Page 27 of Roommate Wars
I waited in the kitchen,beer in hand, and checked the time. I could be as extroverted as the next guy, but it wasn’t my nature. The wining and dining and socializing for work was something I put up with grudgingly. But tonight might not be so bad, having my roommate at my side.
“Elise! Light a fire under it!”
The sound of the Jimmy Choo heels I’d bought her came down the hall. And then I saw her.
The cream color of the dress highlighted her lightly tanned skin, like I’d suspected it would, and the material cut in at all the right places, showing off her gorgeous figure. She was tall and more beautiful than any woman had a right to be.
That kind of beauty made a man stupid.
Holy mother of… Fuck.
I gulped down a swig of beer and set the bottle on the counter, my hand steady even as my heart hammered. “You ready?”
Her hair was pulled back into a low bun at the nape, revealing the slender, elegant lines of her neck. She held up a small purse. “You even bought me a clutch?”
The purse had cost more than the shoes, but it looked nice, and Elise would never know how much I’d spent because there’d been no price tags on those items. Next time, I’d remove the tags from everything.
“Thought you’d need it to hold your”—I gestured absently—“phone.” No idea what women kept in their purses, but there seemed to be a never-ending supply of stuff inside.
“But I never dress this nice.” She looked sadly at the Cartier clutch. “When will I use it?”
“I’m sure you’ll find another reason.” I wasn’t a big shopper, but apparently, my taste ran expensive. And I liked splurging on Elise without her knowing.
I pocketed my phone and patted my suit jacket to make sure my wallet was inside. “We should get going.”
“Wait.” She froze on her way to the door. “Are we taking your car?” She looked down at her heels. “I can’t walk far in these things. Will we be parking close to the venue?”
“I hired a driver. He’s waiting outside.”
Her eyes widened. “Waiting? Why didn’t you tell me?” she said as she hurried out the door and I locked up. “I would have gotten ready faster.”
I peered in disbelief. One thing I’d learned about Elise after living with her for the last week or so was that she cut it close in the time department.
She grinned abashedly. “Fine. I would have taken just as long, but I would have at least tried to hurry.”
I reached for her hand and looped it through the crook of my arm.
She looked at me suspiciously.
“Don’t worry,” I said, staring straight ahead. “Just don’t want you to go tumbling down the stairs. That would be messy.”
She rolled her eyes. “I need to get used to being close to you if we’re going to make our relationship look real.”
The idea of being close to Elise had me both thrilled and sweating with anxiety. Any man would want to be next to her. But I needed to stop getting ideas.
I helped her into the luxury SUV, climbed in behind her, then opened a bottled water and passed it over.
She straightened her dress and reached for the water. “Thank you. So, what’s the plan for tonight?”
“No plan. Just pretend to like me.” I grinned.
She eyed me, her lips pursed as though she was considering it. “That’s going to be tough, what with the dapper dark suit look you’ve got going. You even combed your hair.”
I straightened my tie. “I clean up when I need to.”
She made a purring sound in the back of her throat while eyeing me, and my heart thudded.
These sexy sounds were the kind of Elise curiosities that could easily drive me crazy.
