Tell Me True (All’s Fair #4)

Chapter 1 Lucy

ONE

Lucy

I’ve had some bad ideas in my life, but this one could be my worst.

I’m about to move in with a stranger.

Clearing my throat, I stare at the blue door in front of me like it might come to life and chase me away. Maybe then I’d do the sensible thing and find somewhere else to live.

With a shaky breath, I raise a hand, curling my fingers to form a fist. My heart pounds in my ears as I prepare to announce my arrival with a loud knock. This house is bigger than it looked in the pictures that Miles—my soon-to-be roommate and landlord—texted me.

I adjust my hold on my duffel bag, then launch forward with all my weight to knock on the door.

My fist slams into the door three times. I clasp my hands together and stare down at the wide wooden planks on the porch.

The large front porch features a gray-painted bench situated at the far end, next to the white railing. There are bushes in the flower beds surrounding the porch, giving it a very suburban vibe.

I could almost imagine a few kids’ bicycles scattered through the yard, except that a family doesn’t live here.

It’s just Miles Granger. He’s single, as far as I know, and he tends to be a bit of a workaholic.

I’m a little surprised my even more work obsessed sister hasn’t become best friends with the man.

But I guess they’re too busy working to actually spend time together.

The street is quiet, and not a single car has passed since I parked my car next to the curb. Not exactly the neighborhood I would expect a single man to live in. He must be a serial killer. It’s the only reasonable explanation.

I stare hard at the door, then knock again.

No one answers.

It’s only seven thirty in the morning, so maybe he’s still sleeping. He told me to be here at this time though…but waiting here in the brisk morning air is giving me time to think of all the ways this is a bad idea.

If I were my sister, Willa, I’d be able to prioritize every thought into a list within three seconds. Unfortunately, I’m not that capable. It’s just a jumble of bad ideas running around my chaotic mind.

1. I’m moving in with a stranger. Probably a tragedy waiting to happen.

2. I’m up to my ears in student debt—I can’t afford to be choosy.

3. My new roommate might be an axe murderer.

4. What if I become an axe murderer?

5. Maybe he collects those creepy dolls. What if he hates the smell of coffee?!

6. But most importantly, what if we don’t get along?

This whole thing is a horrible idea. Moving in with a practical stranger? I should turn around and go sleep on my sister’s hard-as-a-rock couch. I’m sure I could put up with her nagging and uncomfortably clean ways.

Yep. What I should do is climb back into my ol’ reliable car and get out of here. Pretend like I died in a ditch and never answer a phone call from Miles again. It’s so simple that it’s brilliant.

My phone starts ringing, and I look at it to find that it’s Willa. My stomach drops to my toes as I study the name on my screen. I am the worst. I didn’t tell her I was going to move in with someone else. I just told her that I’d found a place to live.

“Hello?”

“Lucy! I’m so sorry. I didn’t even look at the day or the calendar. I should have been there to pick you up from the airport,” Willa exclaims.

“It’s okay, Willa. I drove over so I could fit all my stuff and get my car here.”

It was a heck of a road trip since we’re at the early stages of fall. There was still a lot of snow in the mountains.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so distracted. All this work stuff, and I haven’t even seen your new place yet, and—” She pauses. “I wish you could live with me though.”

The reality is that Willa and I would probably want to strangle each other after living together for a week. She likes to manage me, and I like to be left alone. I prefer taking on a more relaxed approach to life, and she has a thirty-year plan, broken down into a thousand easy steps.

When we were in high school and did job shadowing, she created a spreadsheet of the variety of business jobs out there, the average salary, the growth potential, the hours worked, and also the low end of each career before she decided which career she was going to job shadow.

I tagged along with a vet because I liked animals.

It drove her crazy that that was my reasoning. And that is why my decision to not live with her has everything to do with preserving our relationship.

“I just don’t think it would be a good idea,” I tell her bluntly. “We get along so well when we don’t live together.”

“Ugh. I hate that you’re right,” she sighs. “Oh no. I’m missing a call from Kingston. He was checking on the plumber redoing the cat café bathroom.”

“You’d better go save the toilets, then,” I say with a laugh.

Willa clears her throat. “I keep thinking we’ve got everything under control there, and then something else happens.

It’s become so consuming, I’m starting to have dreams about the café.

Anyways, I’m so glad you found a place and are going to live near me.

Hopefully, we’ll get to hang out…” She trails off, as if she’s reading something.

“Ah, yes, I have some free time in the summer. Of next year.”

We both laugh, and then she hangs up to answer Kingston’s call.

I shove my phone back in my pocket and stare at the door. I told Willa that I’d found a place to live and she didn’t have to worry about me. She’s my baby sister after all.

But now that I’m about to have a roommate, I’m second-guessing myself. It’s not like I really know the guy. I should just book a hotel room and then apartment hunt like a normal person.

I spin around, determined to climb back into the safety of my car, which has two temperature settings—hell hot or ice cold.

But I freeze mid-step when I see who’s coming up the sidewalk toward me.

A shirtless Miles Granger.

The man who owns this house.

The one who invited me to move in and be his roommate.

So. Very. Shirtless.

He’s busy looking at his watch and wiping sweat off the back of his neck with a piece of fabric; it must be the shirt that he misplaced. His short reddish-brown hair is damp, either from the light mist in the air or from exertion.

I have to stop staring.

But when I step forward, I stumble down the first step off the porch. I didn’t realize I had backed so close to the stairs. I lean back, trying to use my giant duffel bag to counteract my weight, hoping to recover before Miles notices my faux pas.

The duffel bag throws me off-balance, and I crash backward onto the porch, landing on my butt.

Before I can scramble to my feet, Miles is there with his large hands, grasping my arms and helping me stand.

He lifts me up, duffel bag and all, and sets me on my feet.

His hands wrap completely around my biceps, and now I have to question if weight lifting at the gym is even doing anything for me.

I come face-to-face with a bare, glistening chest with a wonderful set of pecs.

“Ah, hello there,” I manage to say as I greet each of them before I lift my head to stare at Miles’s eyes.

They’re bright green, and with his reddish-brown hair and sun-kissed skin, it’s a killer combination.

Bad idea, Lucy. This guy is offering you a place to live with ridiculously low rent. You can’t get yourself kicked out for having a crush on him.

“Sorry I was late. I thought I’d be back by now, but I was running a slower pace today.

” He gestures to himself, and it brings my eyes to his abs again.

His warm breath creates a fog in the air, and I wonder how the sweat hasn’t turned into icicles yet.

“Are you okay? I should have warned you that the porch stays iced over on cold days like this. You had me worried when you slipped like that.”

“How are you not wearing any clothes?” I ask, forgoing his question about my well-being. My pride might not recover. “Er, what I meant to say is, it’s so cold out here. How are you not frozen?”

Miles lets go of my arms and brushes past me to enter a code on the keypad on the door. “I prefer to run when it’s cold out. What about you?” He glances over his shoulder to look at me with those intense eyes.

I prefer never to run. But I just smile and nod.

He steps to the side and gestures for me to go into the house. His eyes twinkle as he says, “Welcome home.”

Something lodges in my throat at those two simple words.

I know he’s just being fun and casual by saying that, but those words hold more meaning for me than he could ever guess.

Finding somewhere to call home has been a lifelong goal of mine…

and now, this is it. I’m about to move into a house in Green Valley and call it home.

I take a deep breath and step inside.