

  She’d believed he was actually changing—just like she was—but maybe neither of them could really change.

  She was too overwhelmed to even cry, although her throat was so tight she could barely breathe and her eyes had blurred over too much to see the details of the apartment. The beautifully updated kitchen. The old wooden floors. The big windows. Her favorite red chair. Flo.

  The apartment would look strangely empty without that ugly old recliner.

  She sucked in a hard breath, almost a sob, and reached for her phone, dialing the first person she thought of. It happened to be her dad.

  “Hey, girl,” he said warmly but rather hoarsely.

  “I’m sorry. Were you asleep?”

  “Nah. Just dozing. The game is boring. What’s the matter?”

 
She had no idea how he’d known that something was wrong, when all she’d said were five normal words. “Nothing.”

  “Don’t lie to your old dad. What’s going on?”

  The concern in his voice almost broke her. Her shoulders shook as she choked on a few silent sobs, trying to repress them so her father wouldn’t hear.

  He must have read into the silence, though. “What made you cry, honey?”

  The tears started falling then. “I think…” She took a ragged breath, trying to control her emotions enough to speak. “I think I blew things with Chris.”

  “Oh.” He let out an audible sigh. “Shit.”

  “I blew it. I didn’t trust him like I should have. And now he’s taken off, and he’s not going to come back.”

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “He sounded pretty sure.”

  “Yeah, well, he might have thought so when he said it, but he really has changed, Heather. I don’t think he’d walk out on you for good after just a fight.”

  “It was more than a fight.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. Why did you think you couldn’t trust him?”

  Heather didn’t usually tell her father the ins and outs of her romantic relationships, but she needed someone to talk to now, and her father was the person she trusted most. She sniffed and wiped away her tears, already feeling a little better from her dad’s matter-of-fact common sense. “He was lying to me. I mean, I know there’s something going on between you and him, but at least you didn’t lie to me about it. He did. And it just…just triggered all of my old insecurities.”

  “Insecurities are never as old as we want them to be.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I’m sorry we were keeping secrets from you, Heather. We thought…I thought it was for the best. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But I guess I ended up hurting you more.”

  “It wasn’t your fau—“

  “Yeah, it was. I’m working on something. A new business idea. I wanted to get Chris’s input on some stuff, but I was afraid it would bring up bad memories for you, so I asked him not to tell you until I knew for sure it was going to happen.”

  “What business idea?” Her head was spinning now as she tried to keep up with this new information.

  “You know those birdhouses your mother and I used to build?”

  The memory of it still stabbed. So many hours her parents had spent out in the backyard, working on those birdhouses while Heather played on the grass or climbed trees. “Yes,” she whispered. “Of course.”

  “Well, I’ve been working on them again, and I thought I’d see if I could start selling them. It would be a good retirement project for me. I don’t think I’m ready to sit around doing nothing yet.”

  She took three breaths in a row, fighting back her first instinct—which was that the birdhouses were tainted by her mother’s memory. “If that’s what you want to do, Dad, then of course I’ll support you. You didn’t have to hide it from me.”

  “I know the memories are hard for you, so I was just trying to be careful. I’m not sure if it will work out or not, so I didn’t want to hurt you unnecessarily. But I can see now that I was wrong. I’m sorry, honey.”

  “It’s okay. It really is. I know I overreacted and didn’t treat Chris the way I should have. But the truth is…” She wiped away a few more tears. “The truth is, if he left because of this, then he would have left eventually anyway.”

  “That might be true—if he’s actually left. I’m not sure that’s the case.”

  “I wish I had your optimism.”

  “Not optimism. Experience. I’ve lived long enough to know love when I see it.”

  She gulped. “He doesn’t—“

  Her father laughed, interrupting her. “You don’t have to believe me. But at least think about it and figure out what exactly you want.”

  “I know what I want.” She wanted Chris. And, for the first time, she actually believed she was strong enough to be in a real relationship, to trust the way she should have all along.

  “Then start thinking about how you can get it back.”

  She had no idea what to say to that, so she just mumbled, “Okay. Thanks, Dad.”

  “Any time. Now, it really is my bedtime.”

  “Goodnight. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  She hung up the phone and looked down at Lucy, who was sitting at her feet, gazing up at her mournfully.

  After a minute, Heather said, “You’re right, Lucy. You’re right. We belong here. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Lucy jumped up to her feet and panted.

  “I shouldn’t have tried to leave that way. It was wrong. And stupid. Chris is too good a guy to have lied to me like that without a good reason.”

  Lucy’s tongue was hanging out now and she turned an excited circle.

  “I don’t know if he’s going to come back,” Heather continued, looking around the quiet apartment. There were signs of Chris all around. Not just Flo, but his shoes on the floor, his travel mug next to the sink, his laundry basket near his bedroom door, where he’d left it after doing laundry.

  He belonged here. Exactly as she and Lucy did.

  And she suddenly felt a swell of hope as she realized he might know it too. He’d been angry, but it might not have been his final decision. For once, she was going to really trust him.

  “I know what I’m going to do,” she told Lucy, who was doing a little happy dance, her claws tapping on the hardwood floor.

  Heather started for the kitchen. “I’m going to make him cookies.”

  ***

  The cookies were almost done, filling the apartment with a warm, sweet fragrance, when Heather heard a sound at the door.

  She whirled around, her heart coming alive when she saw Chris coming through the front door, looking tired and rumpled and determined.

  He jerked to a stop when he saw her. “You’re still here.”

  Her heart sank. “You thought I’d be gone?”

  “I didn’t know. Weren’t you going to leave?”

  “I was before. But not now. So you aren’t here to see me?”

  He shook his head, as if trying to shake himself back to focus. “I was hoping you weren’t gone, but I didn’t know for sure.”

  “I’m still here.” She gave him a wobbly smile. “I thought you might be gone.”

  He strode over to her, his expression changing in a way that took her breath away. “I should never have walked out. I even tried to blame your dad for it, when it was always my own fault. I was just doing what I always do, but I don’t want to be that person anymore. I’m here, Heather.” He took both of her hands in his. “And I’m staying.”

  She swallowed hard, realizing that her hope in him had been fully justified, more than justified. There was no denying that look in his eyes. He wasn’t going anywhere. “For good?”

  “For good. Please tell me that’s what you want too. I love you, Heather. I know I might not have always acted like it, but I do. There’s never been anyone but you for me, and that’s never going to change. It’s okay if you’re not there yet. I can wait. I just want you to know that I know what I want now, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get it. To get you.”

  She swayed on her feet. She’d been hoping for maybe an admission of feelings, but she’d never expected this. “Really?” she asked stupidly.

  He gave a little huff of amusement. “Really. I want to be your roommate for a really long time.”

  The dry irony in his voice actually helped her pull herself together. She slanted him a teasing little look. “I want to be your roommate too—as long as that comes with certain benefits we can negotiate later and as long as you can put up with Lucy.”

  Lucy had been snuffling around Chris’s feet since he’d entered. He leaned over to give the dog a little pet. “I’m happy to put up with Lucy, as long as you can put up with Flo.”

  She laughed out loud, almost hugging herself with excitement. It was like a
miracle—like the worst night had suddenly transformed into the best. “That sounds like a fair deal. I talked to my dad. I know about his business, and why you lied to me. I still wish you hadn’t, but I understand. I’m sorry I blew up the way I did.”

  “No. I get it. I shouldn’t have lied, no matter what your dad asked me to do. If I’m in this relationship, then I need to be in it all the way. No lies or secrets. And I called your dad too and told him that, if it’s going to hurt you, then I don’t want to be a partner in the business at all.”

  She gasped. “No!”

  “No, what?”

  “No, you can’t pull out! I need you! The business needs you. I want to be your partner and your roommate and…and everything.”

  His face relaxed in a smile, and she knew in that instant that he’d just gotten everything he wanted.

  And apparently, what he wanted most of all was her.

  Chris sniffed the air. “What’s that smell?”

  Heather gasped. “My cookies!” She ran over to pull out the sheet from the oven, relieved when she saw that they were a little more done than she preferred but not at all burned.

  “Why were you making cookies?” Chris asked, coming to look over her shoulder with interest.

  “I was making them for you.”

  Chris stiffened. “You were?”

  “Yeah,” she admitted, lowering her gaze. “I was hoping you were coming back, so I wanted…I wanted to do something nice for you.”

  Chris made a rough sound in his throat and he pulled her into his arms.

  The cookies were completely forgotten for the next half-hour.

  ***

  A week later, Heather woke up when it was still dark in the room. Glancing over, she saw it wasn’t even five o’clock.

  She started to roll over and go back to sleep for another hour, but as she turned over she bumped into something big and warm and hard.

  Chris. He must have crept over onto her side of the bed as they slept.

  Typical. The man just filled up every space he stepped into.

  She gave the covers a hard tug and then tried to push him over to his side, but he didn’t budge. He was sound asleep, and his body just wouldn’t move.

  She gave him another push, and this time he huffed and woke up.