Page 32 of Shortcake
“What’s going on?” From over Warren’s shoulder, shockingly dark blue eyes met my own. And I swear, my body went numb.
Blood heated.
Time stopped.
And all the other cliches you could name happened.
Brawny.
Daddy.
No… Conrad.
Conrad was here in Higgins house?
How was that possible? How was this happening?
“Addy?” Conrad’s deep voice sent a tremor across my entire body. He sounded every bit as confused as I felt. “What are you doing here?”
“She’s shaking,” Warren said, concern softening his voice. “I think she’s in shock.”
“Shock… why? What are you talking about?”
“I-I, uh, live in the apartment above the garage,” I managed to choke out. But as I hitched my thumb toward the garage, I stupidly forgot I was holding coffee and dumped out about half of my coffee on his front stoop. “Shit,” I muttered.
His mouth twisted into a small smile. “Knowing the type of coffee you drink, that’s the equivalent to pouring gasoline on my front porch.”
His eyes flicked to Warren and just as quickly as it appeared, his smile vanished, pink tinging his cheeks.
“There was a fire in Addy’s apartment,” Warren said, his face still inches from mine, hands roaming, like he was trying to feel for any injuries. But my eyes, my attention, was completely on Conrad over his shoulder.
“What?!” Conrad said. “Are you okay?”
I shook Warren’s hands off of me and stepped away from how closely he stood. “I-I’m fine.” Once both men acknowledged that I wasn’t burned or coughing or hurt, they rushed around me and ran down the driveway, looking up at my apartment.
I was slower than them, what with my laptop slipping out the bag from under my arm and Eleanor’s cage bumping my shin as I ran. It was surprisingly heavy. But I followed them both across the driveway, all the same.
“Wait!” I called after them. “Just wait a minute, Conrad! Did youseriouslybuy this house from Higgins?” I didn’t quite mean for that to come out as accusatory as it did.
Conrad halted mid-step and turned, his gaze sweeping over me and pausing at Eleanor. “From Jeremy Higgins, yes.”
I shook my head, trying to shake the cobwebs loose. Maybe the smoke inhalation had gotten to me. “You bought this home…andthe rental unit above the garage?”
“Yes…” He drew the word out to be several syllables long.
“Is this a fucking joke? Are you seriously going to be my new landlord?”
His brows jumped with my curse. Or maybe at the prospect of being my new landlord. His eyes flicked to Warren before holding his hands out. “Looks like it.”
“You. The…” I stopped myself short from sayingthe man I slept with three years ago on a tipsy, heart-broken whim who also just happened to move to my hometown. “The new sheriff.”
Ignoring us both, Warren reached for the front door that led to the stairwell up to my apartment, but Conrad grabbed his elbow, stopping him. In the distance, sirens wailed, coming closer by the second.
“Don’t,” Conrad demanded. “It’s not worth running up there without any masks or oxygen. Let the firefighters do their job.”
Warren glanced at me briefly, before nodding a confirmation to Conrad. His boss. “Copy that.”
“I put the fire out,” I said simply. “But you’re right, we should wait, just in case something ignites again.”
