Chapter 3
“No fucking way.” Nick stared at Hallsy in disbelief, shook his head, then returned to applying sandpaper to the maple and cedar chest in front of him in his garage. It was two days after the disastrous birthday party, and he still hadn’t recovered from the humiliation of what had happened in Jodie’s bedroom. Now Hallsy was trying to convince him to let Jodie move in with him. No fucking way.
“Come on! I know…” Hallsy hesitated. “I know you wanted Aleks to move into the coach house. But…”
Yeah, the unspoken words hung between them. But he’s gone.
“It’s just sitting there empty,” Hallsy finished.
Nick’s jaw tightened. “I know.” Couldn’t argue with that. “Look, the truth is, she’s kind of annoying.”
Also hot as fuck. Damn. He kept seeing her standing in her room, gorgeously naked, all smooth curves and glowing skin, her breasts lush and full and tipped with tight brown nipples, her legs long and lithe.
“Jodie? Annoying? She’s a sweetheart.”
Forget about what she looked like. So what if she was completely fuckalicious. “She talks too much. She’s too perky. Plus she’s nosy. Also, I hate kids.”
He’d been weirdly disturbed to learn that Jodie was a single mom. Where was the dad? The ex? The…whoever.
“You do not.” Hallsy shook his head. “I’ve seen you with all those kids at schools and the youth center. You’re great with them.”
“Okay, sure, boys who play hockey. A two-year-old girl? Fuck no.”
“You’d never even have to see them.”
Hallsy was doing his best to convince him. This was a terrible idea. But the more he argued against it, the more he felt like an asshole.
“Look, do it for me,” Hallsy said. “Kendra just moved in with me. No offense to Jodie and Zyana, but we want to walk around naked and have sex in the kitchen.”
“Ugh. Thanks for that.”
Hallsy grinned. “You’re just jealous.”
Nick snorted. “Hey, I can walk around naked whenever I want. And I wouldn’t be able to do that with them living in the coach house.”
“Oh, fuck that, yes you could, just lock your doors. And close the curtains. Wouldn’t want to scare them with your scrawny bod.”
Nick actually laughed out loud at that one. He was a big man, six feet four inches, two hundred twenty-five pounds. He hadn’t been scrawny since he was twelve years old.
Hallsy grinned. “Good to hear you laugh.”
Nick bent his head and focused on smoothing the wood. “I know I’ve been kind of salty lately. Sorry.”
“Hey, no worries. I know it’s a rough time for you.”
He nodded.
“You want to talk about anything?”
He sighed. “Nothing to talk about.”
“You sure? I know what it’s like. You won’t forget him.”
“I know.” Nick’s voice was low, and his hand stilled. “I still miss him.” His brother had died almost three years ago, and it did get easier over time, but every year when the anniversary of his death came around, it sucked Nick back into all that grief and guilt he’d nearly drowned in.
Hallsy’s hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed. “I know. You always will. Nothing wrong with remembering him. Honoring him. Just don’t…” His voice trailed off, but Nick knew what Hallsy was thinking.
“I’m okay. Don’t worry about me.”
“So look…you wouldn’t have to see them if you don’t want to, but having some other people around might be good.”
Nick’s head snapped up, and he narrowed his eyes at his friend. “You want her here to watch out for me?”
“No!” The genuine shock on Hallsy’s face reassured Nick that hadn’t been his intention. “Christ, no. She’s the one who needs looking out for, for fuck’s sake.”
Nick’s forehead creased. “So you want me to look out for her?”
“No, not that either. Shit.” Hallsy pinched the bridge of his nose. “All I want is for her to have a place of her own. I know she feels like she’s cramping our style, and honestly, she and Zyana need their own space. That’s all. She’ll keep looking for an apartment or a house to rent. It’ll only be temporary. It really shouldn’t be that big of a deal for you.”
Nick sighed. Everything Hallsy said made sense. The coach house was sitting there empty. “Okay, fine. She can move in whenever.”
“Great.” Relief lightened Hallsy’s tone. “Awesome. I’ll go tell her the good news.”
“Great.” The word didn’t sound very enthusiastic though.
“I have the solution to your problem,” Max announced.
Jodie turned her head to give him a skeptical look. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. My buddy Nicky—you met him at the party the other night, I think.”
She closed her eyes, remembering that embarrassing moment. She hadn’t said anything about it to Max or Kendra. “Um, yeah.”
“Well, he has this great big house, and it has a separate coach house behind it. It’s sitting empty right now. He’d planned for his brother to move in, but…that didn’t happen. Anyway, he says you can stay there.”
She blinked at Max.
“Oh wow!” Kendra clapped her hands together. “That’s perfect! His place isn’t far from our new office, and it’s a nice neighborhood!”
Jodie turned her head from side to side. “No.”
Max’s forehead furrowed. “What? Why?”
“He’s an asshole. Sorry, I know he’s your friend.”
“He’s a good guy,” Max objected. “Really, he is. I’ve known him for years.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I guess it’s just me, then. And I’m surprised he agreed to that, because I got the distinct impression he didn’t like me very much.”
An uncomfortable expression flickered over Max’s face. “Of course he did!” he protested heartily.
Right. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I can’t impose on him like that.”
“It’s not an imposition. It’s a totally separate house, and it’s really nice. We can go over there and have a look at it, and see what you think.”
“No.” She shook her head firmly. She wanted nothing to do with Nick Balachov. She never wanted to see him again—the memory of standing in front of him naked, her heart pounding with fear, burned into her mind forever. “I’ll keep looking. I have a few places lined up to go see this week.”
The corners of Max’s mouth turned down and he shot Kendra a look, as if asking her to help. Jodie caught Kendra’s tiny shrug.
He pressed his lips together, then let out a short breath. “Okay. But keep it in mind. I’ll tell him you’re thinking about it.”
“Okay, sure.” There was an easy out. Thinking about it. She’d just think about it until she died. Or found a new place. Whichever came first.
Over the next few days, she looked at a beautiful, affordable house for rent that was miles from a bus or train station. When she made sure the next place she saw was close to the L, she found out how close it was when the entire house vibrated as a train rattled by. Then there was the duplex that seemed like it might be perfect. It had three bedrooms, one and a half baths, a nicely remodeled kitchen, and was in a nice neighborhood. The price was a wee bit steep, but she was getting desperate, so she could probably make it work. Except the man who owned it and lived in the other half of the house kept staring at her breasts and, when he heard she had a daughter, kept talking about how much he liked little girls.
Fuck that.
Back at Max and Kendra’s, she walked in on them making out on the couch. They sprang apart as she stepped into the foyer, Kendra tugging her sweater down. “Oops, sorry.” Jodie winced. “Zyana in bed?”
“Yes,” Kendra said with a breathless laugh. “She’s asleep.”
“Thanks for looking after her. Again.”
“You know I don’t mind.”
Kendra had been almost like another mother to Zyana at times, and Jodie was grateful for all the support she’d given her since she’d made that decision to have a child. But this was too much.
She dropped her purse on the carpet and sank onto a chair. This was taking way too much time. She had a business to run and a daughter to look after and she was in Max and Kendra’s way. “Okay,” she said wearily. “I give up. Let’s go look at Nick’s coach house.”