Page 17 of The Roommate Remodel

“I can show you your room,” I suggest, trying to move on from the weight of his stare.

“Perfect. I’d like to shower after the long drive.”

Another image I need to wipe from my mind.Brax in nothing but a towel.

Somehow Sloan ended up in the living room with Vale, happily chatting away about hockey stats and season predictions.

When she sees me, she waves me toward Brax’s brother. “This is my sister, Jaz.”

He squints like he’s trying to place me. “I met you at Mia’s wedding, right?”

“Yeah,” I say, shaking his hand and giving him a nervous smile. More than anything, I hope he doesn’t know about the kiss. I sneak a glance at Brax and notice he’s staring at the floor, totally avoiding his brother. Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s good at keeping secrets.

“Ready to settle in?” I ask and they both nod. I wave them toward the staircase in the main hall that leads to the secondfloor.

When we reach the top, I point out the four bedrooms set up in a square formation and the bathroom the players will share. “Since you’re the first to arrive, you get first pick.”

When Brax steps inside my favorite bedroom, the one that gets all the dappled sunshine from the giant oak tree, he pauses for a moment. The room is simply decorated, mostly because we couldn’t afford more lavish decorations. I’ve learned from my friend Ella that great style can be uncomplicated, and I embraced that motto when I put the final touches on this room. A farmhouse-style double bed takes up most of the space with a sturdy walnut dresser and small white end table with a reading light. Granny’s old wooden chair, now painted a deep blue, sits in the corner. The pine floor is covered with a woven blue and cream rug. But the focal point of the room are the four enormous windows. While two of the windows make you feel like you’re in the oak treetop with the birds, the other two overlook the backyard, with the peach trees and Granny’s rose garden.

“This is the one,” Brax says as he sets his bag on the floor. Then he turns to me. “So you live downstairs?”

“My sister’s room is next to mine in the back hall next to the kitchen. We share a bathroom down there, so you guys can have the one upstairs.” I shift my weight from one foot to the other as his eyes flicker toward the floor. He probably wants me as far away as possible, so he doesn’t have to see me. “Hope that won’t be a problem?” I add, suddenly feeling anxious about this living situation.

“Of course not,” Brax assures me. “We’re both adults.” Then he rubs the back of his neck. “Boundaries and all that.”

“Right,” I agree. “Boundaries.”

If only I’d had more boundaries at that wedding.

A silence settles between us, and he sinks his hands in his pockets. The same hands that slipped across my waist when we slow danced, like they were made to fit there.

I force my thoughts away from that jarring thought and turn back to the stairs. “Well, I’ll let you unpack.”

“Hey, about what happened . . .” he begins.

I grip the railing, ready to close the door to this conversation. “It’s water under the bridge, Brax. Let’s just keep things professional from now on.”

“Professional,” he repeats quietly. “Got it.”

As I disappear down the stairs, I try to ignore the sinking feeling in my chest. He didn’t argue with my suggestion, which means he’s totally okay pretending it never happened. Sloan was right.

But how can Iforgetthe best kiss I’ve ever had? The sting of his rejection still lingers like the bruise on a soft peach. I can’t fall for him again, not when he’s already proven how easily he could disappear from my life.

“Boundaries,” I remind myself. If we’re going to make this work, I need all the boundaries I can get, even if that means building a mile-high fortress around my heart.

To my relief, I avoid Brax and Vale the rest of the day. After unpacking and getting a house key, they shower and leave to take care of some paperwork and don’t return until after I’m in bed. Not that I’m sleeping. More like I’m staring at the ceiling, trying to forget that Brax is sleeping above me.

I know I’ll get used to having Brax here, but for now, his presence stirs a soft prickly feeling inside me.

Tomorrow’s going to be a full day. The other two hockey players are arriving, and then I need to head to the Crushers’ office.

Oh, yeah.The other awkward thing I haven’t told Brax yet. My new job withhisteam.

As the brand-new community relations manager, my job is to build support for the team through community outreach. Basically,make people like the players. Alexandra already informed me that the team is losing revenue from local advertisers pulling out.And that community support is in the toilet. My job, then, is to show the players as real people with hearts, and not just tough guys punching each other on the ice.

But how can I even focus on my job when Brax is there? It’s not like the office staff sees the athletes that much, but he should know before I run into him, like I did today.

As I stare at the ceiling, I list all the things that need to get done tomorrow. Alexandra’s going to want to see my ideas right away. She’s a type-A control freak. But I’ll never get to sleep unless I can offload my ballooning to-do list somewhere.

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