Page 6 of Nailing Heat
Amelia may not be fond of me but fuck if she’s not adorable. Standing there staring me down with her wide chocolate eyes. She’s got the kind of curves that a man could spend all dayrunning his hands across. But that will not be me. That can’t happen.
“Oh, well, I hadn’t really thought about it,” I catch her saying. At least I think that’s all she’s said.
“Well, let me know when you figure it out. I can get meals on my own until you do.” I shrug sheepishly like it’s the least I can do in the situation.
Her mouth opens but immediately closes, no sound escaping her lips. It happens again. I grin at her.
“Are you suddenly at a loss for words?” I tease, taking a sip of my hard-earned drink.
Her cheeks flush pink which makes my grin grow wider. Damn it, she’s adorable. I mentally slap myself to stop the thoughts that are forming in my head.
“No, I was just going to ask you something that is none of my business, so I figured I’d shut up.”
“What was it?” She swallows, not saying a word. “Come on, I’m invading your space with my serial killer name and all, the least I can do is answer your question. Whether it’s your business or not.”
I watch as she tucks her bottom lip between her teeth, biting ever so slightly as if she’s not sure if she should say anything else. “Ask away.” I stretch my arms out to her like I’m yielding the floor to her.
“What did August mean when he said you were rebuilding your life?" Her words are tentative and slow, like she doesn’t want to ask me the question, but she definitely wants the answer.
I sigh. I figured we’d get to this at some point. I hoped we’d be on better terms or at least had a few more conversations before she grilled me with the hard stuff. “He meant that I was staring over here in Tampa,” I begin, figuring I might as well get it over with. No sense making her drag it out of me. “I am recently divorced. Left my ex-wife back in New England, in our house with our dog.”
“Oh,” her mouth hangs open, and it doesn’t close until I smirk.
“There you have it, my secret pain.”
“I’m so sorry, I had no idea,” she begins, but I cut her off.
“No, it’s okay. How could you possibly know something like that about me? It’s fine. It was time for a change of scenery anyways,” I tell her. The urge to run away and hide in my room flares strong within me. “I’m gonna go unpack the stuff in my room,” I tell her, placing my glass in the sink, and gesturing towards the hallway she’s blocking.
Amelia steps aside and I make my way past her. As I pass, she grabs for my wrist. “I’m sorry about your divorce.”
I turn my head, looking down at her, so that our eyes meet. She’s standing so close to me that I can feel the heat coming off of her. “Don’t be. Fifty percent of marriages end in them, or some shit like that.”
And with that, I pull my wrist away from her soft hand and continue toward my bedroom, breaking our contact and sacrificing the little bit of something I saw behind her eyes. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It wasn’t pity, but it wasn’t lust either. Curiosity, perhaps. Either way, I might just be fucked.
Chapter Three
~AMELIA~
He has the bass pumping pretty good through the wall, but I don’t think it’s on purpose. He probably has no idea how thin these walls are. I place my Kindle down on the bed after deciding that the heroine and the hero are going to have to wait for their meet cute. There’s no way I can concentrate on them with this thudding. A soft chuckle escapes my lips as I realize that my own romance is just as interrupted by real life. I contemplate for a second pounding on the shared wall and asking him to knock it the fuck off.
But I don’t. Checking the time, I note that it’s not even dinner time yet. This feels like the longest day.
Instead, I haul myself from my bed and out of my bedroom. I keep moving and do not stop until I’m standing at Hendrix’s door, knocking, praying that she answers. I’m rewarded with her wide smile and warm brown eyes.
“Hey, how’s it going with the new roomie?” she asks, grinning.
“It’s not so great,” I tell her. She moves aside and gestures for me to come in.
“What happened? Tell me all about it.” Out of the corner ofmy eye, I see she’s texting on her phone. “On second thought, wait a second. Cassie and Mac are on their way over.”
I tile my head inquisitively. “I thought Mac was going to Danny’s?”
“Nope,” she says, popping the ‘p’. “She decided to hang close by when she found out that you were getting a roomie.”
I smile, instantly happy when the two of them come barreling through Henny’s door.
“So how bad is it?” Cassie asks me, pulling me into a hug. I can’t help but notice she’s showered and no longer wearing her yoga clothes. I can smell her lavender shampoo. I almost wish I would have changed or at least taken a shower before coming over here. But Hendrix is still in her workout clothes, so I’m not the only one.
