Noel.
T HE DAY HAD gone incredibly smoothly, considering I was shacking up with a stranger. I spent most of the time in my room binge-watching holiday movies, or at least trying to, but every half an hour or so, I would crawl out of bed, tiptoe to my bedroom door, press my ear to the sleek wood, and listen.
My curiosity was running rampant, and I needed to know what my unwanted houseguest was doing for some strange reason. I could hear his voice on calls and then the low hum of the television, but it didn’t sound like he was watching anything entertaining. From what I could tell, he was watching the news or something with a lot of commentary.
Figures.
By early evening, I showered and got cozy in another pair of holiday pajamas, a cotton short set with tiny candy canes printed on the shorts and one large one centered in the middle of my oversized matching tee. After a quick glance in my full-length mirror, I cursed myself for purchasing a week’s worth of holiday sleepwear. At the moment, my selection felt juvenile.
Who the hell cares?
Everyone should feel like a kid at Christmas . . . right?
I didn’t need to impress this guy, and I would see very little of him; plus, if he couldn’t appreciate my holiday cheer, that was his problem, not mine. Everyone loves holidays, and Christmas should always be at the top of the list. The thought had me feeling slightly depressed again because I wouldn’t be having a very memorable Christmas, and I seriously missed my family.
After a few more minutes of torturing myself by unsuccessfully creeping on my houseguest, I crawled back into bed and pulled up my very extensive list of saved holiday movies. I scrolled mindlessly, noting that most of them I had watched multiple times before landing on one about a city mogul who gets stranded in a small town. It’s always a small town.
During his snowed-in weekend, he falls in love with a baker who’s at risk of losing her family-owned cookie shop, but, of course, he manages to not only steal her heart but save her business as well.
Totally cheesy but so adorably warm and fuzzy at the same time.
I pressed play to start the movie, releasing a sigh. Why couldn’t real life work like it did in these cheesy holiday movies? If they did, I wouldn’t miss Christmas with my family, and I wouldn’t be confined to my bedroom for the next week while a stranger had free rein of my apartment. My eyes left the TV screen and roamed around my cozy but lived-in bedroom.
My room and current situation definitely reflected my life. Confined and tattered. I released another dramatic sigh, and focused my eyes back on the TV screen just in time to take in the perfectly cooked steak next to a mound of mashed potatoes and gravy.
Within seconds, my stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten much of anything all day. My eyes drifted to my bedroom door, reminding me that on the other side, I had a refrigerator full of perfectly good groceries that I’d purchased with my last expendable funds to hold me for the week.
Groceries that would go bad if I let them sit. Sure, I’d promised Kanton that he could have full access to my apartment besides my bedroom, but surely he would understand if I slipped into the kitchen long enough to whip up a few meals or make Christmas cookies.
Christmas isn’t Christmas without my mom’s famous cinnamon and spice gingerbread cookies.
But who was I kidding? Nothing about Kanton Joseph expressed “reasonable.” Tyrant, uptight, and all business, but reasonable, he was not.
Well, he did accept the deal you offered.
True, he had. The guy could have easily thrown me out of my own apartment on my ass because he had a legally binding contract that stated he owned the right to occupy my place for the week—without me.
And he didn’t.
But that didn’t mean he would allow any other concessions. But I had to eat. I couldn’t very well stay in my room and starve for an entire week. Surely, he didn’t expect that.
Or maybe he did.
“ Grrrrrrrrrr . . .” I growled, kicking my feet beneath my bedding like a petulant child for several seconds before I tossed the covers back and swung my legs over the side. While I pondered what my next move would be, my stomach growled again, very loudly, deciding for me.
Here goes nothing.
I marched to the door, armed with a plan. Say nothing, whip up a quick meal, and then disappear before he can complain. Simple enough, right? Rolling my shoulders back, I turned the knob to exit my room, and the minute I stepped into the hallway, a tantalizing aroma of marinara, veggies, and garlic slammed into me.
As soon as I stepped into the kitchen, I found the source of my torture along with the reason for my elevated stress levels . . . Kanton standing over two boxes of pizza. Romano’s Pizza was one of my favorite guilty pleasures, so, of course, my stomach betrayed me, growling so loudly that I was fearful that Lewis would hear the betrayal from the lobby.
“I guess there’s my answer right there.” Kanton smiled smugly, dropping a second slice onto a plate—my plate—that he’d made himself comfortable with, but instead of diving in, he extended the food to me.
“What’s that?”
“Pizza,” he rattled off matter-of-factly, and that crater in his cheek and those syrupy-brown eyes complemented every inch of his insanely handsome face.
“I know what that is . . .” I motioned to the pizza that he was still extending in my direction with a nod. “What I meant to say was what ‘ answer’ ? When I walked in, you said there’s your answer. What’s that about?”
Was he betting I wouldn’t hold up my end of the deal by steering clear of what was his temporary territory for the week? And shit, here I was, totally not doing what I promised.
“I know we had a deal, but you have to eat. I ordered enough to share. Pizza was a safe choice. Who doesn’t love pizza? I would have asked what you liked, but I didn’t want to disturb whatever you were doing in there . . .”
“Thanks, but I brought groceries. If you don’t mind the intrusion, I can just make something and then be out of your way in no time at all. You can pretend I’m not even here.”
He stepped closer, placing the plate on the counter near where I was standing, putting him near me, and damn, this man smelled amazing. So did the pizza, and my stomach growled, approving his offering.
“ Or you can let me do something nice and just eat the pizza. Sounds to me like you could use a quick meal.”
My cheeks heated, and I locked my arms over my chest. “I’d rather cook. My groceries will go bad if I don’t, and—”
“ And you can cook tomorrow. One day won’t matter, and since dinner is on me tonight, you can return the favor tomorrow by making us dinner.”
“Us?” I frowned. Was he really expecting me to cook for him?
“Yes, us . You and I, unless I should be expecting another guest. I’m not sure where they would sleep because I refuse to share the sofa.” He paused and lowered his chin before continuing. “Maybe that’s your thing, overbooking your place, hoping that the person will get annoyed and leave, leaving you with your apartment and their hard-earned money.”
My mouth dropped open, and he grinned but turned his back to me, reaching for another plate which he filled with three slices before facing me again.
“You don’t seriously believe I was trying to pull a scam, do you?”
“It’s possible.”
“I didn’t ask you what was possible. I asked if you believed that’s what happened.”
“No, I don’t. I believe it was an honest mistake. I was making a joke to lighten the mood, You seem a bit tense.”
“I am a bit tense. You’re here, in my apartment, and—”
“ You don’t know me . Right, we’ve gone over this already. I’m no more of a threat to you than you are to me. I thought I had proved my point by agreeing to this absurd little arrangement. Just take the pizza and say thank you,” he muttered dryly, shoving a slice toward his mouth, almost half of which he devoured with one bite. I watched the pizza and then his mouth or rather his lips as he chewed slowly, leaving me in a bit of a lustful daze until I realized what I was doing and snapped out of my trance, only to find I wasn’t the only one enjoying the view. His unapologetic gaze was on me, and those damn lips I had just been admiring were slightly curved, offering a cocky grin.
“We don’t know each other, and for the record, just so we’re clear, forgetting to cancel the reservation was an honest mistake. It’s probably better if I prove my point by holding up my end of the deal. I’m going back to my room.”
I turned to walk away just as my stomach protested again by growling loudly. Against my better judgment, I relented and reached for the plate, taking it with me. I also swiped several bottles of water from the refrigerator and a handful of napkins before making my very dramatic exit.
Just before I bent the corner, I glanced over my shoulder with the weighted feeling that he was still watching me, and, of course, he was, but his eyes were a lot lower than I liked when I mumbled, “Thanks for this.”
Those syrupy-browns crawled slowly back to my face, and instead of pretending he hadn’t been checking me out because, of course, this guy was too full of himself, he simply tipped his head and smiled once more. I left him there and slipped back into my room, softly closing the door behind me which I leaned against, tossing the bottles of water on the bed.
I wanted to be frustrated, but how could I be when the guy had a face and body like his? Apparently, he wasn’t all that bad since he ordered and offered me dinner, but yeah, I knew better than to fall for his wit and charm because men disappoint, life disappoints, and my life was living proof of what was left after the disappointment.