Chapter 15 Miles #2
Lucy looks at me with wide eyes, and I think there might be some distrust there. I can see it on her face as she frowns at me.
“A child?”
I clear my throat. It’s time to confess to my eavesdropping. “I overheard you on the phone.”
Her frown deepens, and she folds her arms over her chest. “Listening in on conversations that have nothing to do with you?”
I shift uncomfortably, then scowl back at her. “You were in the kitchen, practically yelling into the phone that you missed your baby. It’s not like I had a choice in listening to you.”
“Ha-ha. Very funny.”
This was not how I saw this conversation going. I wanted her to explain to me that she had five children somewhere and a husband. Any reason to stop replaying the conversation we had thirty minutes ago. Something to make me stop staring at her like she could be my wife.
She’s not giving me much to work with.
“So, no baby somewhere?” I say.
“Yes, I have a secret family somewhere.” She smiles back dryly.
I hold my hands up and stand in front of where she’s sitting on the counter. “Sorry! I just heard you asking how they were doing, and I was worried you maybe thought I wouldn’t let you—”
She slaps a slender hand over my mouth, smothering what I was going to say. The rest of the thought flies out of my mind as her fingers press against me.
“I don’t have a child!” she exclaims, exasperated. “I have a dog. A big dog. Most people are a little wary of him because he’s excessively large.”
“M-M-P-ummmp-ooo?” I ask, her hand still pressed against my lips.
She lets go, and I have the overwhelming urge to reach out to create a physical connection between us again.
“I asked if you had an elephant.”
“No, not quite that big. It’s an English mastiff. My friend is keeping him for me.”
“Why don’t you have him here?”
She leans back, her hands gripping the edge of the counter as she says quietly, “I didn’t think you would want a dog in your particular life.”
“My particular life?” My voice rises at the end of that.
She grins cheekily. “You seem to like things a certain way.”
“I do not.” I try to defend myself.
“You think I don’t notice every time you start twitching when your favorite mug is missing?”
I grind my teeth together as I realize she’s been doing this to annoy me.
I take a step toward her. “You’ve been taking my mug on purpose?”
She holds up her hands in a defensive gesture. “Now, the first couple of times were an accident.”
“What about after that?”
It should be easy to intimidate her, but it doesn’t seem to work. She doesn’t look scared about what I might do, instead, she’s giggling, as if she isn’t worried at all.
“It might have been on purpose,” she admits with a snicker.
“And the mismatched socks?”
Her eyes widen. “What mismatched socks?”
Okay, so maybe she just didn’t even notice. I didn’t know that was possible. But the way she is always wearing mismatched socks…
“What about you and how you have to have your keys on the same hook?” she says.
“I do not,” I scoff.
She raises one eyebrow, sets her glass down and hops off the counter, then walks to the entry hall. She grabs my car keys and moves them to the far hook.
“See?” I shrug. “Doesn’t bother me.”
Lucy folds her arms across her chest and taps her foot on the floor.
I outlast her.
She finally pivots and walks to the kitchen.
I quickly shift the keys to the other hook and follow.
“So, you’re serious about letting me bring my dog here?” she asks as she pulls things out of the fridge.
Funny how my normally empty fridge is loaded with random ingredients now. Things that I have no idea what to do with.
“As long as he’s not going to eat me in my sleep, then I’m fine with it.”
I act like I’m digging in the cupboard for my protein powder and blender…but really, I’m hoping she’ll take pity on me and feed me something delicious. I didn’t know that getting a roommate would mean living with a five-star chef.
It’s about the third cupboard I open when she clears her throat.
“You realize I’m making you dinner tonight, right? You just offered to let Alexander live with us.”
“Alexander?” I freeze at the name.
“Yeah, my dog.” She looks at me with a little smirk on her face.
“Right. Your dog.” Not another man. I don’t want to dissect why picturing her living with a man bothers me. Hell, I’m a man. Doesn’t bother me that she lives with me. “Can’t wait to meet him.”
“You say that now.” She turns on the stovetop and sets a cast iron pan on top. That is definitely not my pan, and I don’t know what you even do with it. “Alexander is very loving. Very. I don’t know that it’s a good idea.”
“What are you worried is going to happen?” I fold my arms across my chest and stare down at her.
“He’ll knock everything off the shelves with his tail.”
I look around the kitchen and the living room. “I sure hope so. Every breakable knickknack in this house is something Ainsley has left here just to annoy me…”
Lucy finishes adding oil to the pan and looks around. With a laugh, she says, “Well, Alexander can definitely take care of that.”
“And if we decide to get married?” I dare to ask. “Will we share custody of Alexander?”
“I don’t know. Are you ready to be a dad?” she says as she tosses some fish filets onto a cookie sheet.
“I wouldn’t want to overpromise. Maybe we can see how we hit it off.”
I lean against the counter and watch as she works. She squeezes some lemon juice on top of the fish, then sprinkles some salt, garlic powder, and Parmesan on top.
“I don’t know what you’re making, but I’m already excited about it.”
Lucy slides the pan into the oven and turns to face me. “If we get married like Ainsley wants us to…it would actually sort of make sense. We’re already living together. We’re sharing meals and grocery store runs. It’s not like anything would change.”
“Not unless you wanted it to.” I have the urge to laugh, but then I worry it would scare Lucy.
I could marry her. I could win the bet. And even though we would be married, I wouldn’t have to worry about other relationships.
Strange as it may seem, I’m more worried about losing my roommate than about finding a girlfriend.
Lucy smiles at me. “But, of course, we’re only talking hypothetically.”
“Of course…”