Page 16 of Roommating

My muscles tighten. Worry? What is he worried about?

Adam says, “You can’t just go around sharing your passwords with people, Grams.”

I gasp and throw a hand to my mouth. Is this about me? Am Ipeople?

“I only shared them with Sabrina.”

“Who was a virtual stranger. She could have done anything with them. Robbed you blind.”

“But she hasn’t.”

My pulse speeds up. Does Adam really think I would do something so horrific? I only want to help her! I curl my fists and blink back the tears building behind my eyelids, my insides torn between anger at this ridiculous accusation and disappointment that the accuser is Adam, who I thought was becoming my friend.

“Thankfully, but don’t give her the opportunity. If you need help, I’m here too.”

“You’re as much of a Luddite as me!”

Ha! You tell him, Marcia.

“Just promise me you’ll be more careful with your personal information. Don’t respond to any weird emails from Nigerian princes asking for money either.”

“What does a prince want from me?”

“A real prince wants nothing. A fake one wants your life savings! Your identity can be stolen even if you do everything right, but your risk increases if you’re careless with your personal information.”

I don’t stick around to hear what Marcia says next. I quickly dash into my bedroom and close the door behind me as quietly as possible.

Chapter Nine

What’s with the resting bitch face?”

I’m in front of the romance shelf pulling books from the hold list about an hour into work the next day but jerk back and face Gabe, who’s reorganizing the March Madness display by the window. “What are you talking about?”

Gabe waves a hand in front of my face. “You look like you’re auditioning for a role of sucking lemons.”

I sigh and tell him about the conversation I overheard between Adam and Marcia the night before. “While Marcia was all, ‘You’re a godsend, Sabrina,’ and practically bringing me to tears with her gratitude,hisgut reaction was that I might be trying to steal from her.” Exhausted from tossing and turning all night, I scrub a hand over my eyes.

I can’t even pinpoint what upsets me the most. It stings because I thought Adam and I were bonding. I like him and genuinely thought the feeling was mutual, but now I know we’re on vastly different wavelengths. And then there’s the anger. Where hashebeen for the last ten years to now show up, a virtual stranger himself, and warn Marcia againstme? For all I know,he’sthe one after her money.

He was sleeping when I showered this morning and in thebathroom when I left for work. A blessing because I don’t know how to act around him now. “It was just so unexpected because we’d been bonding earlier that night.”

Gabe’s eyebrows shoot up. “Bondinghow?”

Heat whips across my cheeks as I remember our questionably flirtatious banter about my type. “All PG.”

Gabe chuckles before switching the positions ofLong ShotandSooleyon the display. “I was worried something like this would happen when he moved in, but I didn’t want to say anything.”

I address the second half of his sentence first with an eye roll. “You didn’t want to say anything? You?” This has never been Gabe’s problem.

He flashes a devilish grin.

“And what do you mean by ‘something like this’?”

His face turns serious. “It all sounded too good to be true. Adam goes to live with his grandmother, becomes besties with her twentysomething roommate, and the three of you live happily ever after?” He shrugs. “Maybe in one of those cheesy made-for-TV movies, but in real life, you and Adam would either want to bang it out or he’d be threatened by you. In this case, both happen to be true.”

“No comment on the banging-it-out part, but why would he be threatened by me?” I pullBefore I Let Gooff the shelf and toss it in the cart with more force than is required.

Gabe gives me a pointed look. “You’re a threat to his relationship with Marciaandhis bed.” My confusion must be obvious because he sighs. “Imagine if your grandma invited you to move into her luxury apartment building rent-free, and you thought you had it made except there’s already someone in the guest bedroom, a surrogate granddaughter, while you’re stuck on the couch.”

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