Page 15 of The Spark Between Us

Chapter Five

Braden

I wasn’t tryingto be a jerk.

I was trying to be a kind and polite host. But when I opened the door to the spare room, I nearly hyperventilated. In hindsight, it hadn’t been a great idea to wait until Sarah arrived to blow the cobwebs off that room—the room where Ellie had screwed her boyfriend before breaking off our engagement.

Staying in the same house with her at the end and knowing she had no interest in marriage had nearly broken me. Once she moved out for good, I’d shut the door—literally—on everything that reminded me of her. If I’d been smarter, I’d have sold the house and moved. But a part of me didn’t want to admit I’d gone to pieces, so I held it together and made the place mean something to me without her. Except for that room. I’d had no reason to go in there, so it sat like a shrine to a dead person.

Having Sarah as a roommate might breathe new life into the stodgy quarters. She was nothing if not bright and cheerful, despite my morose grumblings in her presence. I’d have to do better. She deserved a decent roommate who didn’t act like a stiff bore, carrying a torch for a woman who was long gone.

And she deserved a roommate who didn’t hit on her, no matter how much I liked looking at her pretty eyes and the pink in her cheeks when she blushed. I didn’t need to mess with a smart, gorgeous woman who was out of my league. Been there, done that, put my heart through a meat grinder.

In the morning, she’d go to work and get busy, and life would be fine. Six months would fly by.

I mulled these thoughts three times over as I carried her boxes from the truck to where I stacked them outside her room.

“So, could I buy you some dinner tonight as a thank you?” Sarah asked as she came down the stairs. She hadn’t showered.

Stubborn woman.

“Aw, you don’t have to do that,” I said, though I’d skipped lunch and the mere mention of food had my stomach growling.

She waved a hand. “I’m not offering because I think I have to do it. I just figured I’m going to get pretty busy with work and, this might be our only chance to get to know each other a little bit. Don’t you want to know the person who’s freeloading in your spare bedroom?” Her pale eyes caught me, and I lost the battle. All I wanted to do was Google seas from around the world until I figured out an exact match for the color. Probably somewhere in the Caribbean where the sand would dust our feet like sugar.

Good lord, get a grip.

I nodded. “Sure, we can do that.” She was right—we both worked a lot, and I should take the time to learn a little about her. One dinner would be harmless. “But let’s get one thing straight. You don’t owe me anything. I have the bedroom, no one was using it, and I’m glad to put it to use. So none of this ‘freeloading’ business. I’m happy to have you in my bedroom.”

I could feel the heat rise on the back of my neck and I squeezed my eyes shut. “I mean, my spare room is all yours.”

She grinned. “I knew what you meant. It’s all good.”

It did not seem all good.

* * *

“You know,the only reason I plowed into the fire truck was all the wine bars,” Sarah explained as we drove through town, and I pointed out various things—hardware store, grocery store, wine bar, wine bar.

“Why, did you stop off for a drink?” I eyed her suspiciously. None of my guys had said anything about her blood alcohol levels.

Her eyes went huge. “No. Never. I mean, I was fixated on how many wine places there are in a small radius. It’s cool.”

“Yeah. Surprises people who think all California wine comes from the Napa Valley.”

She put a hand on her chest with a mock-gasp. “What blatant grapism. I’ll admit I didn’t learn much about Carolwood. I was too busy nerding out about lasers at the lab to research things to do around here for fun. Do you think I’m a grapist?” She crinkled her nose, and I couldn’t help being charmed by her complete lack of pretense.

“I do not.”

“Good. I’ll have you know I’m an equal opportunity wine drinker, and to prove it, I’ll drink all the wine with dinner.”

“All of it?” I asked. She was adorable, which didn’t bode well for my leaving her alone plan.

She waggled her eyebrows. “Well, I can’t have you rescuing me twice in a day, so maybe I’ll behave.” Yup, she was going to test every bit of my will. Fortunately, fighting fires had gifted me with a lot of it.

I had the Uber drop us at Copeland Park and gave Sarah a history tour as we passed various shops on the way to dinner.

“There’s a farmer’s market here every Thursday.” I pointed to the park that sat in front of the Copeland Library. Not wanting to remind her of the accident, I made sure to take us on a route that didn’t go down that street.

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