Page 26 of The Tomorrows After You
My lower abdomen tightened at the sound of my name on her lips. Her fingers were long and slender, and her skin was soft, my hand wrapping around hers with a firm pump. She looked at me without a fleck of fear in her eyes.
Fuck, I hope I don’tregret this.
“And the terms of the dealarethe terms,” she said with finality, going back to her plate.“I’m your tenant. Don’t get any ideas that I owe you anythingmore.”
Anger bubbled inside me, offended by her insinuation.The nerve… This girl assumes because she’s beautiful and city-sophisticated that everyone is trying to fuck her.
Heat crept up my neck at the memory of the way both Rodger and Jeremy dragged their beady little eyes over her. I bit my tongue, realizing it was very well possible that had been her experience back in Godot.
“I told you before,”I dismissed.“You’re not my type.”A flash of hurt pinched her eyes. I almost backtracked but she sat up straighter and tossed her hair arrogantly over her shoulder.
“Good. You’re not mine either.”Even though there was a tinge of doubt in her voice, my chest deflated a bit. I guess it always hurt a little when someone told you they weren’t attracted to you.
Even if you had no interest in them, anyway.
We ate in silence for a few more minutes. I tried running through my mental inventory of the pieces I could have ready to sell in a few weeks but every few minutes, my eye wandered to the reflective window where I studied her profile, the elegant shape of her neck.
“What happened to your uncle’s place anyhow?”I asked, clearing my throat, desperate for a distraction.
Don’t ever think I owe you anything more.
I was insulted, sure, but something in her voice made it seem at some point in her life, someonehadmade her feel like she owedmore.Plus, ithadbeen burning me up all day to know why she wasn’t staying in Jacob’s sprawling, five-bedroom farmhouse.
She slowed her chewing but didn’t look me in the eye. Her face paled.
Nicolette shrugged. After wiping her lips with a napkin, she relaxed a bit.“I was hoping he’d be visiting his cousin in San Diego for the summer, but I was wrong.”
“You two don’t get along?”
I was prying but if this woman was going to live in my house, I should find out why her last residence didn’t work out. She was quiet for a longtime, and I resigned myself to being left in the dark. I wasn’t going to pry into her life and make her think I wanted her to open up.
This was a business trade, nothing more.
“It’s not that,”she said, sitting up and pushing her plate away. Nicolette’s gaze drifted out the window and I was once again struck with how soft her neck looked. I pictured running the pad of my thumb over her collarbone.
“Sometimes it seems like he wants to get alongtoowell.”Her voice was barely above a whisper. She moved the coffee mug in front of her face, hiding her emotions behind the ceramic.
My chest constricted and the blood in my veins turned prickly with a foreign feeling of defensiveness.
This girl, despite her bratty tendencies, had left the home of the only family she had remaining in her hometown, had been sleeping in her car and then in a homeless shelter all because her fucking uncle couldn’t keep his eyes or hands to himself.
It pissed me off more than I expected it to.
My anger must have been written all over my face.“It’s not like hetouchedme,” she followed up. Shrugging it off like it wasn’t a big deal, which only stoked my anger. “Just… I don’t know. I found some unsavory internet search history.”She shook her head, sending blonde waves over her delicate shoulders. A shiver pulsed through her body as if she’d landed on a specific memory.“It’s not a big deal or anything, I just didn’t feel like sticking around. That’s all.”There was an edge of defensiveness in her voice.
I held up my palms.“You don’t need to convince me. Wanted to make sure you didn’t get kicked out for leaving the stove on or anything.”
The smile I tried to plaster on my face fell flat. My teeth gritted and some innate protectiveness gripped my chest.
Let that go. You are her landlord now, nothing more.
She smirked sarcastically.“I’ve got a lot to do. You probably won’t even see me much. And besides. It should only be for a couple of weeks tops. I’m not trying to spend any more timein Godot than I have to.”
And despite my better judgment, there was something thatreallybummed me out about that thought.
Something caught her attention out the window and dread washed over her expression. She leaned her elbows on the table, rubbing her eyes with her palms. I followed her line of sight to see Jeremy rolling past the diner in his cruiser.
“Of course, he’s a goddamn cop,”she groaned.
