Just His Landlord: Southern Roots RomCom Prequel by Donna Jeffries

Author:Donna Jeffries [Jeffries, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AEJ Creative Works

10

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If someone would’ve told me that I’d be standing on the streets of almost-downtown Charleston, kissing a beautiful woman in under two weeks since moving to the city, I’d have laughed. And laughed and laughed.

And yet, there I stand, kissing Jillian Weber like she’s the only woman for me. Maybe she is, whispers through my mind, and I’m actually a little miffed at myself for being so attached to Boston for so long.

I tell myself to stop kissing her, but I can’t physically do it. She tastes like sugar and peaches, and while I’ve never been much of a fruit guy, I’m all-in for the food group right now. I finally break the kiss, realizing my heart is racing like a marathon runner. Sam would appreciate that metaphor, and I smile as I think about telling my brother I kissed Jillian. He’ll probably fall down dead. He and Heather have tried to set me up with at least a dozen women, and they’ve all been strikes.

“You’re going to be late getting back from your break,” Jillian says, no awkwardness between us. No shy smiles. Nothing. She looks at me with a softness in her eyes I’ve only seen her use with Sausage, and I’m not sure if I’m happy to be gazed at like a puppy or not. The way her eyes flick down to my mouth tells me yes, I am—or I should be—and I thread my fingers through hers.

“You’re right,” I say. “Let’s go. You okay in those bare feet to cross this black asphalt?”

“I did it a few minutes ago,” she says, and I can’t believe neither of us noticed she didn’t have her flip-flops when we left Byrd’s. A ribbon of guilt tugs through me that I made such a drastic detour, dragging her with me and causing her fall. I swear, I can’t seem to do anything right.

Except for that kiss.

I keep my smile small and my face turned away from Jillian so she won’t wonder what I’m thinking about. But I’m going to be reliving that kiss for hours upon hours. I’ve never kissed a woman like that, and I’ve never been kissed back the way she kissed me back.

The closer we get to the disaster that is my worksite, the more anxiety filters through me. “What about a late dinner tonight?” I ask as I watch Alicia open the door and enter the building. I’ve still got half a block to go, and I’m walking slower and slower.

“How late?” she asks. “The shampoo shipment is coming about seven.”

“My meeting goes until eight,” I say. In Boston, that’s not super-late, and I’ve definitely seen some night life here in Charleston even though I’ve only been here for eleven days. “I could run home, change, pick up you, and we could be seated by nine.”

She breathes in deeply through her nose and blows it all out. “I suppose I can stay up until nine.”

“I won’t play my music in the morning.”

“You never said what you’re doing over there.

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