Page 12 of Unstoppable Love

“Why not?”

“Because we hate each other.”

Ouch. Okay. So that hurt.

“I don’t hate you.”

She huffed again, crinkled her nose. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to stay here with you when all we do is fight.”

“I’ll keep my distance.”

She glanced at the door again, but her grip loosened on the suitcase. I’d been an ass, and I’d been a jerk, both of which she didn’t deserve. It was the boundary I needed, though, to ensure I never took advantage of her again.

“Stay,” I repeated and took another step back toward the kitchen. “It’s my off-season. I’ll stay out of your way when you’re here at night. You’re gone all day. And it’s just a couple of weeks, right?”

“I move in August first.”

“It’ll make Isaiah feel better to know you’re here.”

“You’re a jerk,” she muttered.

“I’ll try to be less of one.”

She glanced at me again, and now there was only defeat in her eyes. I’d been right, though. She didn’t have friends here, at least none she could stay with. Like Obi-Wan, I was her only hope.

“Why start now?”

With that parting shot, she grabbed her suitcase and hauled it back upstairs.

I let her go, even let her carry her own bag, even though my mother would slap the back of my head for that.

I didn’t need to know what bedroom she’d chosen. I didn’t need to see any of her other things out. And I didn’t need to inhale the sweet, summery scent she’d already filled the room with.

Chapter 4

Ava

This was a disaster. An absolute disaster. Now I was stuck in a bedroom, gorgeous as it was with stunningly rich gray walls, white-painted wood furniture and headboard, and sage green bedcoverings along with matching curtains that gave me a view of downtown Denver and the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

For only being in this house since the winter, from what I’d heard, he’d decorated spectacularly, and I’d barely allowed myself to tour much of the home last night before I plopped down on his couch. But even his living room was well decorated. Artwork on the walls. Rugs covering the wood floors. There were faux plants that added pops of color to the rich, neutral colors of tans and creams.

He had to have hired a decorator, and the very thought of another woman, even a professional one, putting touches on his house made me a little feral.

This was why staying here was a disaster. When it came to Cameron Kelley, my common sense jumped off the highest peak and scattered. And that was when he wasn’t around.

Around him, I was more likely to stab him with a kitchen knife than have a rational conversation.

“Ugh!” I slapped my hands on my thighs and paced back and forth. “Stupid, freaking Isaiah.”

Speaking of… I dove for my purse I’d thrown on the bed when I stomped back up the stairs an hour ago and grabbed my phone. I spent an hour pacing this bedroom with the gorgeous views and the pretty décor and a space large enough for a sitting area. I’d have to buy some chairs for the area. It was only two weeks, but there was no way I was hanging out with Cameron at night, even if he said he’d make himself scarce. He’d been right earlier. Like Isaiah had been, too. I had nowhere else to go. I was friends with coworkers, but in a “let’s grab happy hour” kind of way. Not a “let me crash on your couch for two weeks” kind of way.

I couldn’t do it.

Wouldn’t.

“Hello?” My brother’s voice echoed through the phone, the rumbling of tires on the road in the background told me he was talking through his phone’s Bluetooth setting.

“Are you alone?” Sometimes he had a partner with him, and this conversation needed to be private.

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