Page 88 of Unexpected

Walking down the porch stairs, he told me that the bottom had fallen out of one of the boxes while they were loading everything up and at least fifty dildos and other sex toys had fallen onto the driveway and began rolling down toward the street. They stood around and watched as the woman retrieved all of her dildos and retaped the box.

I was doubled over laughing at the insane story when I all but ran into a hard chest. Still giggling, I peered up into Luke’s hard, green eyes. “Hey, Luke,” I managed to say before I continued laughing. I swiped under my eyes, brushing away the tears. I had forgotten the last time I’d laughed so hard I cried.

When he didn’t respond, I asked Hunter to put the box in my trunk. He eyed Luke suspiciously but only hesitated a moment before he continued walking to my car.

“Looks like things are going well here,” Luke said, watching Hunter load the final box in my car and shut the trunk.

“I’ll be right behind y’all,” I said. Hunter glanced back at us one last time and hesitated as he hopped up into the truck next to the other two guys and backed out of the driveway.

I turned back to Luke and saw a glint of jealousy in his eyes which was only confirmed by his clenched jaw and the way he watched the moving truck slowly back out into the street. “Yeah, it went well. Didn’t take them any time at all.”

“Good. Do you have anything else that needs to go in your car? We can use my truck, too.” I tried to keep my surprise off my face; I guess that meant he still planned to help me, whether he was later than I expected or not.

“No, everything’s in my car. I just need to do one last walk-through and then lock up.”

He waited in the entryway while I did my second walk-through of the day. Scanning every corner, opening every drawer, and taking one last peek at each room felt good.

I repacked my laptop in its case, grabbed my purse, and didn’t shed a tear when I closed and locked the door for the last time.

“I’ll meet you there,” Luke said in a tight voice. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans and all I wanted to do was confront him about his erratic behavior. But I caught myself before I could open my mouth. I knew it wasn’t the right time to say anything.

So, I simply said “okay” over my shoulder as I headed toward my own car.

When we pulled up to my new apartment building, the movers were already backed into the parking lot and idling in front of the walkway up to the second floor.

I waved at the guys who were rolling up the door to the truck and jogged up the stairs to let them into my unit. When I opened the door, I was immediately met with the scent of clean carpet and new paint. I did a quick walk-through of the space—which didn’t take long since it was a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment—making sure each room was completely clean before I ran back down the stairs to let the guys begin moving me in.

Luke hopped out of his truck which he parked next to my jeep and sauntered over to me. His hands were yet again tucked in his pockets, but he seemed a little more relaxed.

“Is your car unlocked? I’ll start grabbing stuff out of the trunk,” he said without meeting my eyes.

“Yeah, it’s open.” He headed back the way he came, and I scowled. What the heck was up his butt? But I didn’t have a lot of time to continue contemplating his shitty attitude when Savannah strolled up to me.

“Our newest tenant. Welcome!” She threw her hands wide and wrapped them around me in an awkward embrace. “I just wanted to come by and check in. How’s it going so far?”

She was wearing skintight dark skinny jeans and a burgundy sweater with a deep enoughVthat it couldn’t have provided any warmth. Her heels also made her several inches taller than me. Just like the first time I’d seen her, she looked like a Southern Barbie doll.

“We just got here, but the place looks great. Thanks for checking in,” I said, trying to dismiss her without sounding too… dismissive.

“That’s so great to hear. And look, you have your helper again.” I swear I saw fucking hearts in her eyes when Luke stepped up next to me, a huge tub of my important papers in his arms.

My helper, huh? “Yes, Luke’s helping me out,” I said as Savannah twirled her hair in her fingers and licked her bottom lip. The girl was really laying it on.

Luke’s only greeting to her was a tight smile and a nod. He looked down at me and said, “Won’t take me too long to grab the stuff, so just relax, Angel.” Then he leaned forward and kissed the top of my head before turning and jogging up the stairs with the box.

My heart thumped, and it was all I could do to not keep the smug grin of satisfaction off my face. He knew it bothered me last time—before much had even happened between us—that Savannah’s attention was all on him. So, he made it a point to reaffirm that he wasn’t interested in her.

It diminished some of the contempt I felt about his attitude.Someof it.

Savannah’s face immediately dropped, but I was impressed with how quickly she recovered. She prattled on about the move-in checklist I needed to complete and return to the office by the following morning. She also instructed me that under no uncertain terms are tenants allowed overnight guests for more than three consecutive days.

I had to assure her three fucking times that it wouldn’t be an issue.

I guess the third time was the charm, though, because she finally bounced her way back to the leasing office just on the other side of the parking lot.

“Always a pleasure, Savvy,” I muttered under my breath as I grabbed a box out of my trunk.

Upstairs, Bobby and the other guy, whose name I never actually caught, were pushing boxes to the end of the kitchen while Hunter was unwrapping the one piece of living room furniture I actually had—a large gray chair that could fit two people comfortably.

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