Page 63 of These Pucking Boys

“Take the stairs.” Lachlan laughs, and the door closes completely.

“That was mean.”

He looks at me, his eyes widely innocent. “What? Our hands are full. We couldn’t stop the door from closing.”

I shake my head. “Right.”

He bumps his arm with mine. “You can’t blame me for wanting more time alone with you, lass.”

I don’t make eye contact, but I can’t hide the smile that blossoms on my face. I’m in so much trouble already.

When we arrive on the floor below, Ryan is already there, waiting for us with a scowl aimed at Lachlan. “You suck.”

Lachlan laughs. “I’m not sorry.”

“Boys... play nice.”

I don’t think anything about my reply until I see the look in their eyes. It’s like a fire lit up in them. Oh God. What I said wasn’t meant to be an innuendo to sexy times. I pretend I don’t notice how they’re staring at me and focus on opening the door to the apartment. The moment I step foot inside, Winston comes running and barking. I’ve only met him once, but he seems happy to greet me.

“Hi, boy. It’s nice to see you too.” He jumps on my legs. “I’d pet you if my hands were free.”

Lachlan and Ryan follow me, which draws Winston’s attention. Now that I don’t have him distracting me, I can soak in my surroundings. Mrs. Carpenter’s apartment is exactly as I expected it to be. Her furniture is a mix of odd pieces, some vintage, some just plain old, that shouldn’t go together but somehow do. The walls are painted a light neutral color, eggshell if I were to guess, and there are several colorful paintings and photographs hanging on them.

It's an open-space layout with the kitchen being the first thing you see as you walk in. Just like the boys’ apartment, there’s a lot of light coming from the tall windows. All sorts of plants are spread throughout the living room, something Jake forgot to mention. They’ll need tending too. In fact, I’m sure they should be watered asap.

“You can put your bags in the bedroom, June,” Lachlan tells me.

“Right.”

“I’ve never been in Mrs. Carpenter’s bedroom,” Ryan pipes up. “Have you?”

“Once, when she needed help with her light fixture.”

It’s strange to sleep in someone else’s room, but if there was a guest room, Jake would have told me. I hope she doesn’t have personal pictures on display. I’d feel like they were watching me.

On the way to the bedroom, we walk past the big aquarium in the living room. There are three exotic fish in there, but I can’t tell what they are. “Do the fish have names?”

“Yes. Frodo, Bilbo, and Sam,” Jake replies.

I turn and see him by the front door with the dolly and most of my boxes stacked up.

“Oh, she’s a Lord of Rings fan. Cool.”

“Her cats are called Eros and Apollo,” Ryan chimes in. “Where are they by the way?”

“They must be hiding. They’re a little shy.”

“Oh. Do you think they’ll come to me?” I ask, worried that they’ll be afraid of me.

“Open a can of tuna, and they’ll come running.” Jake smiles. “Where do you want the boxes?”

I bite my lower lip and glance at the space available. “I think we can set them in the living room for now. I’ll unpack whatever I need then put the rest in storage.”

“Jaaake!” a parrot in a cage in the corner of the living room calls.

“Hey, hi Admiral.”

I chuckle. “The parrot is called Admiral?”

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