Page 28 of Falling for Them

Eugene’s face contorted with rage. “You can’t just come in here and-”

“Actually, I can,” I interrupted, my voice dropping to a dangerous tone. “Now, run along.”

Eugene’s eyes narrowed. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

I wish I would have worn a suit, but instead, I straightened to my full height. “I’m the man who can make your life very comfortable or extremely difficult with a single phone call. Your choice.”

“Oh, please.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re probably just a-”

“Leonardo Caponetti.”

Given his thick accent, he’d lived in New York all his life and probably had heard the name. Rich Italian men tended to evoke fears about cement blocks and bullets to the forehead. While I’d never held a gun in my life, I did own a yacht.

Eugene gaped at me for a moment, and I patted his cheek a little harder than necessary. He backed up a few steps.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to sign whatever paperwork is necessary to release Ethan from the lease without penalty. In return, we won’t pursue legal action regarding your threats or general psychotic behavior.”

Eugene snapped out of his stupor. “But the rent!”

What I really wanted to tell him was that he was out of luck on that, but I was also done dealing with this man. Ethan did have some legal ground, but since he hadn’t contacted the police as far as I knew, it would be harder to make a clean break.

“I’ll cover Ethan’s portion of the rent until the lease is up or until you find a new roommate—whichever comes first. And for your sake, I hope it’s the latter.”

“Is that a threat?” He narrowed his eyes. How the hell was Ethan intimidated by this guy? He was like a petulant teenager, not to mention Ethan was almost a foot taller than him.

“Does it need to be?” I pulled out my phone to message my legal team about what documents were needed to release someone from a lease. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’d like to move out without being harassed.”

Eugene harrumphed and marched off to his room, slamming the door behind him. I turned back to Ethan and Libby, their faces a mix of awe and amusement.

“That was an impressive display of alpha male,” Libby said, a small smile playing on her lips.

“I wouldn’t gothatfar.” Ethan unfolded and refolded the sweater that was still in his hands. “Thank you. I can still pay the rent, so no need to.”

I shrugged and was unable to fight my smirk. “It’s nothing. Think of it as a gift for letting me stay in your room.”

“I’ll have to stay in Libby’s bed until I can get my furniture.” Ethan smirked right back.

Libby cleared her throat, her cheeks pink. “We should finish up before Eugene gets a second wind.” She put her hand on Ethan’s arm and stared up at him. “What do you want us to pack next?”

I felt a twinge of something in my stomach. Jealousy? Longing? I pushed the feeling aside, reminding myself what was at stake.

Chapter 11

One Time Only

Libby

Istepped into the condo, my arms filled with grocery bags cutting off my circulation. Next time I needed groceries, I was having them delivered or sucking up my pride and taking my rolling teacher cart.

“Libby, is that you?” Ethan came into view as he stood from where he had been lying on the couch.

I hadn’t expected him home for another hour and had wanted to surprise him with dinner. It had been a few days since we’d moved in, and we’d been only eating takeout.

“No, it’s a burglar with a key who likes to bring groceries.” I kicked the door shut behind me.

“You look like you’re about to topple over.” Ethan took some of the bags from me, our fingers tangling in the process. “Sorry.”

He’d been apologizing a lot the past few days any time he touched me. We still hadn’t talked about what had happened when he’d fallen on top of me, but I didn’t know if that was whyhe was acting weird, or if it was from the stress of moving so suddenly.

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