Page 5 of When You Saved Me

I looked up at Deacon who seemed to have found an even more disdainful look than the one he gave me when he first saw me at his house.

“Yes, his name is Casper.” I lifted the crate so Deacon could see him clearly.

He looked down at Casper. His lips shifted into a tight line before he looked back at me.

I shrugged. “The rental posting said that pets were allowed.”

He mumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like ‘I hate cats’ before shoving the cabin door open. I brought Casper’s carrier closer to my chest and whispered to him, “He didn’t mean that.”

Casper and I followed Deacon inside and I had to quiet the squeal that built inside my throat. The space was so cute! It was loft style with a pretty decent sized kitchen. White veined quartz sat on top of sage green cabinetry that gave the space an elevated feel from a typical cottage core vibe. A small loveseat took up one corner of the living space with a pine and mahogany wood coffee table in front of it.

Best of all, the bed on the opposite side of the space was king-sized and looked heavenly after the long drive I’d just made. A yawn ached at the back of my throat, but I kept my mouth closed trying to stifle it.

“There’s fresh towels and linens in this closet here.” He opened a narrow doorway that housed three shelves of everything I would need. Then he pointed to the only other door in the space, to the right of the bed. “The bathroom is through that door over there. It’s a tight space, but with it only being you it should be fine.”

He paused for a moment, his hand lingering over the door handle. “It isjustyou, right?”

I chuckled. “Yes. I’m not sneaking another tenant in here, I promise.”

His eyes turned stormy, the bright green darkening a few shades. Then, I realized he wasn’t asking about me sneaking in a tenant. He was wondering if I had a man who might be visiting.

I refrained from snorting. After his cold greeting, I was going to keep my extra-curricular activities to myself. He didn’t need to know what he didn’t need to know.

“Everything looks great, thank you.” I changed the subject from my waning love life, then set Casper’s crate on the ground so I could let him out to explore. A quick undoing of the latch and he bounded through the opening.

His little whiskers flinched as he sniffed the air of his new home before setting his sights on Deacon. Casper pranced toward him, and I couldn’t help but giggle when he started rubbing against Deacon’s jean clad legs, winding around and around.

“Um, what’s it doing?” For such a large man, Deacon looked genuinely disturbed by my little fluff ball.

I grinned. “He’s just saying hello. When he winds through your legs like that, it means he likes you.”

Confusion knitted his brows together. “How can he like me? He doesn’t even know me.”

“I’m not sure.” I bent down to pick up Casper. “Maybe it’s your winning personality,” I snickered. He glowered at me.

Silence filled the small space as we stared at one another, neither one willing to give an inch. That was when I noticedthe small ember flakes amongst the pine green of his irises. I’d never seen eyes like his before.

I let myself become entranced by them, noticing all the fine details so I might keep them with me. Not that I would ever need a reason to think about him. Especially not about the small scar that split the cupid’s bow of his upper lip. Or what it might feel like to run my palm against the side of his stubbled jaw.

He cleared his throat, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts. I stumbled back a step, like being too close to him might make me do something stupid. The man clearly loathed my existence for whatever reason. The last thing I needed to do was complicate things in my new home.

“Well, thanks for the tour. I’ve got it from here.”

“Right. Yeah. I, um, left my phone number on the fridge in case anything comes up that you need help with.”

I glanced behind me where a sticky note with his phone number was taped onto the fridge door. “Thanks.”

Another awkward pause and then, “Okay, I’ll get out of your hair.”

With that, Deacon walked out my new front door and I was left to wonder what I’d just gotten myself into.

Chapter 2

Charlie

Decor ideas for my new space were already swirling through my mind. Before I knew who my landlord actually was, I’d emailed him asking if it would be okay for me to paint and decorate the cabin to my liking. At the time, he seemed pretty okay with the idea, but I wondered how Deacon felt about it now.

I just won’t bring it up to him again, I thought. Do now, ask for forgiveness later. I was pretty sure that was how the saying went.

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