Finally (Neighbor from Hell 12)

“Cold!” came the gasped response that had him cursing under his breath as he quickly turned the nob until he heard, “That’s good.”

Deciding that he’d tortured himself enough for one day, Devin headed towards the door and-

“Why do you hate me?” came the question that had him rubbing his trembling hands down his face with a humorless laugh because god, he really fucking wished that he could hate her. It would make his life easier if he could hate her that way he wouldn’t find himself thinking about her every fucking minute of the day.

“I don’t hate you,” Devin said, dropping his hands away as Charlie murmured, “No, of course, you don’t.”

“I don’t,” he bit out evenly.

“And I totally believe you,” Charlie said, making him narrow his eyes on the shower curtain.

“I don’t.”

“Then explain the glaring,” she said, sounding curious.

“I don’t glare,” he said, narrowing his eyes in her direction.

“Uh-huh,” she murmured slowly before asking, “And my office?”

“What about it?” Devin asked, deciding that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to tell her the truth.

“Just wondering if there was a reason behind my banishment, that’s all,” Charlie said as she began wiggling the toes on her good foot.

“I didn’t banish you.”

“Then what would you call it?”

Salvaging as much of his fucking sanity as he could.

“Giving you a bigger office,” he said, using the excuse that he’d come up with at the time.

“And avoiding me at work?”

“I wasn’t avoiding you,” he lied.

“Really? Then why do you have T.J. deal with me whenever you need something, but you don’t do that with anyone else?”

“Shouldn’t Ben be here taking care of you?” Devin asked, hoping to change the subject.

“He really should,” Charlie murmured in agreement before asking, “Can I ask you something else?”

“No. Why isn’t Ben here?”

“We do not speak his name,” Charlie said with a sniffle.

“Why is that?” he asked, settling back against the counter as he watched her continue to wiggle her toes and couldn’t help but find the move endearing.

“He’s dead to me.”

“Is that why he’s not here?”

There was a long-suffering sigh and then, “He had to go to work.”

“I see,” he murmured, “and exactly how were you planning on getting around today?”

“I felt that it was in my best interest to move as little as possible today,” came the reply that had him biting back a sigh.

“And how was that working out for you?” Devin asked as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket to let T.J. know that he was going to be working from home today since Charlie didn’t have anyone to help her.

“Can’t complain,” she said, making his lips twitch.

“How’s your foot?” he absently asked as he sent T.J. a text of everything that he needed done today.

“It’s fine,” Charlie mumbled after a slight pause that had him glancing up from his phone to narrow his eyes on the shower curtain as he asked, “Are you lying to me?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want a painkiller?”

Sniffle.

“Yes, I believe that would be lovely, thank you,” Charlie murmured as he left the bathroom, grateful for the small reprieve.

He walked into the living room and once again found himself wondering why she wasn’t sleeping in the bedroom. It was definitely big enough, Devin thought grabbing the small prescription bottle off her nightstand as he found his attention on the half-opened bedroom door as he headed back into the bathroom.

“Why aren’t you using your bedroom?” Devin asked as he placed the bottle of painkillers on the bathroom counter.

“I’m using it for my office,” the woman that was driving him out of his fucking mind said.

“What was wrong with your last apartment?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the bathroom counter while he waited for her to finish her shower.

“Nothing,” she said with a sad sigh.

“Then why did you move?” Devin asked, deciding to use this opportunity to find out a few things about the woman that he thought about more than he should.

“I’m trying to cut down on my monthly expenses,” she said while he stood there frowning.

“Are you having problems?” he asked, already reaching for his phone so that he could send her Christmas bonus early when she said, “No, I’m just trying to save money. Can I ask you something?”

“No,” Devin said, moving to fold his arms back over his chest only to drop his head back with a sigh when she asked him anyway.

“I think I figured out why you hate me,” she said, not asked, he noted as he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a migraine coming on.

“I don’t hate you,” he said, again.

“I have a theory,” she announced.

“And I can’t wait to hear it,” he drawled, dropping his hand away to look over his shoulder to see if she had any Advil so that he could-

“You’re in love with me,” Charlie announced, making everything in him go still.

“What?” he asked hoarsely as he slowly turned his head to stare at the shower curtain.

“Shhh, it’s okay. There’s no shame in your feelings. I have this effect on men. They just can’t seem to help themselves. God, why did I have to be this irresistible?” she asked with a long-suffering sigh, making his eyes narrow in the little brat’s direction as he reached over, turned the sink on, and-

“Cold!”

Chapter 11

“Are you still mad?” Charlie asked the large man double-checking her bandage to make sure that she didn’t get it wet with clipped movements as that muscle in his jaw clenched again. “Because you look mad.”

When Devin didn’t say anything, she decided that it would probably be a good time to stop talking. Well, that and the fact that she was close to crying. God, her foot really hurt, Charlie thought as she carefully rolled over onto her side, shifting her injured foot so that it was resting on her other foot. She slowly exhaled as she slid her trembling hand under her pillow and grabbed hold of the sheet while she took a shaky breath.

Knowing just how close she was to crying, Charlie said, “Thank you for helping me,” hoping that he would take that as the excuse that he needed to leave so that she could-

“God, you really are a pain in the ass,” Devin said, not really sounding all that happy about something that Ben learned to accept when they were little as she watched him leave.

“What are you doing?” she couldn’t help but ask a few seconds later when he walked back into her apartment carrying a chair.

“You should have been more careful,” Devin said, sounding pissed as he placed the chair next to her bed, sat down, and glared as he reached over and pulled her hand free so that he could wrap his hand around it.

“Didn’t exactly do this on purpose,” Charlie said, squeezing his hand as she tried to breathe through the pain, wondering when that painkiller that he’d forced her to take was going to finally kick in and put her out of her misery.

There was a pause and then…

“Why did you do it?” he asked, sounding curious as he absently ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

“Do what?” Charlie absently asked, wondering if he had any idea just how good his touch felt.

“The glass. Why did you do that for Dustin?”

“Why wouldn’t I do that for him? He’s my B.F.F.,” Charlie said, watching as his lips twitched.

“I had noticed that you’ve stolen my son,” Devin said, chuckling as she closed her eyes even as she had to admit that he had an incredibly sexy smile.