Page 8 of Under One Roof

“I am showing up unannounced,” I correct, but he shrugs and keeps his arm around me as he circles us both to face Taryn once again. She keys something into her computer and, a minute later, hands me a key.

“You don’t need a credit card?” I ask cautiously, and she looks to her brother, as if for the answer.

“We’ll take care of it when you check out.”

I’m not sure how I’m going to repay this man for all he’s done for me, but I’ll start a list to make sure I do before I head out of this town. He insists on carrying my bag upstairs as Taryn informs me of breakfast times and places I can visit, but I can barely listen with the heat of Captain America’s hand on my back, his fingers spanning what feels like the whole of it, his pinkie resting just above the curve of my butt.

“This one’s yours,” Taryn says when we reach my room. It’s covered in flowered wallpaper that I think would give me a headache if I stared at it for too long, but there’s a bed and a shower, and that’s all I need.

“This is great. I really appreciate you fitting me in.”

“It’s not a problem,” Taryn replies, though she’s glaring at her brother, who ignores her to set my bag down on the quilted comforter.

I do the same with my purse and guitar then pivot, intent on thanking him for his help, but he lifts his cell phone from his pocket and reads something on it.

“Fuck,” he grunts, and Taryn steps closer, reading whatever it is that has him suddenly so upset, and she shakes her head. Quietly curses, too.

“Everything okay?” I ask, and he raises his gaze to me. He shifts, taking one step toward me then stops suddenly, rocking as if he’s hit an invisible wall.

“I have to go. I need to take care of this.”

“Is it a fire?” When he shakes his head, I try again. “Is it something I can help with? I’d love to pay you back for everything you’ve done for me today.”

His dark eyes sweep over me, jaw tight, his hand balling into a fist at his side. “I’ve got to go.”

“Okay. I…hope it all turns out okay.”

He nods. “Nice meeting you, Andi.”

“You too,” I get out, but he’s already on his way down the hall, leaving me alone with his sister, who barely spares me a cursory glance.

“I’m here until five, if you need anything. The robe and slippers are complimentary.” Then she’s out, too, and I wait only a few seconds to close the door and belly flop onto the bed.

Rolling to my back, I blow out a long breath.

It’s been a day.

A week.

Months.

Making a fool of myself in front of Captain America is the cherry on top.

But it’s over now, and I can relax for a night. I stand to strip out of my clothes, and that’s when I realize I’m still in his zip-up. I bring the too-long sleeves up to my nose, smelling him again. The scent calms me, and I smile to myself even as I hang it up. I don’t know if or when I’ll see him again, but I can at least make sure the sweatshirt’s dry.

After I’m undressed, I turn the shower on hot and step under the spray. It feels amazing on my sore muscles, and as I lather up with the floral-scented soap provided, I think back over the last ten years of my life.

How I left home with stars in my eyes and big dreams in my head, only to arrive in LA alone and without much support besides a monthly check for fifty dollars from Mimi. She’d been the one to teach me how to play the guitar and the only one who wanted me to go when everyone else wanted me to stay. She’d been the only one I regularly talked to, and she’d been the only one to tell me not to give up, that my day would eventually come.

I thought it had when I lucked out by getting the job as Ryder St. James’s personal assistant. I assumed it would be my big break—thathewould give me my break. Problem was, he turned out to be the male version of Miranda Priestly, except worse. He might be brilliant, but he has the maturity of a fourteen-year-old boy.

And the way he fired me after everything I’d done for him? It was humiliating. Not only in what he’d said, but in whom he’d said it in front of. It had been my last straw.

I couldn’t face the possibility of failure anymore. The fight had gone out of me. So, I packed up what was left of my dignity with the idea of going back home, ending up here instead.

No job, no prospects, and no more support because Mimi is gone. My grandmother passed, and I never even got to say goodbye. By the time I cobbled together enough money for a last-minute flight, I could only stay long enough for the funeral and dinner before hopping right back on the plane because Ryder needed me to take him to an emergency appointment. The idiot had crushed up Viagra with his coke, and his erection lasted a lot longer than a few hours.

It’s always a penis that ruins everything.

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