Roommating (Preston's Mill #1) (16 page)

They were starting to drift off when there was a sudden hop
on the bed. Lucy ran up to nuzzle first Chris and then Heather.

Chris groaned. “What does she want?”

“She thinks it’s time to go out. We must have woken her up.”

Chris groaned again.

Heather didn’t want to move, but Lucy was her dog, and the
poor thing wasn’t going to stop nagging until she’d gotten outside. Heather
started to sit up. “I’ll take her.”

“Nah,” Chris said, heaving himself out of bed before Heather
could get into a sitting position. “I’ll do it.” He snagged a pair of sweats
from the floor and pulled them on. “Come on, girl.”

“Thank you,” Heather called, filled with such affection she
was momentarily choked up. He was in her life to stay. She knew it. He was
going to be there for her today and tomorrow and the next day. She no longer
had any doubts. “I love you! You’re the best roommate in the world.”

Chris chuckled as he and Lucy left the bedroom. “Right back
at you.”

Three
months later

“So…this.”

Chris nodded. “Yup. This.”

Jace Foster shook his head sadly as he looked down. “I never
thought…I don’t know. I guess I’m just a little stunned.”

“It’s not the end of the world. If I can handle it, so can
you.”

Looking up, Jace gave him a look of disbelief. “Are you
sure? Are you sure you’re handling it because this seems like you’re going a
little off the deep end.”

Smiling, Chris gave his friend a pat on the back. “And
someday, you’ll know exactly how it feels.”

“God, I hope not,” Jace murmured. “Not like this. I’m
already in my own form of hell.”

“Dude, you’re going to have to do something about that. Take
the risk. What have you got to lose?”

“Um, everything?” he said with a nervous laugh. “You don’t
think I’ve pondered this a million times?”

“And yet here you are.”

“It’s not the same. You and Heather…it was different.”

“You can’t keep ignoring the situation. Maybe it’s time for
you and Isabella to—”

“To what?” Jace quickly interrupted. “To stop being friends?
Because that’s what’s going to happen if I tell her how I feel. Don’t you think
if she was interested in me, I would know?”

“I had no idea that Heather had ever been into me.”

“That was different. The two of you weren’t that close
before you left. You were older. Hung out with a different crowd of people. It
wasn’t like you saw each other every day.” He stopped and sighed. “I may not be
the most observant guy on the planet, but I’m pretty sure I would have noticed
if Isabella’s feelings had changed—if she thought of me as anything more than a
friend.”

Chris studied him for a minute. “I saw her out the other
night with Mike Taney.”

Jace’s hands clenched into fists at his side as he glared at
Chris.

“Seems like a nice guy. They were walking along the
boardwalk laughing.” He took a moment to gage Jace’s reaction, and it was just
as he expected—his friend was not happy with the thought of Isabella out with
Mike. Or any guy. “Mike’s a lawyer now, from what I understand. Makes good
money. Hard to believe he’s still single.”

Jace sighed loudly. “Just what exactly are you getting at?”

“Just stating some facts.”

“Oh yeah? Well, your facts suck.”

That had Chris laughing. “Well you better get used to them
because if you don’t do something—and soon—you’re going to have to get used to
good ol’ Mike hanging around. Or some other guy. Someone who’s not afraid to
let her know how they feel. And how are you going to handle that?”

“I…I don’t know. Maybe if I could…”

Chris put his hand on Jace’s shoulder. “Just think about it,
okay? Take it from someone who’s been there.”

They both turned at the sound of a door slamming out in the
parking lot. Standing in the lobby getting their mail had gone from a quick
hello to a deep conversation. Chris saw Heather walking their way and sighed.

“Again, you sure?” Jace asked.

Heather walked through the door carrying a couple of grocery
bags and one of her father’s birdhouses. She smiled at them both.

“Absolutely,” Chris said softly.

“Hey, you two,” Heather said when she got closer and leaned
in to give Chris a proper kiss hello. Then she bent down to give Lucy a pat on
the head. “Has she gone out already, or were you heading out?”

“We were on our way in when I ran into Jace.” Taking the
bags from her hands, Chris waved to his neighbor and then led Heather down the
hall and up the stairs to their apartment. Once inside, they worked together to
get Lucy off the leash and to put the groceries away.

“So another birdhouse, huh?”

Her soft chuckled was her immediate response. “I can’t help
it. This one reminded me of a cabin we rented when I was a little girl. My
parents used to book the same one up in the mountains every year, and we used
to have a great time there.” She paused. Smiled. Then shrugged. “It was always
a great memory, so when I saw Dad had made this one, I just had to have it.”

With a quick kiss on her forehead, Chris turned back to
finish putting the last of the food away.

“I know we talked about grilling tonight, but I’m not sure
I’m up for it. It was a mentally exhausting day. So much paperwork to go
through now that we’re getting ready to meet with the lawyers for Dad to sign
over the business. I had no idea there would be so much. By the time I left, I
swear my eyes were starting to cross!”

He chuckled, and then reached over to the table and picked
up a large envelope. “Then maybe you should wait to see this until tomorrow,”
he said, hesitantly handing the large envelope over to her.

She groaned softly and noticed the label had their company
logo on it. “What’s this?”

Shrugging, Chris went over to the pantry to get Lucy’s food.
“No idea. It’s addressed to you.”

“I can see that,” she said, more to herself than him. “But why
would anyone in the office mail something to me when I’m there all day? And I
handle most of the mail.”

“I guess you’ll just have to read it to find out,” he said
lightly. Moving around her, he put food in Lucy’s bowl and almost willed the
dog to scarf it down faster than she usually did while Heather scanned the
papers she’d pulled from the envelope.

“What the… I don’t…” She flipped the first page over and her
expression went from confusion, to disbelief, to a full blown smile. And when
she turned around, she found Chris on one knee. She gasped—her hands covering
her mouth for a brief moment. The papers fell softly to the floor. “What are
you…”

Chris was on one knee, holding Lucy in one hand against his
chest. “Heather Carver, I love you.”

Her eyes welled with tears as she smiled and nodded at him. “I
love you too.”

“I have loved being your roommate, and I love being partners
in business with you. But next week marks the end of our original arrangement,
and I’d like to…propose something to you.”

The look of confusion was back on her face, and he loved it.
Loved the little wrinkle in her forehead and the way her lips pursed just a
little bit.

“So you’ve glanced at my contract,” he began, and then
nodded toward the papers she’d dropped on the table when she spotted him on one
knee. “You should probably refer to that now.”

Without questioning him, Heather picked up the papers and
straightened them quickly before looking at him.

“Article one,” he said, his voice strong and confident. “We
extend our lease here in Preston’s Mill with one minor change.”

Heather glanced at the paper and smiled. “We make one of the
bedrooms an office and move into the other—together.”

Chris nodded firmly. “All those in agreement, raise your
hand.”

And they both did.

“Excellent. Article two. Food.”

Laughing softly, Heather glanced at the paper and then back
to him with one arched brow. “Seriously?”

He nodded. “Joint food shopping. One budget for the two of
us. Takeout twice a week, dinner out once a week and you bake cookies at least
once a week. Preferably twice.”

“Chris…”

“All those in agreement, raise your hand.” He quickly raised
his and then watched her until she reluctantly raised her hand.

“Very good.” He cleared his throat. “Article three.” He
paused and thought for a moment, trying to remember which one came next.

“Laundry,” Heather provided.

“That’s right. Laundry. I’m thinking…”

“You can scratch that last paragraph off the list,” she
quickly interrupted, even as she laughed. “I don’t consider naked Saturday a
way to cut back on water and laundry. Just…no.”

Shaking his head, Chris looked at Lucy. “I tried.” Then he
looked at Heather and winked. “Fine. Laundry rules stay as they always were. We
can initial the change.”

Heather nodded. “Good to know.” Then she flipped the page
and frowned. “It says article four, but then there isn’t anything there.”

“Lucy wanted to present that one herself.”

The bland look Heather gave him showed that she thought he
was crazy. “Really. Lucy’s going to present article four.”

He nodded. “It’s really not nice to publicly shame her like
that you know,” he admonished. “Can she help it that she has limited verbal
skills that normally only extend to letting us know when she’s hungry and has
to poop?”

“Is that what article four is about? Better communications?”

Looking at Lucy sympathetically, Chris whispered in the
dog’s ear, “You’re going to really have to pull this off without a hitch. I had
no idea your mistress had such doubts about how smart you are.”

“I didn’t say I had doubts,” Heather laughed.

Chris put Lucy down and nudged her toward Heather. “Go
ahead, girlie. Show her what you’ve got.”

Crouching down, Heather watched as her little dog pranced
over to her. “Hey, sweet girl. You have something to say to me?”

Lucy barked and danced around Heather’s ankles.

Chris waited until she was back in front of Heather before
telling her to sit—which she immediately obeyed.

“Good one,” Heather cooed. “But sitting has never been the
problem.”

“Give her a minute,” Chris commented. “Lucy, give Heather
your paw.”

And with a happy little yip, Lucy held up her paw.

“Aww, good girl!” Heather said with a smile and shook the
little dog’s paw.

“I bought her a new collar,” Chris said. “But you may want
to check it out and make sure it’s okay for her.”

Leaning forward, Heather took a closer look and then gasped.
“Chris,” she said reverently as she reached out for Lucy. “What did you do?”

He came closer, laid down on his stomach next to the dog and
fiddled with her collar until the sparkling charm he’d put there came off. Then
he held it out to Heather. “She insisted on wearing it, but I warned her that
she’d be the envy of the neighborhood if she wore this much bling.”

Lucy barked her disagreement, and they both laughed.

“Heather Carver, I love you. You’re more to me than a
roommate and business partner. You’re my life. And I want to spend the rest of
my life with you—being your friend, your lover, your roommate, your partner,
and your husband. Will you marry me?”

Wordlessly, she nodded and then gasped with delight as he
slid the ring on her finger—much to Lucy’s distress.

Back up on his knees, Chris drew Heather to him and kissed
her—thoroughly, deeply and with everything he had. When they finally broke
apart, Lucy was still barking and with an exaggerated eye roll, Chris reached
into his pocket and pulled out a different ring. It had a pink bedazzled charm
that read “Lucy.” Carefully, he placed it back on her collar and then picked
her up and kissed her on the head. Heather did the same.

“Oh, you’re good,” Heather said, still smiling.

“Have to take care of my girls. I can’t be showing
favorites.”

“Hey!” She was trying to sound indignant, but she ended up
laughing. “You’re amazing. Really. It means a lot to me that you love us both.”

Reaching down, Chris placed his hands over Lucy’s ears and
then whispered, “I love you a whole lot more.”

Then Heather removed his hands from the dog and lifted them
to her body and said, “She’ll have to get used to sharing you, then.”

And he readily agreed.

***

The next book in the Preston’s
Mill series is Speed Dating, about Jace and Isabella. Because of our combined
release schedules, we can’t get it out until March 1, but you can be looking
for it early next year. An excerpt from Speed Dating follows.

Isabella
was sweeping up the salon after her last client of the day when she caught a
glimpse of a very handsome man reflected in one of the mirrors.

Her heart leaped in
excitement, and she straightened up instinctively, but when she turned around
she discovered the man was just Jace.

Jace Foster—her cute,
familiar, absent-minded best friend since high school.

He had the same rumpled brown
hair, hazel eyes, and lean body he’d always had, and he was wearing his glasses
this evening which meant he’d been working so hard he’d forgotten to take them
off. He was absolutely adorable, but she wasn’t sure where she’d gotten the
idea he was a handsome stranger.

Always glad to see him, she
smiled and walked over to give him a hug, still holding the broom in one hand.
“Hi! I’m almost finished up here.”

“Hi,” he murmured, breathing
deeply as he wrapped his arms around her, almost like he was smelling her hair.

She pulled away to check his
expression, relaxing when he gave her his normal smile.

“You look all excited about
something,” he said, scanning her face as he dropped his arms.

“I am! I got this brainstorm
earlier, and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before.” She leaned over to
sweep the pile of hair, lint, and trash into the dustpan, wanting to finish up
quickly so she and Jace could get out of here. “All this time I’ve been waiting
around for the love of my life to fall at my feet.”

She’d glanced back at Jace
over her shoulder so she noticed his expression change slightly. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. And the answer was
right there, staring me in the face the whole time.”

Jace’s expression changed
even more, his whole body tensing slightly. He’d always been a little
uncomfortable when she talked about her love life, and she tried to respect his
boundaries and comfort zone. But he was her best friend. She had to tell him
the things that were important to her. “What’s the answer?” he asked, his voice
growing a bit hoarse.

She was about to reply,
turning her head back toward the dustpan. As she did, a big black spider began
to crawl over the pile of trash and up onto her hand.

She screamed, shook her hand
violently, and ran backward several steps in instinctive panic.

Colliding with Jace, she
ended up in his arms.

“What the hell?” he asked
urgently, tightening his arms around her and pulling her away from the source
of her terror.

“A…a
spider
!”

He relaxed as he realized why
she’d panicked, and she could feel rather than see the smile growing on his
face.

“Don’t you dare laugh!” She
checked her hand, rubbing it vigorously even though she must have flung the
spider away. “It was
on
me. It was crawling on me!”

She wasn’t a particularly
squeamish woman about a lot of things, but spiders were her nemesis with their
wicked little eyes and all of those creepy legs.

Despite her admonishment,
Jace chuckled. “Well, it’s not on you anymore.”

“But it’s still here
somewhere. Go do your job and find it.” She was still huddled up against Jace,
and she couldn’t help but like the feel of his body against hers.

He’d been skinny and rather
geeky in high school, when they’d first become friends. He still tended toward
the lean side, but she wasn’t sure when he’d gotten so strong and hard
and…masculine.

Still laughing, Jace released
her and went over to investigate the middle of the floor. Eventually, he found
the spider and stepped on it. “There. All safe now.”

“Thank you,” she said, still
feeling prickles run up and down her arm. “He doesn’t have any comrades still
lurking over there, does he?”

Jace shook his head, smiling
at her fondly. “No spiders in sight.”

She released a breath and
slowly walked over to where she’d left her pile of trash. Very hesitantly, she
leaned over to finish sweeping it into the dustpan.

“So what were you saying?”
Jace asked, in a different tone.

“About what?”

“About the love of your life
being there all the time, staring you in the face.”

Isabella stood up and met
Jace’s eyes. He was staring at her strangely, almost tense for no good reason.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she couldn’t look away.

“Isabella?” he prompted, a
rough texture in his voice.

“What?”

“What’s been staring you in
the face?”

Realizing she was acting like
an idiot, she shook her head to dispel the daze. It must be the aftermath of
her panic over the spider causing her to respond that way to Jace’s look. “Oh.
It’s not the love of my life. It’s just the answer.”

His brow wrinkled. “What’s
the answer?”

“The salon ladies were
teasing me earlier about me being the only one in my family not getting married
and having babies yet,” she explained. “And how there’s only three months left
until Tori’s wedding, and then I’ll be the only Warren girl left.”

“You can’t let them make you
feel bad about that.”

“I know. But I do want to get
married, and I’ve just been waiting around. They jokingly made me a profile on
a dating site. I was annoyed at first, but then I realized, why not.”

“Why not what?”

“Join the dating site. Start
actively looking for the love of my life, instead of just waiting around.”

“So you’re going to do a
dating site? That’s your big revelation?” There was an edge to his voice now
that was half skeptical and half something else. If she didn’t know better, she
would say it was disappointment.

“Don’t make it sound silly. I
want to find a man, so I’m going to find one.”

“On a dating site?”

“Why not? I haven’t had much
luck here in Preston. I need to branch out and try new things.”

He shook his head and took
the dustpan out of her hand, dumping the contents into the trash. “Okay. Good
luck with that.”

He didn’t sound excited. At
all.

Isabella frowned. “You could
be a little supportive, you know.”

“I’ll be supportive,” he
said, almost resignedly. He pushed his glasses farther up his nose. “So what’s
the plan?”

Isabella perked up. “I have
three months until Tori’s wedding. I’m going to go out with as many men as
possible in that time. If all goes well, in three months, I’ll have found the
right man to bring to her wedding.”

Jace’s mouth dropped open
slightly. “You think you’re going to find someone in three months?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. The point
is to give myself a deadline so I really take it seriously. It will be like a
dating marathon.”

“A dating…”

“Marathon. If I’m going to do
this, then I’ve got to do it right. I haven’t had a serious relationship since
Brock, and at the rate things are going, I might never end up with anyone. No
more sitting around for me.” She smiled at him, feeling a well of excitement at
the idea of doing something intentional and productive to pursue a
relationship. “What do you think?”

Jace was still staring at her
strangely. “I think… okay.”

She shook her head at him.
“That’s the best you can do? You’re supposed to be my best friend, you know.”

“I know. I am.” He took a
visible breath. “I am.”

“Good.” She walked over to
rub his arm. “You should really consider doing the same thing. Maybe you can
find the love of your life in three months too.”

“Right. The love of my life.
Right.”

He was definitely in a
strange mood today, Isabella thought as she finished sweeping the floor.

***

You can find out more about Speed Dating
here
.