Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
“Because he’s hilarious! Ever does this thing where he photographs Phil in super awesome settings, like at Hollywood parties surrounded by celebrities. The cat always looks annoyed, no matter what’s happening around him.”
Vee tapped the screen and handed me his phone, which was displaying Phil’s Instagram page. The most recent photo had been taken on the balcony of my apartment. Ever was smiling for the camera with the city’s skyline as a backdrop, and the cat in his arms looked thoroughly unimpressed.
Suddenly, Yolanda and JoJo were interested. JoJo asked, “Are you talking about Phil-the-gremlin? I follow him on three different social media platforms!”
While several people started talking excitedly about a celebrity cat, of all things, I handed the phone back to Vee and muttered, “This is completely nuts.”
Lark’s boyfriend Dylan, who tended to be the most serious and reserved of all the housemates, told me, “If it’s any consolation, I’ve never heard of this guy or his cat, either.”
Vee tapped the screen a few times. “You’re missing out, dude, because Tracy’s new roommate is freakishly hot. Check this out.” He panned his phone around, so everyone could see another picture of Ever. In this one, he was looking tan and sexy poolside at some tropical resort, wearing the smallest bathing suit I’d ever seen. It was little more than a neon yellow jock strap. I would have felt horribly exposed if I went out in public wearing something like that.
Embry snatched the camera and zoomed in. “Damn, he’s incredible. Are you going to try to get with him while he’s staying in your apartment, Tracy?”
“Definitely not.”
Vee frowned at that. “But you said your hookup was hot at first, right?”
“Yeah, but it was meant to be a one-time thing. He’s not even my type.”
“You liked him enough to message him on that app, though.”
I didn’t try to explain I’d been craving something very specific that night. Ever had oozed alpha energy, and I’d wanted a taste of what it felt like to step out of that role for a change.
It had been a rush, but I had no intention of walking down that path again any time soon—not that it was even an option. Our hookup had been a disaster of monumental proportions, so there was no way Ever Daley would want anything to do with me.
3
Ever
Needless to say, I was stunned when I recognized my new roommate. Our attempted hookup a few months ago had been a massive disaster, and I never thought I’d see him again.
He cleared out minutes after I arrived at Roger’s apartment, probably because he felt as awkward as I did. I watched him retreat, and then I curled up on the area rug and stared at my cat, who’d decided to take refuge under Tracy’s bed.
This roommate situation might be less than ideal, but at least it was temporary. If my building renovation managed to stay on track, my new apartment should be habitable in about two months.
Or not. When my phone buzzed, I pulled it from my pocket and cringed when I saw a text from my contractor. It was always bad news, and this time he’d written: Sorry to bug you on a Sunday, but I got an email from the earthquake retrofit specialist. He discovered an issue that the inspector missed. Fixing it will add about a week to our timeline. Estimated cost is 70K.
Man. I was hemorrhaging money with that building, and no end was in sight. It wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if this new problem ended up running into the six figures, because everything ended up double the price I was quoted.
The renovation was already drastically over budget, so this was beyond frustrating. If I ran out of money, the entire project was going to crash and burn and take the rest of my life down with it. There was nothing I could do about it either, which made me feel helpless. That was the worst feeling in the world to me.
I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. The T-shirt and shorts I’d put on in L.A. weren’t the best choice for San Francisco. I wanted to take a hot shower and change into the sweats I’d stuffed into one of Phil’s boxes, but I felt guilty about leaving my cat alone on his first day in a strange place.
Okay, so that was ridiculous, and I knew it. Phil probably didn’t give a crap about any of this. I took him places all the time, and he had no idea we were never going home again. To him, this must seem like any other hotel, and he’d stayed in plenty of those.
Actually, Tracy’s blank bedroom did have a generic hotel room feel. Who lived like this, and why? It was as though he wanted to be able to pack up and leave at a moment’s notice.