Home > The Sweetest Thing (SWANK #2)(3)

The Sweetest Thing (SWANK #2)(3)
Author: Maya Hughes

He scoffed, trying to fold his arms, but the oversize jar of Nutella got in the way. “Says who?”

I dropped my hand. So much for making friends.

“Barb. Barbara Saxton. Your grandmother. She said I could stay here and left a key for me downstairs.” I jangled the two-key-laden key ring.

His gaze darted to the key and to my gear before his face cycled through five emotions before settling on hell no. “We’ll see about that.”

Disappearing through a doorway with his tub of Nutella, he stomped away leaving Ian and I in the hall alone.

Ian cleared his throat. “Should I move your car and get the rest of your things, or…”

There wasn’t anywhere else for me to go. Barb owned the place and she’d said I could stay, so stay it was. This looked like a big place. I was sure we could coexist without any issues.

Putting on the everything-is-fine smile I’d perfected over the past few days, I turned to Ian. “That would be so helpful. I’ll come down and you can show me my parking space.”

His face spelled out how much of a chance there was that I’d have time to fully unpack before I was booted. But he didn’t know about my secret weapon. Granny Power. At least I hoped it worked that way, and I’d lean into it hard if that was what it took to tough it out over the next four months until I saved up enough to get a place of my own.

Piling everything up in the corner of the first room, which looked like the living room, I tried not to eavesdrop on Hunter. The silky-smooth baritone was enough to make me forget I had sworn off men for the foreseeable future.

A door down the hallway cracked open. He leaned out with his phone jammed against his ear. “Don’t get comfortable!”

I spun on my heel and marched out. Out of the frying pan and into the fire…

 

 

2

 

 

Hunter

 

 

“Why didn’t you tell me, GiGi?” The pipe-wielding intruder had looked every bit as shocked to see me as I had her. Maybe more so. The brunette with the brown-sugar-colored eyes and curves had made my Nutella-stuffed mouth water. But she was also in my space.

I had strict rules about who I let into my space, and now certainly wasn’t the time to have a new roommate, especially one I had no idea about. I’d practically lived alone since I was fifteen and I liked my space.

Now there was a woman barging in with five tons of heavy equipment, if the continuous bumping and banging was any indication.

“You said you were out of town this weekend. Somehow you’re in the apartment and have access to your phone. It’s a minor miracle. Your Himalayan trek to Mount Everest ended so quickly.”

“I told you I was planning a camping trip in the Poconos, not hiring a Sherpa to watch me suffocate to death on the side of a mountain.”

“Well, I misunderstood, but I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up about Sabrina moving into the spare bedroom.”

“I like my space, GiGi.” The Nutella jar sat on the edge of the desk in the office. Sabrina had seen me stuffing my face with it, bleary-eyed and in need of a sugar spike, eating from a jar in my rattiest college t-shirt and sweatpants. There was no coming back from this.

“I worry about you bumping around in my place all on your own. Sabrina will be good for you.”

“She’s a stranger.”

“She’s Georgina’s granddaughter, who needed a place to stay.”

“That’s what hotels are for. I can find her the perfect room. A view of the river, discounted price. Probably free.” I had a laundry list of contacts.

“Oh no you don’t. I don’t want her staying by herself. She’s had a rough time and needs someone to look out for her.”

“My job does not lend itself to looking after anyone.” My work on the New Year’s Eve concert in four months would take all my time and attention and every spare ounce of energy I could muster, especially given how off my sleep schedule had been.

“Least of all yourself.”

“She’d be more comfortable—”

“In the apartment, where she’ll have access to everything she needs. And a wonderful new guide to show her around the city.”

I didn’t have time to play tour guide. “GiGi, I have a lot of big clients with events—”

“You mean parties to attend. I swear, you’re half a month from becoming nocturnal.”

I’d have to sleep at all to be nocturnal. “Please let me find her—”

“Young man.” The warning tone in her voice brooked no arguments. “Sabrina will be staying in the guest room. You will be a gracious and generous host. You will make sure she’s comfortable. You will not try to run her off. Do you understand me?”

There was no mistaking that she’d fly up here to kick my ass if I didn’t make Sabrina comfortable. My eyes felt like dried-out mothballs. The chocolate in the jar had helped with my throat, which was raw after shooting up in my bed, screaming and covered in sweat.

A new roommate? How the hell was this going to work? Did she like being awoken in the middle of the night by a guy being revisited by ghosts of his past? Reliving my greatest-hits album of childhood trauma? If so, then this was the apartment for her. But I couldn’t tell my grandmother that. She’d get worried, probably try to fly back up here to see if there was any way she could help. I’d have to deal with the roommate situation myself. “Yes, GiGi.”

“That’s what I like to hear. It’ll be great for both of you. And thank you for the Slip ’N Slide. Everyone can’t believe you arranged it for all the residents.”

“You said you always wanted to try one.”

“You know I thought I was way past my prime to give it a shot, but the little seat they buckled us into while we slid, and the wind rushing through my hair… It was exhilarating, Hunter. Everyone had so much fun.”

“I’m glad you liked it.” A contact had been looking to showcase their senior fun activities that went beyond shuffleboard. The safety-focused nostalgic activities for those with limited mobility had been a stretch to sell to a lot of retirement communities. After checking into the safety measures, I’d persuaded GiGi to have them come to her enclave in Florida. As anyone who knew her knew, once she set her sights on something, there was no deterring her. For better or worse.

“I love you, Hunter.”

“Love you too.”

“Good, now go be a good host and help Sabrina get settled.”

“I will.” Feeling like I was eight all over again, I ended the call and flung my phone down and dropped into my office chair. Yes, I was grumpy. Grumpy and fortifying myself to be a gracious and accommodating host for my new interloper. I steepled my fingers, tapping the tips together and trying to figure my way out of this.

Shooting up from my chair, I snatched my phone off the desk and left the office.

I skidded to a stop outside my doorway. At the end of the hallway, Sabrina walked across to the chest-high pile of her stuff stacked up along the wall.

She wrestled with a black box that looked like an equipment case. “Hi.” She smiled before blowing a few strands of hair from in front of her face. Her skin was ruddy, and she was glowy with sweat and slightly out of breath.

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