I honestly couldn’t believe that Kyle nearly hit me. He had changed so much over the past ten months, and I didn’t know if it was my fault, or the stress at work, or what. If Jason hadn’t stepped in at that exact moment, I could have a black eye, or much worse.
Jason. Closing my eyes, I could easily picture that movie star perfect smile. He probably sees a lot of frantic people on their moving days, and he was likely just being nice. Perhaps he’s a great guy who respects women. But he was so sweet to me that it really made me think.
In a yea
r, when I’m ready to date again, I’m going to look for a guy like that. Someone who makes me tingle from one hug.
I wished that I could picture Jason in the role of future boyfriend, but there was no way a guy that hot would end up with someone like me. He should be with a beautiful, elegant woman who has her life together.
Glancing around the room at the boxes everywhere, I couldn’t even deal with it. Digging a comforter out of a garbage bag, I turned out the lights, curling up on the mattress, thinking of Jason’s arms around me.
CHAPTER TWO
* Jason *
All night I tossed and turned, unable to get the vision of Claire’s sweet face out of my mind. Every single part of her was so damn feminine that it drove me wild. Her bright eyes and soft smile. Those incredible thighs, her round ass. And those breasts that I needed to bury myself in for days. The tiny freckle on her earlobe. But her laugh drove me even wilder. The way she took her time to think before she spoke. The way she looked up at me with that sparkle in her gaze.
When I finally drifted off for a bit, I woke up licking my lips, envisioning her wide hazel eyes dreamy with lust after I made her come on my tongue. I would give anything for one night with her. But that wasn’t for me. I could never do that. If I wanted a woman, it was for a real relationship.
Everything I’d learned about Claire so far told me that she wasn’t even just a relationship. She was the one. I’d heard people say that when you know, you just know. It’s a force like gravity – it’s just there. You can’t question it. You trust it.
I couldn’t have been imagining her response to the way I hugged her. I was also surprised at my own physical reaction. I’d never wanted a woman that badly. I’d never been tempted to throw a woman down and tear her clothes off. I’d obviously never do such a thing, but even just the thought of it startled me.
After watching far too many angry breakups in my line of work, I’d almost given up on the thought of finding the right girl. Relationships seemed so messy. People were always lying and cheating and I swore that I’d never become like that.
I’d only had a few girlfriends, and I found them tiresome after only a month or two. They didn’t want to be comfortable with me. It was as if they needed a ridiculous amount of drama in their lives to feel fulfilled. I didn’t want my life to be a reality show. I wanted stability. A nice girl to share my life with, who would let me spoil her, protect her, and take care of her. Sure, I wanted to go out and have fun sometimes, but a night in quietly reading together would also be amazing.
I knew that Claire was obviously just ending a relationship, and it probably was not the right time to ask her out. But I certainly couldn’t leave her all alone in that apartment with nobody to give her a hand putting her furniture together. She seemed like a smart gal, but there were a lot of things that just take two pairs of hands.
I went to her apartment, stopping by a café to pick up coffee, muffins, and sandwiches. Somebody let me into her building in the lobby, which, although convenient, was not very good security.
I knocked on her door, and she opened it immediately.
Claire looked absolutely stunned to see me. She also looked so pretty, with her dark hair tied back in a messy bun, floral print leggings, and a baggy black T-shirt with a cartoon ladybug on the front.
“You’re really here?” she muttered.
I barged right in and set the food down on her kitchen counter. “First off, please never answer the door without checking through the peephole. Secondly, people in this building just let strange men in the front lobby, so don’t answer your door at all if you’re not expecting anyone. Thirdly, hi. How are you?”
Claire giggled sweetly. “You didn’t have to bring snacks,” she said. “Oh! That’s right – I need to pay you. Let me grab my purse.”
I quickly swiped her credit card and took care of the moving bill, leaving the receipt on her counter. My name and the company number were on it, and I wanted to make sure that she had some way to contact me. Just in case.
“I’m so glad the machine was broken,” I said, looking around. “You obviously needed me to come back today.”
Taking a peek into the bedroom, I saw the bare mattress still there. I gave a heavy sigh. “Honey, did you sleep on the floor?”
“The new mattress was nice,” she said sheepishly.
I took a big swig of coffee, then rubbed my hands together. “We’re starting with the bedroom, because a good night’s sleep is incredibly important. Then we’ll figure out how the living room needs to be arranged before we put the shelves up.”
She looked up at me, blinking. “You’re really going to help me?”
“Of course,” I said.
An hour later, her bedroom looked completely put together except for a few boxes in the corner, and I had learned that we both read a lot of science fiction and mystery books. We also both loved some of the same local bands, and the unbelievable chicken burrito at the graffiti-covered dive bar at the corner of Bathurst and College Streets.
Soon we had the living room arranged, with her shelf locations figured out. I started putting them together quickly, while she handed me tools.