Room-maid(11)

“Personally, I think you should marry this guy immediately,” Delia announced. “Now on to LinkedIn to check out his employment prospects.”

That was enough. “This feels too much like invading his privacy. You guys should stop.”

There was loud male laughter from the other side of the room, which put an end to the search as we turned to see Tristan Ramon and Owen James laughing loudly. Tristan waved slightly at Delia, who pretended not to notice. While both men were tall, Tristan had dark-black hair and dark eyes and Owen was his polar opposite, with dirty-blond hair and light-brown eyes. The two men had both started five years ago and had become best friends. Because the academy had only been open for about ten years, Millstone had a disproportionate number of young teachers. Which wasn’t an issue until it was.

Like with Owen and Shay’s rivalry. Where Tristan just seemed emotionally stunted in how he went about wooing women by teasing them, Owen was not like that. He and Shay legitimately despised one another.

Owen nodded his chin at Shay and asked, “Why are you smiling so much? Did your huntsman finally bring you your stepdaughter’s heart?”

That got Shay to put my phone down and I snatched it back before she realized what she had done. “Look who decided to grace us with his douchedom.”

“Eloquent and charming as ever, Ms. Simmons. But I think I’ll head out because, thanks to your predictability, I already know where this is going.”

“Maybe grab a handbasket on your way out and see where it takes you,” she invited, her arms crossed over her chest. I wondered how long it would take him to figure that one out. He was a smart guy. I was betting he’d get it eventually.

With a shake of his head, Owen left. Tristan followed behind him, sporting a sheepish and apologetic smile.

“Assault should be legal against people like him,” Shay muttered under her breath, adding a word that sounded suspiciously like “pass goal.”

I figured my best bet was to distract her, so I waved my phone back and forth in front of her. “I was planning on trying to move in today.”

It did the trick and she leaned forward and said, “I have two questions. One, can I help you move in?”

“Of course.” I was hoping she’d offer because I had a lot of clothing.

“Great. And my second question—does Tyler have another extra room?”





CHAPTER FOUR

Shay was suitably impressed by everything at Tyler’s place—the doorman (Gerald) who greeted us, the swanky elevator, the view from the balcony, the state-of-the-art kitchen, my large and luxurious bedroom. “Your room is the same size as my whole apartment!”

I didn’t say anything, but trust me, I knew.

She stuck her head in Tyler’s room and I caught a glimpse of Pigeon’s tail before she hid under the bed. “Come on. We need to get me moved in.” I tugged on Shay’s arm and closed his door. While I was just as curious, I didn’t want to infringe on his personal space and stress Pigeon out any further.

Bringing up all my junk, even with Gerald’s help, was a slow and tedious process. I tried to tell myself I was getting a great workout, given that I could no longer afford to see my personal trainer.

We were close to being done when I heard Tyler’s voice call out, “Madison?”

The sound of my name on his lips sent weird shivers up my spine. Shay and I were still in my room, dropping off boxes. We exchanged glances and before I could mouth the word behave to her, Tyler rapped on my open door and stuck his head in.

“Oh, hi! I didn’t realize you had company. I’m Tyler.”

Shay stood there, motionless.

“This is Shay, my best friend.”

“Great to meet you.” He smiled at her and then focused his gaze on me. “Hey, I’m going to go change and then I’ll come help you with the rest of the boxes.”

“Sounds good!”

When I heard his door shut, I said to Shay, “I’ll give you the same advice Frederica gave me. Close your mouth, sweetheart.”

She recovered much more quickly than I had. “Are you kidding me right now? I mean, you told me he was better looking in real life but . . . how much is a soul going for these days?”

Not able to follow her line of thinking, I asked, “What?”

“I’m assuming you had to have sold yours, given that beautiful man.” She paused, tapping one fingertip against her mouth. “You do realize that he’s half-naked in a room across the hall from yours right now.”

Unbidden imagery filled my brain and I had to blink several times in an attempt to get it to stop. “And?”

She looked at me like I was insane. “And if I were you I would kick down that door and have my way with him.”

“That’s what he’s trying to avoid, remember?”

“Then he should stop walking around looking like that. Good grief. I bet every woman in a three-block radius is in constant heat just from the proximity.” She shook her head as if this were beyond her comprehension. “Explain this situation to me again, like I’m stupid. You’re living with that man and you’re not allowed to be attracted to him?”

“I think it’s okay if I’m attracted to him.” I hoped it was, because I totally was. “Just that we both understand nobody will be acting on it. And by nobody, I mean me.”