Page 14 of Resisting my Roommate

“That would require a phone.”

His jaw tightens. “Did this prick also turn off your phone?”

“I don’t know,” I say, my voice wavering slightly.

I hadn’t even considered that. God, I hope not. But I have a feeling when I finally find a charger and turn it on, I’ll learn he did precisely that.

“It died and my charger is in the car.”

He lets out a sigh and runs his fingers through his tousled hair, clearly frustrated by my mere presence. Then he spins suddenly, heading back through the park. “Let’s go.”

“Go?”

“You can stay with me tonight.”

My eyes practically bulge out of their sockets. “What? Why? No. I don’t need your charity. Or your pity.”

“For fuck’s sake, Abbey.” He stops walking and spins around, erasing the space between us in three long strides. “You have nowhere to go right now. I’m offering you a roof over your head and a bed. Can you swallow your pride for a minute and let me help you? I get that I was an asshole, and I’m sorry. But don’t put your life at risk because you want to prove a point. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to stay out here with you, and I’d rather sleep in a bed tonight, if it’s all the same to you.”

His expression softens, the hard edges that have been present every other time I’ve seen him nowhere to be found. Instead, there’s a tenderness I didn’t think possible, at least not from him.

“And just so we’re clear. I don’t pity you,” he continues in a gentle voice, his dark eyes awash with sincerity. Something I haven’t felt much of lately. “In fact, I think you’re probably one of the strongest women I’ve met in a while. Stubborn as hell, but strong all the same. It takes guts to do what you did, what you’re doing. Even after all the shit that asshole’s trying to pull. So let me do this for you.”

I don’t say anything right away, too stunned by his admission and sudden change of demeanor. As much as I want to stand my ground and insist I’m fine, I’m so damn exhausted. Not just physically exhausted from lack of sleep recently, but emotionally exhausted from putting on a façade all day, pretending I’m not one second away from having a complete breakdown.

“Okay,” I whisper finally.

“Okay,” he repeats. “It’s on the other side of the park.”

He starts walking, and I follow, falling into step beside him. A comfortable silence stretches between us, broken only by the sound of our footsteps on the pavement and the rustling of my dress.

“Thanks,” I say after a few moments. “I really wasn’t looking forward to sleeping on a park bench tonight.”

“Neither was I. But I would have stayed out here to make sure nothing happened to you.”

I steal a glance his way and study his profile. He’s definitely attractive, especially under the moonlight. His dark hair falls in waves over his forehead, his brown eyes not giving much away. A day or two of scruff dots his strong jawline and the fabric of his t-shirt clings to his toned physique.

Regardless, I still don’t know what to make of him and the wide swings of his demeanor. He’s an enigma — mercurial, surprising, confusing. It’s almost as if he has to remind himself to act a certain way in order to protect himself.

Maybe I’ve been wrong about him.

Maybe we’re more alike than I originally thought.

CHAPTER SEVEN

JUDE

“This is yours?” Abbey asks as I lead her up the steps and onto my front porch.

With the proximity to downtown, the row of townhomes making up this neighborhood are all designed in a similar style — exposed brick with a white porch and a small patch of grass out front.

“It is.” I fish out my keys and insert one into the lock.

“Wow. This is not what I expected. Especially the rose bushes. Unless you hired a landscaper.”

“I do all my own yard work.”

“That was one of the things I missed when I moved to San Francisco,” she muses, following me into the foyer. “No more yard to take care of.”

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