And now the bottom two floors are mine.
“Let me explain?” I say, worried that maybe it was too much.
“Yeah, that’s . . . that’s a good idea.”
I take a deep breath and then let it all out in a flurry of words. “I know you’re the kind of woman that solves her own problems and doesn’t need a man to handle things, but this was the one thing I knew I could do. I could get that dipshit out of your life. I bought the bottom unit. Offered him double what he paid if he would get out today. I put them up at a hotel in Manhattan, a whole borough away.”
“You’re learning the lingo,” is all she says, at my casual use of the wordborough, but nothing else. And I can’t read her expression. It’s entirely neutral.
“Yeah, well, I plan on sticking around for a while,” I say, rubbing at the back of my head. “I don’t have to live here. I can sell it again or even sell it to you, if you want. I think you’re probably about to get a pretty decent raise.”
So, I’ve explained and now the only thing I can do is wait.
I’m getting really good at that.
Chapter 21
FRANCESCA
No one has ever done anything like this for me before.
I’ve never wanted them to. My whole lifeI’vebeen the one to solve my own problems and, to be honest, everyone else’s. It’s what I’m good at.
I should maybe be feeling a little annoyed. Maybe more than a little. Especially after that speech I gave him about us being together and making big life choices together, but I don’t have it in me to be anything other than relived and grateful and, yeah, maybe a little bit turned on by it.
There’s something extremely hot about a man who sees a problem and fixes it, without any waffling or handholding or without expecting to be crowned master of the universe for it.
In fact, Charlie seems to realize that, generally, doing stuff like this all the time would be a bad idea.
That’s even hotter: a guy who knows exactly when it’s time to get things done.
This is definitely one of those times.
I’ve been silent for too long.
He’s rubbing at the back of his head and rocking on his heels and with his bottom lip caught between his teeth, he looks genuinely nervous. It’s kind of extra hot, honestly.
Finally, I manage to come up with something to say.
“We don’t have to decide right now, but I need you to know that this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
His shoulders sag with absolute sheer relief.
“Really?”
I push up to my tiptoes and brush a kiss against his cheek. “Really,” I whisper, barely getting the word out before he turns his head and catches my mouth with his.
“You’re completely insane, you know that, right?” I say, when I pull away gasping for air.
“Yeah, I know,” he admits, and then I grab his hand and lead him toward the front steps and through the front door.
It’s awkward, trying to run up the stairs to the second floor holding his hand and, halfway up, he gives up, braces himself against the wall and swings me up into his arms. I let out a little shriek at the sudden weightlessness and the momentary spark of fear that we’re about to go tumbling back down the steps, but then he shifts my weight against his chest and we’re moving again, up to my door, where he reluctantly lets me down so I can unlock it.
“It would have been cooler to carry you in,” he mutters from behind me, his arms twining around me as I try to maintain enough focus to actually get the key into the lock. It’s hard with his mouth pressing hot, wet kisses down the line of my neck while his fingers untuck my blouse from the waist of my skirt, darting beneath it and rising to cup my breasts, gently weighing them in his hands.
With a shuddering breath, I manage to slide the key into the stupid lock, twist it and the doorknob in one motion and then stumble into my apartment with him at my back. The door slams shut behind us and I drop my bag and my keys to the floor as he spins us around and pins me against it, his mouth immediately finding mine while his hands grip my thighs and lift me, my legs tightening around his waist as one shoe falls off and the otherdangles on my toes until I kick it away. He slides my skirt up over my thighs, but the bottom isn’t wide enough to push up over my hips and he growls at the delay.
Using his body to brace me against the hard surface and while his mouth sucks gently at my neck, his fingers find the zipper to my skirt before he deftly slides it down and sets me on my feet to allow it to fall the rest of the way.
