Chapter Five
Aiden stared after Hazel as she brought in yet another box. How the fuck did he agree to her moving in? It defied logic. She was the last person he needed to share a house with. It was going to be pure torture. And a lot of fun. Hazel always made him laugh.
“That’s the last of it,” Jory said as he brought in a basket of clothing. He dropped it at the bottom of the stairs.
“Jesus Christ. How much stuff does she have? Who needs that much clothing?” Aiden demanded.
Jory grinned. “Women. They need something to wear for every occasion and a pile for the what-ifs?”
“What-ifs? What the hell are those?”
“What if it rains while we’re out to dinner? I might need a jacket that will match my outfit. What if it gets cooler later? I could need a sweater to match my shoes. What if it—"
Aiden waved him off. “I get it, I get it. But seriously, Jor, she’s only staying for a month. She doesn’t need all this shit.”
The smile left Jory’s face. “Look, Aiden, I know you don’t want this, and I totally get that, but I appreciate it all the same. Once things…calm down around here and we’ve stopped the arsonist and know whatever the hell else is going on is over, then we can get her a new place. Until then, sorry, bro… I don’t want her on her own.”
He held up his hands to ward off any complaints. “Yeah, I know she’s old enough to take care of herself, but I trust your gut. I would never forgive myself if she moved out to the edge of town and the firebug lit those buildings up. Or if she moved into the middle of town and something else happened. You said it yourself. Something weird is going on. I don’t want her on her own until it all gets sorted out.”
When Jory put it that way, he couldn’t argue. The idea of Hazel on her own right now gnawed at him. That didn’t mean he wanted her to live with him though. It was hard enough to resist her when she was at arm’s length, living in her mom’s basement. When she was home alone with him and naked in the shower… He slammed the door on that thought. If he had any hope of surviving, he was going to have to establish some hard and fast ground rules.
He ran a hand over his face. “What are you going to do about your mom now that she’s by herself?”
“I’m gonna drop by more often, but I asked Phoenix to see if he can get a patrol car to drive by more frequently. He said it shouldn’t be a problem. The guys give her a hard time about the paperwork, but they all like her. They’ll keep an eye out.”
So why can’t they do that for Hazel? But he knew it was too late for that. Hazel had moved in, and he was just going to have to live with it.
“Anyway, I gotta run. I’m doing Mike’s shift tonight, so I won’t see you until later in the week.” When there was a loud thump from upstairs, Jory laughed. “Good luck,” he called as he strolled out the door.
Aiden let out a long sigh as the thumping sounded again above his head. He leaned over and picked up the basket, then started up the stairs. He walked across the landing to Hazel’s new room.
“Here’s the last of it,” he said.
“Thanks,” Hazel said. She was standing on a couple of boxes in front of the window at the far wall, putting up some kind of rod.
“What are you doing?”
“Hanging curtains. I can’t change in here if the windows are bare. The world can see me.”
Aiden glanced out the window. There was a huge oak tree in the back yard blocking the neighbors view from every direction. “Er, okay. I can do that tomorrow if you want. You can change in the bathroom down the hall for tonight.”
“It’s not a problem. I’m using a tension rod so as soon as I get it the right length, I’ll just stick the curtains on it and hang it up.” She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him. “I can’t thank you enough for letting me move in. I totally appreciate it. I know you have reservations, but it’s going to be fun. We can do movie nights when you’re not working, and I can cook dinner. I actually like to cook, so it will be nice to have someone to cook for.”
“Uh-huh.” Why was she prattling on? It was almost like she was nervous or something. Aiden set the basket on the floor and straightened again, only to lean on the doorjamb, crossing his arms over his chest. As he watched Hazel balancing on two boxes, he knew this was not going to end well. “You want some help?” he offered.
“No, I’ve got it. I don’t want to be a burden or anything.” She wound the rod out some more and then measured it against the window frame. “Aren’t the curtains nice?” She nodded toward the bed. Laying across the duvet were two thick white curtains.
“Uh-huh.” He didn’t trust himself to say anything else. He’d just spent months fixing this place up, and now she wanted to use a tension rod to hang curtains. It was going to scuff up his paint job for sure.
It appeared that she finally had the rod the length she wanted because she put one end on the inside of the window frame and pushed on the other end, trying to make it fit in the side.
“Yup, that will work.” She looked over her shoulder. “Can you hand me the curtains, please?”
He offered her the curtains, one at a time, and then went back to leaning on the doorjamb. He held his breath. He knew what was going to happen, but wisely kept his mouth shut, clamping his jaw closed.
When Hazel finally had the rod pushed in far enough that it fit inside the window frame with the curtains all bunched up on it, she tried to move the other side in, but she lost her grip, and the rod shot out again. She jumped back startled, and the boxes caved beneath her. Hazel yelped as she lost her balance and fell backward.
Aiden rushed forward and caught her in his arms, crushing her to his chest.
“Oh,” she looked up at him in surprise.
Her big blue eyes were wide, and her lips were slightly parted. It took everything he had not to kiss her. Off-limits , he reminded himself but, somehow, he couldn’t seem to put her down.
“Um, thanks,” she murmured, staring up at him.
The temptation to throw her on to the bed and have sex with her on top of the fallen curtains was intense. “No problem,” he said as he set her on her feet. “I’ll put those up tomorrow for you.”
She bit her lip and nodded at him. “Okay.”
He stared at her for a minute. He needed to stop this shit in its tracks, or they were both going to be fucked. Or get fucked , his preferred method of ending the godawful tension twisting his balls. He cleared his throat. “We need to set up some ground rules.”
“Ground rules?” she asked.
“Yeah. No doing any decorating around the house. If you want something done, you ask me.” He had visions of her sprawled on her back after falling off a ladder or down the stairs. Eyeing the boxes in the room, he said, “No leaving your stuff all over the place. I like the house to be neat. Easier to keep clean that way.” Really, he was afraid she’d hang her underwear to dry in the bathroom or something. He did not need those images in his head.
Her eyes narrowed. “What else?”
“Let me know if you’re bringing anyone back here,” he growled. Mostly so he knew not to come home. He might wring the guy’s neck if he caught them kissing.
Hazel put her hands on her hips. “Are you taking over from Jory now? I thought we were friends. I thought we had an understanding.”
“We are friends, and we do have an understanding. I just have ground rules that will keep”— me from taking you to bed —“us that way. Considering you invited yourself to live here and you aren’t paying me, I think I’m being very reasonable.”
She clamped her mouth shut, but her eyes were shooting sparks at him. It made her look sexy as hell. He wished he could outlaw that as well. No looking sexy. This was going to be the longest month of his life. He wasn’t sure he would survive it.
“Are those all the rules?” she demanded.
“For now. I’m sure I’ll think of others. The main bath on this floor is yours. I’ll stay out of it for the most part so you can leave your stuff on the counter. There’s a linen closet inside it behind the door. I have to get towels out of there, too, so just be aware that I’ll need access. And when it comes to food, I’m happy to buy the groceries if you want to cook. If you change your mind, let me know.”
She nodded once.
He was trying to make this as businesslike as possible, which was hard considering she looked so cute when she was pissed off. He bit back a sigh and turned to go. “If you need anything, just ask.”
He walked out of the room and went downstairs. The farther away he stayed from her, the better off he’d be. He walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed a beer. He went outside and sat on the back porch.
In the time it took him to drink his beer, he heard another few thumps and one long string of curses. She must have opened the window because those were clear as anything. He thought about seeing what she wanted for dinner, but in the end, he just ordered a pizza.
His life had gotten complicated again. One of the reasons he’d left New York and a promising Wall Street career was because he didn’t want complicated. When his mom died, it put everything in perspective. His boss in New York, whom he’d admired greatly, was only ten years older than Aiden but already getting divorced and working a hundred hours a week. He knew if he’d stayed, he would have been in the same situation. Suddenly, money wasn’t so important. Neither was status or work. He wanted real friendships and family. He was too late for family—until he was ready to have his own—but he wasn’t too late for friends. So, he’d returned to Cherry Valley.
He managed to get on at the fire station with Jory’s help, and life had been nice and calm for a while. He’d been moving along at a slow pace, healing. Until Hurricane Hazel blew in and turned his world upside down again.
He’d been flirting with her off and on, nothing too obvious. It was sort of a little game he played to amuse himself. She was off-limits, so it didn’t matter. Except now she was in his house. She was going to sleep here, shower here, and be here in the morning when he got up. Shit. This was bad.
Thirty minutes later, the pizza was delivered while he was on his second beer. “Hazel, pizza is here if you want some,” he called up the stairs.
There were a few more thumps, and then her feet sounded on the steps. She entered the kitchen, and he handed her a plate.
“Thanks,” she said. “I’m starving.”
He just nodded.
“Do you have any more of those as well?” She tilted her chin toward his beer.
He went to the old fridge and pulled out another beer. He popped off the cap before he gave it to her. Then went back to leaning against the kitchen counter and eating his pizza. Did he need to make a rule about the beer? “If you drink the last beer, you have to buy the next case.”
She snorted as she sat down at the table. “You and your rules. I had no idea you’d be such a tight-ass.”
He wasn’t the only one with a tight ass . Jesus, the images that came to mind. He took a long swallow of his beer.
“Vito’s makes the best pizza,” she said as she took another bite.
He nodded but just kept eating.
She captured his gaze. “Look, I get that you’re slightly pissed off at me and, to be honest, that’s fair. I backed you into a corner and forced you to let me live here.”
He just stared at her. It was true, and he still hadn’t forgiven her for making his life difficult, but really, he was in survival mode. The farther from Hazel he stayed, the better for both of them. Of course, he couldn’t tell her that.
“I knew Jory would feel a thousand times better about me moving out if he knew you would be here to keep an eye on me. The truth is”—she looked down at the pizza on her plate—“maybe I’m a little bit nervous about living on my own as well. It’s silly but there it is.”
She bit her lip. “I’m not out of control like I was, and I sure as hell don’t drink like that now. I never want to go back there. But I do worry about being on my own.” She glanced up at him. “I… There are a lot of things that I would do differently if I could, but I can’t. Living on my own is just another step on the road to proving to Jory but more importantly to myself, that I can be a responsible adult and succeed in life. I know it in my heart, but I do get a bit…unsettled sometimes. Me living here, well, it makes me feel better. Baby steps, you know?”
What the fuck was he supposed to say to that? He cleared his throat. “It’s okay. I mean, yeah, I’m pissed, but if it will help you get your feet under you, then it’s all good. But it would’ve been nice to have a heads-up this was your plan.”
“It wasn’t. Seriously. When Mom suggested it, the idea just clicked with me. Everyone feels better when you’re around. You’re a steady and calming influence on all of us. So, thanks for that.” She got up, walked over to him, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she reached behind him to open the cupboard, but she was struggling with the latch.
“It sticks.” He turned, lifted it a bit, and pulled. Then he handed her a glass.
“Thanks.” She went back to the table and poured her beer into the glass. She sat back down and took a big bite of pizza.
Aiden stared at the pizza in his hand. He’d lost his appetite. He’d been so pissed off and worried about himself that he hadn’t really thought about anyone else. Jory was his best friend. He should have offered to have Hazel move in well before now to help Jory out. Instead, he’d put up a fight. He needed to do better.
And Hazel. She wasn’t as tough as she seemed. It made him like her more, which was…problematic but, still, he needed to just suck it up and be the reliable, if boring-sounding, friend she needed right now. Fucking sucked like nothing else.