Sleeping with the Enemy (An Enemies to Lovers Collection)

“Vera,” Monique groaned again. “If you take that track, you know she’s not going to tell us anything at all.”

I take a sip of wine but somehow manage to half choke and half bite down on my tongue at the end of it. I search my inner being for the so-stated irrational spikes of jealousy, and I’m horrified to find a tiny little thorn embedded somewhere deep inside me. I know I should pluck it right out because it doesn’t belong there. I might think Wilder is hot—I’m not sure anyone on earth would disagree with me—but it doesn’t mean anything more than just that. N-to-the-nothing.

“Nope,” I lie before draining the rest of my wine.

Which sucks because I said I’d just have one glass so I can still drive home. I hop off the huge chair and powerwalk to the kitchen, where I rinse my glass and refill it with orange juice. It’s probably a bad combo, putting those two together in my stomach, but Monique laid out some pretzels, and the salt and bread should help pad down the liquid mix.

“So…” Vera really just can’t let it go. She attacks as soon as I enter the living room again. “Tell us just one thing about him. Come on. What’s he like? We already know he’s hot. But what does he do for work? That’s a safe question.”

“I actually don’t know.” I sit down hard, and the soft chair folds around me like a hug. I reach madly for the coffee table in between us and grab a handful of pretzels. Jamming one into my mouth, I chew violently.

“What? You mean you didn’t even ask him?”

“I didn’t, no, because I don’t want him as a roommate, and yeah, that’s all there is to it. He was pretty much forced on me, and we’ve agreed to a truce of sorts. I hope he stays out of my hair, and I’ll stay out of his.”

“Which hair are we talking about?”

“Vera! For the love of chicken drumsticks and bacon bits.”

Full disclosure, I wasn’t the one to come up with the ingenious swear substitutes. At least not all on my own.

“All the hair,” I clarify with a sigh. I’m very much used to Vera’s sense of humor by now. “He said something about his family owning a company and them wanting to maybe open up something down here. I don’t even know if that’s right. Anyway, I don’t really care. I’m going to try to keep as far away from him as possible. I just hope he’s not home often because it’s hard to avoid someone when you work from home.”

“I bet,” Monique says sympathetically. “What was Pappy S’s excuse this time?”

“He said he needed the money for a new nurse or something. I don’t know. What if he does? Anyhow, it’s his house. I just get to live there. I can’t very well say he doesn’t need a nurse or that he can’t do what he wants with his house. I know he would go to the ends of the world for me, even at his current age, so I know he’s not going to send just anyone to the house. They probably have to pass thirty-two rigorous tests for his approval.”

“What if he’s not kidding? Does that worry you? If he really does need another nurse?”

“Yeah, of course.” I pop another pretzel into my mouth. They’re so hard that my jaw aches from chewing. “I’m going to check on him in a day or two. I keep phoning, and he keeps saying he’s busy, probably because he doesn’t want me to come over and give him shit or make him change his mind. Anyway, I’m going to just show up in a couple of days and make sure he’s okay.”

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Monique tries to be comforting. “He does this all the time. Every time he puts a new roommate in place, he doesn’t let you contact him for a couple of days.”

“You’re right. He doesn’t.”

“He did change his mind the first time because you kept begging him.”

“Yeah, and I ran the other two off. You’d think he’d get the hint.”

“Well, it’s the only way he can meddle. He can’t sign you up for online dating and have you show up to blind dates, and he can’t just send guys to the house. I’m not even sure he knows how to use a computer.”

“Believe me, he does. Cell phone too. He could cause a lot of trouble for me. And I wouldn’t put it past the blind dates or sending guys to the house if the roommate thing ever failed. This way, it’s a bonus because he gets a couple of extra dollars from them before I chase them off.”

“But you said you have a truce with this one?” Vera asks, clearly interested again.