Chapter 1

ONE

Cora

I’m not surprised.

I mean, I knew that this place was a dump when I first moved in. It was all that I could afford, though, so I did my best to make do. There’s no making do with this, though.

I stare at the gaping hole in the ground, the one that my foot went straight through a week ago, and sigh. I had thought that the floorboards in this rental house were alright, but I guess not. My face flushes with embarrassment as I remember walking across the living room and then just crashing straight through it. I would think it was because of my weight, if not for the fact that the whole house is pretty much falling apart.

Still, I would have bet money that the roof or porch would have collapsed before the living room floor. Maybe I should go on a diet…

“What are you thinking about?” A deep voice asks me, and I spin around to face him.

Huxley Jacobs.

My new roommate.

“That I should go on a diet,” I tell him, and he frowns.

“No.”

With that, he picks up another box and heads out to his truck. I roll my eyes and watch him go.

Huxley was the one who found me struggling to get my leg out of the hole. He had picked me up like I weighed nothing, taken one look at the hole, and announced that I was moving in with him.

A part of me is grateful that he did. I mean, I am grateful that he saved me, though I wish that he had caught me in a sexier position than covered in sweat and dirt and crawling out of the floorboards.

It was a relief to not have to stress and worry about where I would be staying. It’s hard to find roommates or rentals in this small town, and I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t declared us roommates.

I could always have asked my friends; I just would have felt guilty. All of them just got into new relationships, and I don’t want to be the one to get in the way of any happy couple. My single friends are all living in cramped apartments, and I know that they wouldn’t be able to let me crash with them. At least not comfortably.

Speaking of friends, my phone rings with Noelle’s name on the screen.

“Hey,” I answer with a smile.

“Hey, I was just calling to see if you needed any help with the move,” she says.

“Oh, that was nice of you, but we’ve got it. We’re actually just finishing up now.”

“That was fast!”

“Yeah, I don’t have much,” I say with a laugh.

“Okay, well, let me know if you need anything.”

“I will,” I promise her.

Noelle was one of the first friends that I made when I moved to Wolf Valley. I wish that we could hang out more, but her family keeps her under their thumb quite a bit. It seems like she’s always busy with something or helping them out somehow. I hope that she’ll put some distance between them soon, but I know that it can be hard to distance yourself from family.

“I’ll talk to you later,” I tell her as Huxley comes back into the room.

“Talk to you soon.”

I hang up and look around the house one last time.

“Is that it?” Huxley asks me, and I turn to face him.

For such a big guy, I don’t know how he’s always able to get around so quietly, especially in this old house that creaks if you look at it funny.

“Did they teach you how to sneak up on someone in the Marines?” I ask him and he blinks.

“Yes.”

I roll my eyes. The guy never gives me much. I’ve seen him laughing and smiling with his friend, Kip, so I know that he’s capable of it. With me, though, he seems to only be able to manage one or two-word sentences. It’s started to become a challenge for me to get him to say more than a handful of words at the same time. So far, I’m not winning.

“You’re really good at it.”

He grunts at me, and I frown at his back as he takes one last look around the place.

“I was never very good at sneaking around. I was always the first one caught in hide and seek,” I tell him.

Another grunt.

“For the love of God, use your words !” I snap at him, and he blinks at me in surprise.

“Okay.”

“Oh my God,” I groan as I stomp past him.

I head out to my car and climb behind the wheel. Huxley is right behind me and he heads my way, leaning down to see me through the window. I stubbornly refuse to roll it down.

Alright, and maybe the window also doesn’t work in my car so I couldn’t roll it down even if I wanted to. Which I don’t.

He sighs, shaking his head, and then stands and opens my door.

“You need a new car,” he tells me, and I glare at him.

“Really? Why?” I ask sarcastically, but he answers me anyway.

“This thing can barely run. Half of the features don’t even work,” he says, reaching down and hitting the window button. My car screeches, and I swat his hand away.

“Yeah, well, in case it wasn’t obvious based on my old living arrangements, I can’t afford a new car or to fix this one.”

“It’s a good thing that this place is being condemned,” he tells me and I want to punch him right in his handsome face.

“Good for you maybe,” I grumble and he looks away.

I stare at my new roommate, trying to convince myself that moving in with him isn’t going to be my biggest regret in life, but it’s hard to believe that.

The man drives me crazy. Normally, I’m pretty laid back and easy going, but when I’m around Huxley, I’m on edge. I can’t quite name the feeling and maybe that’s what throws me off around him.

I mean, sure, I’m attracted to him. Who wouldn’t be? The man is gorgeous. He’s close to six and a half feet tall, tan from being outside so much, with deep green eyes and dark brown hair, and he has this whole rugged vibe thing going on that would make any girl swoon.

Including me.

Huxley doesn’t seem to be interested in dating or girls, though. At least, not as far as I can tell. I’ve never seen him with anyone in town other than Kip. I’ve never seen him so much as look at any of the women in town, either.

Ginger, my best friend, is convinced that Huxley has a crush on me, but I think that she’s just saying that because she’s dating Huxley’s best friend, Kip, and she thinks it would be fun if we were also dating best friends.

“You can follow me home. Hopefully, your car makes it,” he mumbles, and I want to yell at him, but he slams my door shut and ambles over to his truck.

I glare at him the whole way.

Why did I think that moving in with him was going to be a good idea? I mean, my body can’t decide if I hate him or want to jump him.

Why can’t it be both? My subconscious asks, but I ignore her.

Huxley pulls out of my drive and I follow after him slowly.

This is a mistake, but I don’t know what else to do. There’s nowhere else in town that’s renting, and I can’t afford to buy anything.

I just need to make it through a few months with Huxley. I can save up and move out. Then I can avoid him for the rest of my life.

I just need to not kill the guy or buy into Ginger’s whole fantasy that he wants me too. As long as I can keep my heart safe around the guy, then I can make it a few months as his roommate.

Right?