“You stupid, annoying blue luggage thingy! Stop—Ugh!” I shouted, twisting the luggage around, hoping to get it unstuck.
“Need help?”
I spun, nearly having a heart attack. I wasn’t sure how I could have forgotten Sam was here. Somehow, I just thought he would be gone.
“No, I’ve got it.”
The hulk of a man grunted, shoveling a spoon of cereal into his mouth. “Looks like it.”
“I do. I don’t need a man to help me with anything.”
He continued to chew and stare at me like I was the least interesting thing on the planet.
I quickly looked away, but not before I took in every inch of the tall, muscular boxer. Frankly, I didn’t see much of Blake in him at all. Sure, they both had dark hair, but he was covered in tattoos and had sharp angles carved into his face where Blakewas softer. Maybe it was the eyes, not that I got a good look at them, or even wanted to.
The thought of looking at another man was just depressing when the only man I wanted was Rob.
“When are you moving out?” I grumbled as I finally released the wheel from the carpet and gave a firm tug toward my room.
“I’m not.”
I stopped, spinning around to look at him, my face filled with horror. “You’re…”
“I paid up for six months. I’m staying.”
“But—” I shoved the luggage aside and rushed over to him. “No, you can’t. This is my house!”
“And I paid in advance to keep this place for six months.” He dug his spoon into his bowl and scooped out more cereal, shoving it in his mouth.
“Well—that’s just too bad because it wasn’t theirs to rent out! I paid for this house, and I’m telling you that you can’t be here.”
“I signed a contract.”
My nostrils flared in anger as I spun and grabbed my luggage, dragging it into my room. I let out a long scream as I tossed it on the bed, then realized I still had to go back and get the rest. This was not the way things were supposed to go. I was supposed to be allowed to wallow in peace without a roommate. How was I supposed to look pitiful and binge-watch sappy movies if there was a man creeping around in my space?
I went back out to plead with the man, but he was nowhere to be seen. “What a jerk,” I muttered, spinning around.
“Who’s a jerk?”
I screamed, throwing out my fists as he crept up behind me. Unfortunately, being a boxer gave him the skills to quickly avoid my hit. He caught my wrists, smirking at me.
“Nice try, but you need some work on your form.”
I tugged my hands out of his grasp. “I don’t need work because I don’t box for a living.”
He picked up two pieces of my luggage and shoved past me to my room. “Would have helped you when you were running from the mafia.”
“Excuse me, but I defended myself just fine at the hospital. And how do you know about that anyway?” I asked, trailing behind him.
“It’s a small town. Everyone talks. The night you disappeared, news spread like wildfire. Of course, half the rumors were that you’d run away to the city again,” he said, dropping my things at the foot of the bed. “Is there anything else?”
“What?”
“Luggage.”
I was confused. Why was he helping me? “No, I don’t have anything else.”
“Good. I usually get up for a run about five-thirty. Breakfast at seven if you want anything.”