Page 1 of Always a Roommate
1
RAE
When I was a teenager, I fancied myself in love with my best friend’s older brother. He was brooding and so attractive I lost my head every time he was near, but he was also six years older than us. To him, I was nothing but his kid sister’s friend.
And then, there was the fact that we didn’t get along. At all.
I’d been naïve back then, reading my romance books where enemies turned into lovers. Fights became… something other than fights. Snark was flirting.
But in our case, our snark had a film of irritation over it, a filter of disgust. Because the older I got, the more I saw him for what he was. A jerk. Someone who would never look at me and actually see me for what I was instead of who I used to be. That love I’d felt faded into nothing more than annoyance.
Shane Kelly. He left for college, and when he returned, it was like I hardly knew him at all. He became a teacher, of all things, and I was no longer the young girl with stars in her eyes.
Now, he was my new roommate.
“You can do this, Rae.” I stared at myself in the floor-length mirror, examining the outfit I’d bought for this very day. The biggest day of my career.
Today, I was going to meet with a client who would finally put me on the map as a wedding planner. I’d never hurt for work in our small town, but this one was big.
A real rock star.
I smoothed my hands over the blue silk top draped across my torso. No one would call me thin. I wore high-waisted skirts and pants to hide the rolls that came out to play whenever I put on low-rise jeans. I knew how to dress to always look my best, to accentuate my curvy figure.
In high school, I was the skinny girl others envied, but I’d also been running every chance I could get to stay in shape. Now, I only ran when I wanted to and was much happier for it.
I buttoned the black skirt and stepped into my heels. Normally, I didn’t dress up so much to meet with clients, but this was different. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my frantic heart.
“Rae Lauren Brooks,” I said, meeting my own gaze in the mirror, “you are fabulous.” I pushed my auburn curls over one shoulder. “Any bride is lucky to have you planning her wedding. Even if she is marrying a rock star.”
And there went my heart again.
My phone rang, making me jump. Reaching for it, I didn’t even need to check the name to see who it was. “Finny.” I relaxed the moment I spoke to her.
“Hey, babe.” My best friend in the world had moved out weeks ago to live with the love of her life, something I tried not to be insanely jealous of. Especially when she got her grumpy brother to take over her part of the lease. “You haven’t left yet, have you?”
“Maybe I have.” She knew me too well.
“Okay, so either you’re nervous about this meeting or you’re avoiding my brother.”
“C. All of the above.”
I could practically hear Finley’s proud smile. She’d squealed just as loud as I had when I’d gotten this meeting. “You, my lovely friend, are going to kill this.”
“I don’t want to kill anyone. I just want to plan their wedding.”
“You can’t see me, but I’m rolling my eyes at you.”
I laughed, leaning toward the mirror to finish applying my lipstick as I held the phone between my ear and shoulder. “Always.”
“So, you and Shane aren’t doing any better living together?”
“We’re fine.” If by ‘fine’ I meant we avoided being in the same room with each other. Normally, I was able to wait him out and not emerge from my room until he left for work in the morning. But today, my meeting was early.
Weren’t rock stars supposed to stay up all night and sleep late?
Finley sighed. “You know, he’s not so bad.”
“Never said he was.”
