Room for You Read Online Free PDF Page B

up on either side of me, sound asleep. Their favorite book, Pinkalicious , was open and laying on my chest. We were all so warm and toasty, I was tempted to pull the blanket up and go to sleep right there with them. Remembering the mess I’d left in the kitchen, I forced myself out of her bed, tucking them in on my way out.
    I walked to the end of the hall, turned toward the kitchen and stopped in my tracks. Not only was the dishwasher running, but the counters were clear, the table had been wiped down and all the leftovers had been put away. Alexa’s flowers were sitting perfectly in the center of the island. I looked around and the only person left downstairs was Brody, who was sitting on the living room couch watching SportsCenter.
    “Wow! It looks great in here,” I called out. “Do I have you to thank for this?”
    “Hey!” he said, getting up from the couch and coming over into the kitchen. “Yeah, I thought I would help out. It’s the least I could do, ya know, as a thank you for letting me stay here.” He leaned his hip against the edge of the island and folded his muscular arms across his chest, giving me a sincere smile.
    God, those dimples might be the death of me. They were like two little secret weapons perfectly placed on his cheeks, ready to strike at any moment and bring you to your knees.
    “Well, thank you for this,” I said, waving toward the kitchen. “I was sure I’d be elbow deep in chili grease until midnight.”
    “No problem. It also gave me an excuse to blow off Ashley.” He laughed, his eyes wide.
    “She was laying it on pretty thick, huh?”
    “Ugh,” he groaned. “She was obnoxious. She’s as intelligent as this countertop, and her laugh was really starting to get on my nerves.”
    “Did she back off once you told her about your girlfriend?” I tried to be coy when I asked, when really I wanted to know every disgusting detail about his relationship. How long had they been together? Were they serious? Was he going to marry her? Then I wanted her phone number so I could tastelessly call her and ask her what this sexy creature was like in bed.
    “Yeah, she pouted … again and went up to bed.” A mischievous grin crossed his face. “But … I don’t have a girlfriend.”
    My heart leapt into my throat.
    “What? But … I thought I heard…”
    “I just told her that so she’d leave me alone.” He chuckled like he was pretty proud of himself.
    “Oh, well, your secret is safe with me.” I zipped my lip shut and smiled at him nervously. For some reason, I felt safer when I thought he had a girlfriend. Since Zach and I split, I had been so careful and precise about what type of man I was willing to allow myself to get close to. I wasn’t about to throw that all away on one charming stranger with a smile that could melt glass.
    “I was looking at the pictures your mom has out. There are lots of you and the girls. Are you an only child?” He walked over to the fridge, grabbed the orange juice and set it on the island.
    “Yep, just me.”
    “I also noticed that there wasn’t a guy in any of the pictures with you and the girls, and your mom mentioned you were single. Where’s the girls’ dad?” He poured juice into two glasses and slid one toward me.
    I raised the glass to my lips slowly in a desperate attempt to stall answering his questions. I never talked about Zach with my best friend, let alone someone I had known for a handful of hours.
    “Uh … he’s gone.” My plan was to use the vaguest answers I possibly could.
    “Hmm.” He looked down at his glass for a minute, contemplating his next question. “Was he ever around? Does he know the girls? Does he see them?”
    My eyes widened as I took a deep breath, overwhelmed with the avalanche of personal questions he was dumping on me all at once.
    He must have noticed the hesitation on my face and put his hands up in front of him. “Whoa, I’m so sorry. That was really pushy of me.”
    I looked down and