JESSALYN
“You have ahold of him?” Justin asked from the hallway.
“Yup.”
He walked in with the cat in his arms, and I gripped Shiro’s leash tighter as Justin deposited her on the floor.
Shadow stalked toward us, her tail held high, and Shiro took a tentative step forward to investigate.
He tried sniffing. When the cat hissed and swiped with a paw, poor Shiro backed up so fast his ass hit the couch.
“Better than chasing her, I guess,” Justin said. “Sorry about that.”
Relief flooded through me. I’d been so worried Shiro would react badly, and where would that have left us? Sleeping in the car again. I didn’t like seeing him scared, but avoiding the cat was infinitely better than chasing her.
“It’s okay. Really, it’s fine.”
More than fine.
How had we gotten to this point? Well, after dinner last night, Justin had walked around the neighbourhood with us, me holding Shiro and him carrying a flashlight, and we’d talked.
Until that quiet stroll, I’d never believed in fate, but if I ever found Tiffany the scammer, I thought I might hug her instead of punching her in the face.
Of all the fake addresses she could have used, of all the places she could have sent me, she’d led me right to Justin Norquist’s door.
The one man who might actually have a heart.
“I wasn’t looking for a roommate,” he’d said. “But I’m not going to kick you out onto the street. As long as your dog gets along with my cat, you can stay in the guest room until you find a job and a place of your own. I spend a lot of time at work, so it’s not as if you’ll be in my way.”
Those damn tears threatened again, and I was both proud and relieved when I managed to hold them back. Justin was so freaking kind. Saylor said there were nice guys out there, but they were like gold nuggets in a stream full of pebbles. I’d never dreamed I might actually meet one of them.
“Are you sure you don’t mind? We just landed on your doorstep and…”
And Shiro pulled off his towel. Justin was wearing jeans and a sweater now, but I’d never get that image of bare, damp skin out of my mind. The well-defined chest, the taut abs, the happy trail that led to—
“I’m sure,” he said firmly.
“I swear you won’t even know we’re here. If you have visitors, we can make ourselves scarce.”
“I already decided to give dating a break for a while, and I’m not the type of guy who throws dinner parties. My housekeeper comes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but the place is empty the rest of the time.”
“As soon as I find a job, I can start paying rent.”
“I don’t need the money. Keep it toward a security deposit. Buy yourself a tripod and start another cooking blog. Use it to pay a divorce lawyer.”
A divorce lawyer… Obviously, I’d have to face the music at some point, but the thought of seeing Ridge again made my stomach flip-flop between fear and nausea.
“I don’t…I don’t think I’m ready for a divorce yet.”
Justin hadn’t seemed happy about that. No, he’d walked on ahead while Shiro sniffed at a bush, and I knew I’d have to tiptoe carefully around the subject of Ridge. I couldn’t afford to upset my host, not until I had somewhere more permanent to escape to.
I’d barely slept last night, alert to every movement of the house, and predictably, I’d gotten an ear-bashing when I checked in with Saylor this morning.
“You did what?” she asked.
“It was only dinner.”
“Ever heard the expression ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’?”
“Justin seems nice.” A little prickly, but kind.
“Didn’t Ridge seem nice when you first met him?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“I’ve sent you two hundred bucks, and Kevin has a set of golf clubs in storage that he hardly ever uses. I just need to find someone who can pick them up and list them for sale. They’ll go for at least five hundred bucks, and that’s your security deposit right there.”
“Don’t sell his golf clubs. This place is beautiful, and Justin isn’t even charging me rent.”
Saylor sucked in a breath. “Are you serious? Jessie! If he isn’t charging rent, that only means one thing.”
“He has a good heart?”
“No, dumbass. He expects you to pay in a different way.”
“I offered to cook for him.”
“Do I have to spell it out? Sex. He wants sex.”
My heart thumped. “What? No, he said he’s quit dating.”
“That’s even worse—he wants to get his rocks off without the commitment.”
“But…but he’s handsome and rich. He could date practically any woman he wanted.”
“What he wants is a bangmaid. You mark my words.”
“He has a housekeeper. She comes three times each week.”
“Rich people are cheapskates. He’s probably looking to save a few bucks. Don’t give in to his advances, and start looking around for another place to live, okay? Stay strong. You’ve got this.”
“I’ll try Craigslist again.”
“And I’ll call you in the morning. Evening, your time. Tillie, ohmigosh, what’s that on your face?” And to me, “Hell, it’s either eyeliner or Sharpie.”
“Good luck.”
“You too, sweetie.”
I’d left her to clean up her little girl and hurried downstairs.
The harsh buzz of a blender made me jump out of my skin, but I managed to regain my composure before I walked into the kitchen.
A bangmaid? Could Saylor be right? The pieces of the jigsaw fit, I had to admit.
And the worst part? I didn’t even hate the idea.
Justin was standing at the counter, pouring green gloop into two highball glasses. He pushed one in my direction.
“Here. Spinach, peach, pineapple, banana, and matcha.”
“You made me a smoothie?”
“It tastes better than it looks.”
“Uh, thanks?”
“We have plenty to fit in today, so I figured we could pick up breakfast after we introduce Shiro to Shadow. If they don’t get along, I’ll have to find a screen door and divide the house into two.
” He tapped a list on the counter. “My PA’s taking a personal day, so I’ve probably forgotten something. ”
I read through the items.
- Dog/cat intro.
- Police report.
- Meeting with loss adjuster.
- Groceries.
- Flowers for Marion.
- Check in with Jake.
- Call Isabel.
- Gym.
- Dinner?
“Why do you have to meet with a loss adjuster?”
“My house burned down.”
Huh?
“But…isn’t this your house?”
He gave a rueful smile. “Yes and no. I do own it, but I never meant to live in it.” Justin perched on a stool and took a sip of the gross-looking concoction.
“My company built this whole development, and this was the model home. I live—lived—in a duplex ten miles away, and three months ago, my eighty-year-old neighbour decided to burn some leaves in his yard. The fence caught fire, and I was out, and…you know where this is going.”
My hands pressed against my cheeks. “Ohmigosh. Was he okay?”
“Yeah, thank fuck. The fire crew found him in the yard. He’d managed to unroll the water hose, but the whole damn place was ablaze by then.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Anyhow, I needed somewhere to stay in a hurry, so I just moved in here.”
“That actually explains a lot.”
“Oh?”
“The plastic on the mattress, the empty drawers, everything being brand new…”
Justin’s expression turned sheepish. “I haven’t spent much time here. A restoration service took a bunch of my stuff away for cleaning—the smoke got everywhere—but I haven’t sorted through it yet, and then there are the structural issues. That’s what I need to speak with the loss adjuster about.”
“So you’ll stay here until you can move back home?”
“Yeah, probably. It’ll be a while, though. Months, not weeks.”
“Can I help with anything? Picking up your belongings? Making this place more homey? Should I get flowers for Marion? Who is Marion?”
“Marion lives next door, and the flowers are a thank-you for the sack of dog food. We need to replace the dog food as well.”
“I could bake her a cake? And I can make the grocery list while you’re speaking with the loss adjuster.”
I thought Justin was about to say “no,” but then he smiled. A proper smile, and heck, my heart skipped.
“That’d be real nice of you.”
Whatever Saylor said, I knew I wouldn’t be hurrying to look for another place.
This one was perfect. And with Shiro playing his part perfectly and giving Shadow a wide berth, another piece of the puzzle slotted into place.
I was going to be the best roommate Justin Norquist had ever had.
And I was going to buy that tripod. Ridge might have worn me down over the course of our marriage, but I was back on my feet again, and he wasn’t going to stop me from doing what I loved.
Carefully, because if he found out where I was, he’d show up and haul me back to Maine, but A Sprinkle of Happiness was about to be reborn.
And perhaps this time, it wouldn’t be a complete lie.