Page 67 of Roommate's Guide to Love

I hold my hands up in surrender. “No, you’re right. Turtle is more than welcome.”

Judging by the look in her eye, I think she thought that was going to be her out. I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but I’ll literally say yes to anything right now if it means she’ll move in.

“If I say yes—and that’s still a big if—there’s one rule that I need to put down. And you can’t say no.”

“Anything.”

She’s quiet for a second before her eyes meet mine, more serious than I’ve ever seen them in my life.

“You. Me. If I move in, we have to be over.”

Shit…I didn’t think of that, that’s how fucked my head is right now.

“You’re probably right.”

“Not probably. I am.” She turns to look me straight in the eye. “If I’m going to be living here with you, what we’ve been doing has to stop. And this can’t be one of my empty promises, or us thinking we can keep things professional. This has more riding on it than just us and no real consequences. I’m doing this for Grace. You’re asking me to do this because you want the best for Grace. And I’ll do it, but you have to promise me that you know it’s temporary, and you have to know that what we were in the past is gone.”

For years, Quinn Banks has had the reputation of the wild child. The slightly unhinged Banks sibling. The girl who uses rules as loose guidelines. Which is how I know how serious she is about this.

But she’s right, it’s what I have to do. Because at the end of the day, I need help. And there’s no one else I trust more in this world than this woman sitting in front of me.

A woman I’ll have to fight not to touch every day.

A woman whose lips I’ll stare at, remembering every time I felt them against mine.

But if this is what I need to do for Grace, then I’ll do it. No questions asked.

“I promise.”

guide to love rule #93

News travels fast in small towns. So keep your secrets guarded. And keep your hidden looks to yourself.

19

quinn

I’m living with Porter…

I’m living with a boy…

I’m living with a boy who I’ve ridden reverse cowgirl…

“Hey! Hurricane! Come back to Earth and quit spilling my beer!”

I jump a little, beer running over the glass and down my arm, as I hear Harry call me by the nickname that he heard Porter use once and now everyone at the bar is using. It would be cute if it wasn’t a constant reminder that people still think of me as the crazy Banks.

“Shit, sorry about that,” I say as I wipe up the spill and hand him his beer. “Zoned out for a bit.”

Harry tips his glass to me before taking a drink. “That’s what’ll happen when you’re raising a baby. I don’t think I slept for two years when my middle child was born.”

Two years? That’s so long. Surely Grace likes me enough that she’ll start sleeping through the night soon. And I’ll be gone away before?—

“Whoa! What do you meanraising a baby?”

I’ve been staying with Porter for three days now, but we haven’t told anyone about our arrangement except Jenny. And she only needs to know so she can cover the bar for the few minutes that we play tag back and forth from the bar to the house so Grace isn’t alone. My sisters don’t even know. They still just think I’m just helping out. And I sure as shit would’ve told them over my grumpy regular who thinks that advice you can get on a fortune cookie constitutes a tip.

“You and Porter, raisin’ that little girl. I think it’s admirable what you two are doing. Having her mama left her all alone.”

---