Page 25 of Up All Night

She narrowed her eyes on me. “As a matter of fact, Ididget some cleaning done. I was able to get my carpet, my couch,andmy mattress vacuumed.”

“Your mattress?” I tried not to laugh.

“Yes,” she said matter-of-factly. “You wouldn’t believe how much dust they can collect.”

“I’ll have to make sure I vacuum my mattress next time I clean my bedroom.” Somehow I got that sentence out without laughing. Putting my hands in my pockets, I looked down at my feet, trying to stop myself from laughing. The image of her watching a guy vacuum her mattress was too much for me.

I cleared my throat. “It sounds like we both had a great day today, then,” I said with a smile. “You got to do some deep cleaning, and I got a great workout in, plus I enjoyed a delicious dinner.” I placed a hand on my stomach. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to share my dinner with you since I had two servings. My eyes ended up being bigger than my stomach, and I unfortunately threw away the leftovers.”

Her lips turned into a dramatic pout. “That’s a shame. It smelled delicious.”

“Ah, yes.” I nodded. “So delicious that it takes your breath away.”

Laughter bubbled out of her, the sound of it making me give her a genuine smile. She tried to cover her slip up by covering her mouth, but I could still see the laughter in her eyes.

“Good night, Halle.” I turned to go up the stairs.

Her sing-song voice floated down to me. “Good night, West.”

Sunday had been surprisingly quiet between Halle and I, but maybe that’s because I’d spent most of the day out with Cannon. He and I had spent the morning golfing, gone out to lunch, and then gone out for drinks that night. We’d talked to a few women, and as much as Cannon had tried to get me to hook up with one of them, I hadn’t been feeling it. Instead, I’d headed home and left him to decide what girl he liked better.

As I jogged down the stairs to my car to head to the gym for my morning workout, the sound of an engine trying and failing to start reached my ears. Once I got to the parking lot the clicking and clunking noise got louder. Glancing around to see where the sound was coming from, my eyes landed on an old Toyota with a pretty brunette sitting in the driver’s seat.

I watched her as she tried turning on the car again, but the noise sounded worse than it had the previous times. It wasn’t looking good for her. My knowledge of cars was limited, but I thought it sounded like she had a bad alternator.

She hadn’t noticed me standing there awkwardly staring at her like a creeper, but I kept watching her as she rested her forehead on the steering wheel.

My feet were moving before I had a chance to figure out if I should do anything. In a few strides, I stood next to her door, but she hadn’t moved. Her head was still down, and her shoulders were slumped.

I tapped on the window as quietly as I could so as not to scare her, but she still jumped, her eyes going wide in surprise.

She relaxed once she recognized me and opened her door. “What do you want?” Her voice sounded so defeated, and I found myself wanting to help her.

“I would like to take you to work,” I said simply.

She gave me a skeptical look. “What’s the catch?”

“Nothing,” I told her honestly. “Your car doesn’t seem to want to start, and you and I are both going to the same place, so I figured I could drive you there.”

She stared at me, seeming to search my face. Did she think I was such a jerk that she couldn’t believe I’d do something nice? I admit that I hadn’t always been the nicest to her, but I considered myself a good guy, someone who was willing to help someone in need.

It was hard not to be offended by her look of unbelief, but maybe I deserved it.

“You’re going to give me a ride to work, and that’s it? No reprimands or tricks up your sleeve?” she questioned.

I held up my hands in surrender. “Just one neighbor helping out another.”

She kept her gaze on me for a moment before looking back at her car dash. “Okay, fine,” she reluctantly agreed. “I do need to get to work. My first client will freak out if I’m not there on time.” She gave me a pointed look.

Pretending like she wasn’t talking about me, I played along. “They sound like a pain.”

A small smile slipped out when she said, “You have no idea.”

She got out, locking and closing her car door before following me to where I was parked a few spots away.

“Maybe this client just has a tight schedule,” I said, trying to defend myself. “Maybe they have a boss who is extremely hard to please, and being early to work is one small way they can try to prove themselves.”

I hadn’t meant to say all that, and I was slightly embarrassed I had. I didn’t need to explain myself, and she didn’t care about my daddy issues. I could see from my peripheral vision that she was staring at me, but I kept looking forward as we walked to my car, not wanting to see whatever look was on her face.

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