Page 2 of Big Gruff Owner

I give a slight nod. “I’m the landlord, maintenance, property manager, and more all in one. I inherited this place from my grandfather. He always ran it alone and for now so do I.”

“That’s a lot of work. To keep everything looking so nice and do it all by yourself is awesome.” Her lips turn up. “You must be a true jack of all trades, huh?”

I return the smile, the feeling of grinning a bit uncomfortable on lips that aren’t used to it. “You could say that. Come. I’ll show you the inside.”

Waving a hand forward, I politely allow her to walk ahead of me. It turns out to be a mistake because it’s all I can do to keep my dick in my pants as I watch that shapely ass sway from side to side with every step. No one has a right to be this fucking enticing.

Be the good guy,I think to myself forcefully as I pull my gaze away and continue forward, my eyes now trained firmly on the back of her head.

“It’s the one on the right,” I tell her as we reach the set of steps shared between us.

She walks up to the door and then steps aside for me to unlock it. When I walk up to the knob, I’m almost knocked out by the smell of her. Floral and seductive, it’s all I can do to keep myself from inhaling deeply and trying to hoard the scent to myself. I don’t though, thank god. Instead, I pull a single key on a small ring out of my pocket and shimmy it in the door. When the wood panel swings open, I gesture her forward and we walk in. As I close the door behind me, I immediately start my sales pitch on the place.

“So, it’s a one bedroom one bath. Those are on the first floor.” I gesture toward the carpeted stairs to the left of the entryway. “The dining room, living room, and kitchen are all on this first floor.”

As we move further inside, I continue talking, pointing out this feature or that. But the whole time, I’m watching her carefully, gauging her reaction. It’s the first time she’s seen the townhouse in person since we did all our dealings over the phone and via email. I don’t know why, but I desperately want her to like the place. I take in our surroundings, trying to see through new eyes.

The townhouse is small, but I think it’s more than enough for one person. It’s clean and well-kept. I repainted the place after the last tenants moved out. They’d had kids so I’d had to replace a bit of hardware as well. The one good thing they’d done was leave behind most of their furniture. From what I could see from her car, keeping that furniture in here was the right move. Sadie didn’t seem to have brought much besides clothes and herself.

When we finally walk the length of the place and find our way back to the entryway, a beat of silence passes between us before Sadie gushes, “I love it!”

“Really?”

“Yes, and I’m so glad it came with furniture.” I don’t mention that it doesn’t. I don’t mention that I’m already thinking about getting her a new mattress or that I’m looking at this place and wondering if it’s even good enough for her. I want it to be good enough for her. I want everything to be good enough for her and the feeling is ridiculous. I just met the girl and I’m already wondering how I can bend over backward to keep that infectious fucking smile on that pretty little face.

God help me.

After staring at one another for a beat too long, I clear my throat and ask, “Is there anything I can carry inside for you?”

“I didn’t really bring all that much,” she admits sheepishly. “I think I can manage it on my own.”

“It’s not a problem at all,” I insist, already leading her back to her car.

“Okay,” she says, as she follows behind me. “I supposed I appreciate the help.”

She pulls open her back door and I walk around to grab the things out. All that’s sitting there is a suitcase, a duffle bag, and two black trash bags.

“This all you got?” I ask, trying to keep my tone casual as I swing the duffel bag over my shoulder and pull out the suitcase. “Anything in the trunk?”

“Um, no this is it,” she answers with a shrug like it’s no big deal. “I didn’t have much to bring. Pretty much everything I had back home belonged to my parents. My clothes were basically the only thing I owned.”

“Leave them,” I order, stopping her as she reaches for the two trash bags. “I’ll get them.”

“Are you sure? I can carry—”

“Leave them.” It’s a command and she follows it instantly. I try to pretend that the immediate obedience doesn’t do things to me as I wrap my hands around both trash bag straps and begin to lug all of her things into the house.

“I was worried there was too much furniture in there for you,” I mutter. “Now I’m wondering if I don’t have anything else in storage that you can have.”

“As long as there’s a bed, I’ll be okay,” she offers back, her face turning bright red. “Getting my own furniture is the first thing I’m going to do after I get my first paycheck.”

“You got a job lined up already?” I ask, leading her up the stairs to her side of the duplex. I’m already wondering if I can find her one if she says no. I know Jolie needs extra help at the daycare downtown…

“I do,” she tells me from over my shoulder, the smile evident in her voice as we push our way back into the townhouse. Realizing that I want more information, she adds, “I’ll be a receptionist at the doctor’s office.”

“That won’t be too boring for you?” I ask her as I lead her up the stairs to her bedroom, her belongings still in my arms.

“Oh no, not at all.” I place all of her things on the bed and turn back to look at her. “I’ve always wanted to go into the medical field, so I figure this would be a good way to get familiar with the way doctor’s offices work while I save up money for school.”

---