Page 31 of Landlord Wars
I rubbed my chest in mock pain. “Ouch.”
Her lips twitched in what looked like a smile. She didn’t hate me. I hadn’t won her over yet, but she didn’t hate me.
There was a Machiavellian side of me that enjoyed riling up Sophia. She didn’t back down when I was being an ass, and I respected that. But I was even more pleased to make her smile.
We drove the rest of the way in relative silence, except for the erotic tension that filled the air—possibly entirely on my end.
I let out a sigh. I was attracted to a woman who hated me. Because of course I was.
Back at the apartment, I followed Sophia up the stairs, trying hard not to stare. I’d been on dates since Gwen and I separated, but you’d think I’d been locked up in a monastery. Now that I’d mentally admitted my attraction to Sophia, the floodgates had opened, and my gaze snagged and held on a pert little rear. I had issues.
She stopped on the landing and swung around. “I’ll stay at Jack’s as long as you don’t pity me.”
I didn’t dare breathe, worried she’d take it back. Which solidified my ruination when it came to this woman.
“No pity.” There was something undeniably appealing about her holding to her convictions.
“And one more thing,” she said, one curvy hip cocked. “My sister will be staying now and then, so don’t give me a hard time about it.”
“Whatever you and Jack work out is fine with me.”
She turned for her apartment, and I was about to head up to mine, forcing myself to remain cool and not look back, when I heard her say, “Oh, I forgot…”
I looked back, and the view was worth it.
“Touch my chocolate again,” she said, fire in her eyes, “and you’ll lose a digit.”
A vision of a jerry-rigged finger guillotine inside her chocolate cupboard flashed before my eyes, and I smiled.
I liked this girl.
ChapterThirteen
Sophia
If there wasone person I didn’t trust to witness my mother’s house, it was Max Burrows. But not only had my rich, arrogant landlord seen the place, he hadn’t run away in horror.
Which was shocking.
Max had been polite to my mom and even escorted me home. It was more than I could say for Paul, or anyone else, for that matter.
My sister was my best friend, and that was because no one else had stuck around once they saw where I lived.
So Max wasn’t a total ass. A mild ass, an incremental ass, but not a total ass. Time would tell if the rest of his critical, food-stealing behavior improved.
“Elise, you can come over,” I told my sister over the phone, as I tended the small plants on my bedroom windowsill.
“Landlord Devil gone?”
“No, but he’s got virtual reality goggles on, and he and Jack are oblivious to everything going on around them. They’re bumping into furniture and shouting at the TV, being nuisances. Anyway, I’m not worried about you staying the night, because Max and I came to a weird truce.”
My sister made a loud hoot, and I pulled the phone away from my ear. “Soph, I’m so happy you’re staying there and that you worked things out.”
“Me too.” And I really was. Returning home would have been traumatic. Even my mom had sounded relieved when I told her my new place was going to work out after all. It probably had more to do with her not needing to remove items from my old bedroom, but still. She was happy, and I was even happier.
“You sure you’re okay with me living at the apartment?” I asked. “What about your issues with my roommate?”
“I’ve decided to rise above,” she said. “I won’t let your roommate get to me.”
