The Playboy Next Door

I peek up at him. “But I’m not okay. My life is a mess.”

“I’ll pay the rent for you.” He kisses the top of my head and squeezes me hard. “Don’t worry about a thing, Ems.”

“I can’t take any more of your money, Ollie. It’s too much.”

“I got you, Ems.” He holds me at a shoulder length, staring into my eyes. The same green ones as mine. “Just let me take care of it.”

“No, I need to do this on my own.”

“But you don’t have a job,” he challenges. “I mean, you have the cookie business. But how much is this going to pay after the holidays? You need the money. I have more than I know what to do with. I’m not letting you live on the street.”

“You could come work for us,” River suggests.

I peel myself from Ollie’s strong arms and look at River. “Work for you?”

“No way,” Ollie says.

“Our house manager quit last week while we were on the road,” River says, leaning his back against the front door. “You can cook. That’s one requirement of the job.”

I folded my arms under my breasts. “What exactly does a house manager do?”

“You would do the shopping, cooking, coordinate with the cleaning crew, keep our schedules, that kind of stuff.” He shrugs. “Pretty much anything we need.”

I lift a curious eyebrow. “Anything?”

“Not happening,” Ollie interjects. “I’ll give you the money.”

Swatting my hand at him, I lean in to learn more from River. “How much does it pay?”

“Not enough,” Ollie groans. “My teammates are pigs. You don’t want this job.”

“How much?” I ask again.

“Ten thousand a month,” River says, as if it’s a small amount.

My mouth widens in surprise. “Seriously? Count me in.”

“You’d have to live with us full time,” Ollie cuts in. “Get up every morning before us to cook breakfast, prep meals. Chase women out of our apartment. You don’t want this job, Ems.”

I look straight at River, who gives me the sexiest grin. He’s going to make it so hard for me to do my job. Living with Ollie is one thing. But living with a house full of hockey players is going to be an experience.

“So, when do I move in?”

River winks. “How about now?”

River

Emma is moving in with us. The thought rolls around in my head, and it still doesn’t seem real. Every chance I get, I hit on Emma. I mean, what sane guy wouldn’t want a hot little thing like Emma in his bed?

She’s beautiful, smart, and an amazing chef. And sometimes too stubborn for her own good. After years of flirting with Ollie’s twin sister, she’s finally single and within my grasp. And she’s going to be in the room next to mine.

Right after her asshole landlord stopped by the apartment, we helped her with the remaining cookie orders. Then we handed them off to the delivery driver. We helped Emma pack a few bags, and Ollie made plans for a moving company to move the rest of her stuff into a storage unit until she gets back on her feet.

Ollie stares out the window, biting the inside of his cheek. “Please make Emma feel welcome.”

Surprised by his words, I grip the wheel tighter. “Why wouldn’t I?”

He laughs. “Are you kidding me? I see the way you look at her. How you flirt with her.” A beat passes before he shifts nervously in his seat and glances over at me. “My sister is a mess. She’s acting like this doesn’t bother her, that she doesn’t care about living with us. But this isn’t what she wants. Don’t take advantage of her.”

“I would never,” I say, somewhat annoyed. “I’m not an asshole.”

“She likes you,” he groans. “I know you like her, too.”

Ollie’s never said it aloud, but I suppose there’s no denying how hard I’ve pursued her in the past. Each time, she was in a relationship with the douchebag who left her with all the debt from the restaurant and a broken heart.

“I won’t take advantage of your sister,” I promise and mean it. “She’s our employee now. This is a professional relationship.”

Ollie scrubs a hand across his jaw that has a dusting of blond stubble. Neither of us has shaved in a week and are looking a little scruffy. It’s our thing. Our superstition for winning games.

The Flyers are on a five game winning streak. No way am I bringing our team some bad juju by shaving off my lucky charm. It’s stupid, but it works for us.

“I should have bought her an apartment,” Ollie says with sadness in his green eyes that match his sister’s. They are identical in every way, except for their height. “What’s the point in making millions of dollars a year if my sister has to live like this?”

“She won’t take your money or any form of charity. There’s nothing you can do about it. That’s why I offered her the job. You would never ask her because you think it’s too beneath her. But Emma wants to earn what she has. She doesn’t want a man to just hand things to her.”