Daring In The City

“Hmm? Oh, lots of jobs. During and after college I worked everything from construction to pet sitting to serving promotional drinks to drunk businessmen. That one was the most lucrative, although getting my ass pinched got old real quick.”

“So, you never worked in sales, huh? You know, you look as though you’re about to fade away. Why don’t you let me walk you to your room?”

She laughed. “It’s just upstairs.”

“The last thing we need is you falling and breaking something.”

“Not to mention suing you. I wouldn’t do that. Wes, on the other hand, would. Can you believe him? How could I not have realized he was an epic asshole? That’s very disturbing. I’m going to have to think about that one—” She yawned. “Just not tonight.”

Luca stood close, and looking up at him made the room spin. She took another sip of her beer, belatedly remembering it was ill-advised.

“Wait a minute. Don’t move,” he said. A moment later he was back, holding a bottle of water. Then he put a hand on her back and helped her stand. Which was very nice of him. So was his sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her against him.

He was so much bigger than Wes. Taller, stronger, more muscular. He smelled good, too. Masculine. She was pretty sure he wasn’t wearing any cologne, either, at least not the kind Wes stocked up on. “He liked to smell like the woods,” she said. “Wes, I mean. But he hated the woods. Hated camping. Made me take care of all the spiders.”

“Did he?”

As they got closer to the stairs she found herself leaning more heavily against Luca. “You’re nice, though. Thank you for this. For letting me stay. I’ll be out of your hair before you know it.”

“I’m sure of it. Come on now, step up. We can do this.”

It took some concentration for her to climb up the staircase. Or maybe she was simply distracted by the man who was helping her. His body felt warm and solid. His arm tightening around her made her feel safe. So foolish. She didn’t know him. She just needed to get him to let her stay until she could find a job—heck, several jobs—so she could earn enough to find a place to live that wasn’t a cardboard box.

“No way I’m not going to start my own business,” she said as they made it to the second-floor landing. “No way that asshat’s going to stop me.”

“Good for you,” he said, walking her to the bedroom door. “Here, take this.” He handed her the water.

It took a moment for her to get a grip on it, as she was busy feeling bereft again. About Wes. About the loss of Luca’s arm around her waist. About the stupid mattress and wrinkled sheets. She looked up at him one more time, steadying herself with a hand on his very broad, hard chest. “I’ll pay you back, you know. For the pizza and beer. And water. For the next two nights. I pay my way,” she said. “No matter what.”

“Okay, we can talk about that tomorrow. For now, though, I think you should get some sleep, huh?”

She slid her palm off his chest and listed to the left. His arms came all the way around her, and she leaned gratefully against his chest, so tired and weak she didn’t know how she was going to make it to the mattress. When she fully realized what she was doing, she straightened away from him. “Sorry,” she muttered.

“It’s okay. You’re crashing from all that adrenaline from earlier.” He loosened his arms but didn’t pull away. “Take your time.”

“You’re a nice man, you know that?”

Luca smiled. “Yeah, I’m a real peach.”

“You are.” April smiled back at him as he turned her toward the room. “I’ll vouch for you.”

“You don’t know me. I could be a real scumbag.”

“No, you’re not,” she said as he gave her a gentle push forward. “I just know it.”

“You thought you knew Wes,” Luca reminded her.

Her stomach clenched, and she stumbled into the room and waited until he shut the door behind him before the tears fell.

5 (#uf88e9c2a-e165-541d-955f-29ee81c1dc2d)

UPON REFLECTION, LUCA realized he’d been an idiot. And because he didn’t like doing things half-assed, he’d gone for the gold. Yep, he’d attained a whole new level of stupidity.

Yawning, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He really could have slept at his folks’ house last night, instead of on a pile of tarps. He hadn’t heard a peep out of April since they’d parted ways last night, and even if she had decided that she would rob him blind, what could she have taken? Drywall? Ladders? But she was in a strange house, in a strange city, and he hadn’t wanted to leave her alone.

Although the truth was April needed to learn very quickly that she shouldn’t be so trusting of strangers. Not in New York City.

Hell, he should be taking his own advice. He didn’t know her. She was already complicating his life. And she’d caused him actual, physical pain. Indirectly, but still. With a muffled groan he got to his feet and stretched. He didn’t even have the comfort of coffee to make him feel better.

In a minute he’d run over to the corner bodega for some strong Colombian and pick up a few toiletries at the same time.

Luca dragged his palm down his stubbled jaw. This was ridiculous. He wasn’t thinking clearly. There was no point in coming back here until later in the day. He might as well go straight to his folks’ house and pack the last of his things.

He saw his shirt hanging on the ladder where he’d left it, but where was his phone? He checked his jeans’ pocket then saw it lying next to the pizza box. Of course he had messages. The first one stopped him.

“Dammit.”

His bed and wide-screen delivery. They were coming in an hour.

Shit, shit, shit.

He was supposed to have called the store last night to push the date back. Then April had come downstairs, and his mind had gone down a road that was strictly off-limits. So what had he done? Fed her. Got her tipsy. Helped her to bed.

At least he hadn’t crawled in with her. For a minute there, when she’d leaned into him, he’d had a devil of a time letting go of her. Just thinking about it was reawakening his morning wood, and he made a dash for the bathroom. The delivery guys were coming soon. Normally he could count on them being late. But with his luck, traffic would be so light they would set some kind of record.

He had to be ready for when they got there. There was only one place he could put his bed now that she was using the room upstairs. The office wasn’t large enough to hold more than just the king-size bed and a few boxes, and it had no door, but it would have to do. Of course, he’d have to use a couple guys to help him get the bed upstairs after April left, but he couldn’t worry about that now. The pathway to the office was blocked by yesterday’s efforts to organize his work space. Perfect.

Sans caffeine, every muscle and joint in his body aching, he got to work. Starting with a stack of beams, he lifted as many as he could without making him actually cry, and took them all the way to the far wall. Next, he had to move the drywall. Unfortunately, he’d stacked a ton of it in the office, but there was nothing he could do but carry the heavy mothers two at a time out into the living room.

“Hello?”

April. Just what he needed. She stood at the bottom of the staircase, looking well rested and pretty. Damn her. Her hair was in a ponytail, her bangs pushed to the side, and she was wearing skinny jeans and a T-shirt that was at least one size too small for his comfort.

“Can I help you carry that?”

He thought about it. But no, she needed to get a jump on looking for someplace else to live and stop complicating his life. “No, that’s okay,” he said, starting a stack of drywall next to the front windows before heading back to the office to get more.

“Um, okay, but I’m pretty strong,” she said, following him. “And not that I want to interrupt your work or anything, but I was wondering if you could tell me how much I owe you for the nights I’ll be staying here? And where I can find an ATM close by?”

Huh. He hadn’t expected her to be so persistent and he had no idea what to charge her. He picked up two sheets then turned to face her. She’d been staring at his back but quickly met his gaze. She was young, healthy, and while she probably couldn’t lift a seventy-pound sheet, she could carry boxes and paint cans and tools.

“Tell you what,” he said, glancing at his watch. “You help me move the smaller stuff to the front of the apartment, and I’ll let you stay for nothing.”

Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“That’s the offer.”

“Okay, yeah.” She glanced at the drywall and then lowered her gaze, her cheeks turning pink. Probably embarrassed about last night, though she didn’t need to be. “I can help move those, too.”