My fingers tapped away at the keys, the sound filling the silence in the room. When I finished adding her requested rule, I repeated it back to her. “Okay, no paying bills. I’ve also included that items, such as food or things for the house, are also not your responsibility. You’re more than welcome to pick up anything you want from the grocery store—for you or the house in general, like milk or bread—and I’ll cover the cost.”
“And by ‘things for the house,’ you mean…”
“If you need a pillow or blanket for your bed. Or towels for the bathroom. Laundry detergent. Light bulbs. I don’t know, Janelle…anything you’d need while living here.” I was almost sure I’d regret this idea, but she’d come too far to turn back now. One thing was for sure though, the more she pushed, the harder I’d shove.
This was a war she didn’t want to get into with me.
I’d fucking win.
“Sounds good to me. Moving along now. You’re a grown man. I will not clean up after you. That means you wash your own clothes, you clean your own toilet, and make your own bed.”
“I had no intention of you being my maid, but sure, I’ll include it anyway.” Keeping my thoughts to myself, I added that to the list. Word for word. “Now, I have some rules. You are here temporarily. That means no permanent alterations to my house. I don’t care to repaint walls or patch holes left behind by some ugly-as-sin decoration you felt the need to put up. At the end of the day, this is my house. You are more than welcome to make yourself at home while you’re here. You can add pillows to the couch, move the furniture around in your room, add a DVD player to the TV, or decorate the patio with potted plants. I don’t care. Go crazy. But please, all I ask is that you don’t use my property to get back at me.”
She may have nodded, but I could tell by her meek voice that I had hurt her feelings when she asked, “Anything else?”
“That’s it. That’s all I ask of you, Janelle. I don’t want this to be like I’m holding you hostage or making you my prisoner.”
“Well, you kinda are.”
“If that’s the way you’re going to look at it, then it’s going to be a long six months. But if you treat it like a free place to stay, an extended vacation—free vacation, might I add—with a clean divorce at the end, then the time will fly by. It’s all in how you perceive it.”
“I just don’t understand your motive for this, but whatever.”
“Listen, I have my reasons for wanting you here, for not wanting to sign those papers, just like you have yours for marrying some stranger for money. There’s no point in us debating the issue further because neither of us will get it. I only hope that in six months, you’ll see for yourself why I asked for this—because if you don’t, then that means I’ve failed you and your family.”
“And when does this start?”
I closed the lid to the laptop and set it aside. “The day you move in,” I answered, sitting forward with my elbows propped on my knees, my hands hanging between my legs.
“I have a question…how are we going to explain this to my family? What’s our story?”
“Let’s come up with one. I’m sure you don’t want them knowing about Vegas, and I assume you don’t want them to find out about this dating show…right?”
“That’s correct.” She couldn’t even look me in the eye, which told me so much about the shame she felt over the fact she’d be twice divorced before she turned twenty-five. “We can just tell them you offered me a spare room for a few months while I get on my feet after college. I can just tell my mom I didn’t want to inconvenience her by moving back in.”
“Your ability to form lies is worrisome,” I mumbled with my sights locked on her.
She glanced up and caught me staring, more than likely heard my grumble, but at least she ignored it with a swift flitter of her exotic eyes. “And when’s this going to happen? When am I moving in?”
“Whenever you want. Just keep in mind I’m not signing those papers until you’ve lived here for six months. The timer doesn’t start until your things are here and you’re sleeping under this roof. But the when is completely up to you.”
“Okay. I have to sort some things out. I might have to find somewhere to store the rest of my belongings until I need them again.” She glanced around my small starter home. “I’m not sure everything will fit in here.”
I ran my hand over my face, hoping to hide the anxiety rushing through my body. Ever since Matt got married and moved out, I had lived alone, hadn’t shared my space with a single soul. Not even a dog. Especially not a girl. More importantly, a girl who would more than likely try to one up me. I needed to figure out a way to make her back down long enough to see the bigger picture.
So…I decided to kill her with kindness.
“That’s your call. If I have room here for it, you’re more than welcome to bring everything with you. I have a guestroom with a bed and dresser that has been used maybe twice when my mom came to visit. But if you’d rather have your own furniture, I can move my desk and computer out of my office. Just let me know ahead of time so I can get things rearranged, if need be.”
There didn’t seem to be anything else to say. After we swapped phone numbers, she shoved the envelope containing the divorce papers back into her purse and left. I stood by the front door and watched her drive away, unsure of what had transpired.
I figured this idea would blow up in my face, but for the small chance things would go right, I knew I had to see it through. Her family needed her, and they meant enough to me to sacrifice my own feelings to make sure they got what they deserved.
I only hoped I would survive.
4
Janelle
It was move-in day. The day I started my jail sentence. And yes, it was a sentence—six months without parole. I was being forced to live with a man who could melt the panties off a nun. As if that weren’t bad enough, he also happened to be the only guy I’d ever truly loved. Ever since the last time I allowed myself to fall for his charm, I’d practically sworn off men. If he hurt me again, there was a good chance I’d join a convent. So…I basically needed to remind myself of the third-degree burn his rejection caused in the past in order to get through my stay with him.
Lucky for me, I already had everything packed and in storage. There hadn’t been much time between the last of my classes and my departure for the dating show. So it only took about a week to get everything in place and ready to move into Holden’s house. The one thing I knew from the very beginning was I had no intention of making this easy for him. After leaving Holden’s house, I’d called Connor to inform him of the change in plans. He didn’t like it any more than I did, but for a very different reason. My issues with the arrangement surrounded the fear of falling for Holden all over again, but Connor disliked the idea of it because that meant he’d have to wait that much longer to get his money. Where I’d resigned to my fate, he brainstormed a plethora of ways to make Holden’s life hell in the hopes he’d sign the papers sooner.
If this was what he wanted, this was what he’d get.
First order of attack was to bring everything with me and expect him to accommodate it all.