Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“I know someone who has a room for rent,” Burgess said before he could shame himself into letting her fly free. “In a building like mine, but in the North End. My teammate rents this place for his future stepsister.”
Tallulah sat up straighter. “Oh. How much is the rent?”
“It’s in your range.”
She squinted a skeptical eye. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he lied, fully prepared to pay the difference between seven hundred dollars and whatever astronomical amount the rent happened to be, out of his own pocket. “I’ll speak to my teammate and send you the information, but Tallulah . . .” Okay, this part wasn’t planned. The words just flowed out, urged by some intuition that he’d never have this chance again. “If you change your mind and want to come live with me, I’d do whatever it took for you to feel safe with me. All right? I’ll install locks on your bedroom door and give you the only key. Just . . . don’t compromise your safety. I don’t think I could sleep at night knowing you compromised it because of me.” Knowing he’d pushed enough, Burgess stood, reluctantly picking up his smoothie and trying not to be obvious about memorizing her face, just in case. “Good luck.”
She stared up at him looking kind of astonished. “Thank you.”
Burgess grunted and left, hoping like hell he’d said the right thing to a woman for once . . . and praying like a son of a bitch that it wasn’t the last time they crossed paths. As soon as he made it to the other side of the street, he tugged his phone out of his pocket and dialed Sig Gauthier, center for the Bearcats and one of the only teammates he could tolerate off the ice. Most of the time, anyway.
“Hey, man,” Sig said, yawning into the phone. “What.”
“Didn’t you rent Chloe a place in the North End?” Burgess asked, referring to Sig’s future stepsister.
The creak of bedsprings as Sig presumably sat up. “Yup. She’s used to the finer things, so I found a place she’d be comfortable.” He laughed under his breath, sounding almost fond. “Didn’t realize how much comfort costs when it comes to Chloe.”
“Meaning what?”
“We made a deal—she pays half the rent. And she did. Once. Meanwhile, I go over there and she’s got eighteen billion Sephora bags stuffed into the garbage can. Did you know girls put primer on their fucking faces? Foundation isn’t the foundation anymore. It’s out of control.”
“Jesus. Lissa has been asking to go to Sephora lately.”
Sig’s laugh almost burst his eardrum. “Welcome to the beginning of the end, man.”
Burgess grunted into a hard gulp of his smoothie. “Does Chloe have parties? What are her friends like?”
A long pause ensued. “Why are you asking?”
“Just answer.”
Sig let out a breath. “She’s not a partier. Guess you can’t afford happy hour when all of your money is being funneled into the beauty industry.”
“No sketchy boyfriends? No drugs?”
“You think I’d let some lowlife hang around with Chloe?” the center shouted. “No. None of that. And no drugs. She’s in her final year of conservatory. You should hear her play the harp, man, she’s . . .” Without seeing Sig in real life, he knew the guy was gesticulating wildly, same way he did while disputing calls with the referee. Creep up on Sig while he’s telling a story and risk getting knocked the fuck out. “Never mind. What is this about?”
One of the perks of being team captain was that Burgess didn’t have to answer anyone’s questions. It was, perhaps, the best part of having the title. “Maybe Chloe would be able to afford half of her rent if she got a roommate.”
“So, I’ve told her.”
“What is the rent on the place?”
“Five K. You’d think it came with a goddamn butler.”
This was exactly what Burgess had been afraid of. Nothing that couldn’t be handled, though. Honestly, he would have paid ten times that amount to know Tallulah had a secure place to live. “So her roommate would be expected to pay twenty-five hundred?”
“Yup. It’s a nice room. Sunlight. Closet space.”
“Great.” Burgess tamped down on the urge to turn around and look back at the smoothie shop. Was this his last chance to see her? “I’ve got someone. But she’s only paying seven hundred.”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“Relax. I’m good for the rest. Send me the info.” He rubbed at the sharp object in his throat. “It’s my fault she has to find a rental in the first place. It’s the least I can do.”
Chapter Three
Tallulah skidded to a stop in front of the building and her jaw unhinged, drooping to the vicinity of her ankles. This was the place Burgess expected her to rent a room? Did he somehow misinterpret her budget to be seven thousand a month, instead of seven hundred?