Earning Edie (Espinoza Boys #1) (5 page)

“Oh, yeah. No apology necessary. Carlos might be my cousin, but everything you said was true.”

She muttered something under her breath. I pulled the car into a parking space and cut the engine.

“What was that?”

She glanced up. “I said, I might as well have been talking about you.”

I stared at her, offended but unsure how to defend myself. I wasn’t anything like Carlos. Was I?

“Right?” she prompted when I didn’t answer.

I shook my head and opened the car door. “I really hope not. Come on, I’ll walk you in, and then I’ve got to get back to work.”

EDIE

I stepped inside Nick’s apartment and looked around nervously.

I felt less excited about this prospect now that it was reality and not a far-fetched revenge fantasy. The tense ride to the apartment didn’t help, either.

The only furniture in the living room were two gaming chairs, the type that offered back support while you sat on the floor. Directly across from them hung a huge flat-screen TV. It had to be at least 52 inches. Cords snaked down the plain white walls to a jumble of gaming systems and discs strewn around. Next to one of the chairs, an open take-out container still sat, with remnants of kung-pao chicken lending a stale food aroma to the room.

In the corner, a flimsy desk held a computer, but there wasn’t much else to see.

Taking in what was in the room — or rather, what
wasn’t
in the room — had me wondering what I’d gotten myself into.

“This is all the furniture you have?”

I hurried into the hall and poked my head into the first room.

It had to be his bedroom. The apartment was too small to have more than one room and a guy who didn’t even have living room furniture would never prepare a guest room.

A queen-sized bed was crammed into the tiny room, leaving room for a single chest of drawers near the foot of the bed. There was no walking room. You had to crawl over the bed to get to the tiny closet tucked in the back corner.

I  withdrew from the doorway, and spun around to find Nick standing too close for comfort. He looked sheepish, running a hand over his jaw.

“I’ve been meaning to buy a few things for a while now. I used to spend a lot of time at my family’s house, but not so much anymore—” He stopped and winced. “Shit, I probably shouldn’t have mentioned my family given your situation. Sorry.”

I tried to shrug it off. “It’s just the truth.”

An awkward silence followed my statement. To my horror, I could feel the first pinpricks of tears behind my eyes. I
couldn’t
cry in front of him. I was here to teach him a lesson, not turn into a weepy little girl.

Thankfully, he sensed  my need for a subject change.

“How about I give you the penny tour?” he asked with a bright smile.

It wasn’t the cocky smile he’d shown at the office, when he’d cracked jokes about my mess of a life. This smile was more genuine, and it amped up his good looks so they were more difficult to ignore. Just what I needed.

“What, I don’t get the nickel tour?”

“It has to take more than a minute to charge a nickel,” he said with a wink.

He could flirt all he wanted; it wasn’t going to change what he’d done.

I narrowed my eyes determinedly and did my best to maintain a serious scowl while he showed me the kitchen. A narrow space between a counter that doubled as a breakfast bar and the appliances made for little cooking space. There were no dishes, though, so maybe he wasn’t a terrible slob.

“A one-butt kitchen,” I observed.

He chuckled. “Not even that for me. This butt has never cooked a thing in there.”

Well, that explained the lack of dirty dishes.

He led me to the bathroom, and swung the door open.
Oh God, he
is
a total slob
.

Bottles littered the top of the counter: Shaving cream, aftershave (no wonder he smelled so good), more hair products than I’d ever owned. The sink had a glob of toothpaste stuck on one side, but it was the toilet and shower that horrified me. I cringed at the hair stuck all over the rim of the toilet and the furry mold starting up in the corner of the shower.

“Guess I need to clean in here. Sorry.”

“You think?”

I shuddered and hastily made a retreat, squeezing past him and out the door. He followed me into the hall.

“It’s no excuse, but I don’t exactly have a lot of visitors here, if you know what I mean.”

That he didn’t bring girls back to the place was a small comfort, if that’s what he meant. I didn’t want the awkward scenario of being asked to leave so he could get it on with some woman of questionable taste. Forcing my thoughts away from the image of Nick and some faceless girl getting it on in his bed, I focused on the problem at hand.

“I assumed you’d at least have a couch for me to sleep on.”

He grinned, his easygoing attitude back in full force. “You know what they say about assuming.”

I heard the phrase as if he’d said it out loud. My eyes narrowed. “You really want to go there right now?”

He took a step back at my tone. “No.”

“Good call.”

He cleared his throat. “You can sleep in my bed. Without me, I mean.” He waggled his brows. “Unless you like to cuddle at night?”

And the cocky grin returned.

“No, thanks,” I said flatly, unwilling to joke about a scenario that would put us in bed together. I couldn’t imagine a less likely situation. “If I take the bed, where will you sleep?”

“I’ll find somewhere warm to sleep, even if it’s not here.”

Oh, great. So I was now the cause of Nick using some poor girl for a bed.
Gross
.

He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out his keys, jangling them in his hand. “Make yourself at home. I have to get back to work.”

He headed for the door, and I hurried after him. “What about my stuff, where should I. …”

I trailed off. We hadn’t really made clear how long I was staying. Would the idea of more than two or three days have my butt hitting the curb before nightfall?

“Nevermind. I’m good.”

He hesitated at the door, seeming unsure how to respond. “It’s a small place, but just make room where you can. Maybe later I can pull some stuff out of the closet.”

As the door shut behind him, I took another look around the room and swallowed hard. I’d never felt so adrift in my life. It wasn’t the first time I’d changed homes. I’d gone from living with Mom in a trailer to living in a moderate but nice ranch house with my dad.

But it was the first time I’d been homeless.

Because staying with Nick or not, that’s what I was: homeless. And even if I apologized my heart out, which I wasn’t prepared to do, I had a feeling I could never go home again.

NICK

I closed out of my computer at 6, relieved to be headed out. I’d had to make up some lost time after deciding to make a detour to Furniture Mart to buy a much-needed sleeper sofa. They couldn’t deliver until tomorrow, which I figured was just about as long as I wanted to put up with sleeping on the floor.

I can’t believe I’m gonna sleep on the floor in my own apartment.

I could go to Mama’s, and make up some excuse like I did the night I’d crashed Carlos’ party. But there was always the off chance I’d run into Elana. I’d rather sleep on the floor a week than give her the opportunity to corner me and
talk.

I didn’t want to go to Carlos’ place, either. Returning to the scene of the crime would just add to my guilt about Edie’s situation, and I had enough guilt already, thank you very much.

I rolled back in my chair and stretched my arms over my head. “Well, suckers, I’m outta here!”

Sean, my closest friend in the office, worked cops and courts and was always among the last to go. I usually jetted out about 5 p.m., one more reason I liked being a columnist rather than a breaking news reporter. It wasn’t about public service and freedom of the press for me; I just liked to write.

“Hey, Nick, hold up a sec,” he said when I’d finished packing up my laptop and slung the case over my shoulder.

I paused in the aisle next to his desk, and watched as he closed his story and moved it to the editing queue for the copy desk to read through.

“What happened with that chick who came in?” he asked.

“Oh, now you’re interested,” I said dryly. “You were working so hard not to get her attention you almost turned yourself invisible this morning.”

Sean rose from his chair, and joined me on the way out of the office. He grinned at my comment.

“Yeah, well, my superpower must be on the fritz. But seriously, what happened? I thought she might do you serious harm.”

“Nah.”

“So?” he prompted as I came to a stop by my car. “What gives?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “Take a ride with me, and I’ll give ya the scoop. But I have to warn you, there are no cops or courts involved.”

“Yet,” he added with a straight face.

He climbed in, and we headed toward the mall on the east side of town. I needed to buy a sleeping bag, or better yet, an air mattress. Grubby carpet wasn’t going to cut it.

“Well?” Sean asked again, chomping at the bit.

“Man, now I see why you’re a reporter. Curiosity killed the cat.”

Sean made a sound not so different from an angry cat and shot me an impatient look, so I relented. 

“There’s not much to tell outside of what you heard at the office. Her family saw the column, flipped out and kicked her to the curb. Edie, looking to get even, decided I should give her a place to live. So I did.”

He gaped at me. “Seriously, you’re letting her move in with you?”

“What’s the big deal? It’s temporary. I screwed her over; this will make us even.”

He snorted, and I swear that snort had a skeptical tone.

“Dude, she was not
that
pretty. Your game must be suffering if you’re gonna let some high school girl push you around just so you can take a crack at her.”

WTF?
Was Sean always this much of a jerk?

“Fuck off!” I exclaimed, swerving into the parking lot and jerking to a stop. “I’m not trying to get her in bed. Damn, man. She’s kinda young, ya know?”

“I noticed.”

We got out and walked into the store without talking. It was bad enough he called me a player all the time, without
any
evidence, but the implication I’d take advantage of Edie bugged the shit out of me.

“Dude, sorry,” he said, breaking the silence as we came to a stop in the camping aisle.

He scanned the shelves, looking over the tents, fishing poles, camp lanterns and thermoses. “Uh … you gonna set up a tent in the living room?”

I snorted a laugh. “That’s not a bad idea. No, I’m just looking for an air mattress so I can get through the night. I already ordered a sleeper sofa. I am not liking the idea of a hard floor under my back.”

“So, uh … you’re letting her have the bed, huh?” he said, giving me an odd look.

I finally spotted the air mattress selection further down the aisle, and made my way over to check the prices.

“Obviously, your mother never taught you any manners,” I said without looking at him.

Mama would have my head if she found out I made a girl sleep on the floor while I enjoyed my comfy mattress. I didn’t even want to think of what she’d do to me if she knew the whole irresponsible interview on the sly I’d pulled on Edie.

I grabbed the cheapest mattress I could find  and turned to leave.

Sean put a hand to my arm, stopping me short. I thought he was going to give me more shit, but he just pointed to the air pumps.

“You’re gonna need one of those.”

***

I got home around 8 p.m., and  headed inside with a sense of dread coiled tightly in my stomach. I’d talked a good game with Sean, but as the day went on, I wondered more and more what the hell I’d been thinking.

After the shopping trip, Sean and I grabbed some food and a few beers, but he continued to razz me until I bet him $100 I wouldn’t sleep with Edie. He was pretty confident he would win, but I had insider info that pushed the odds in my favor.

I hadn’t been able to date a girl, much less sleep with one, in a long time.

Last winter, I’d tried to give it a go when Cat came onto me after a night out with a few other news staffers. But a few sloppy kisses, and I knew couldn’t go through with it.

Cat had never forgiven me for my rejection. The girl had always been snarky, but now she outright hated me.

Once I got home, I paused outside the door and took a deep breath. Until now, the idea of Edie living with me was surreal. But on the other side of that door was a real live, breathing girl who I knew very little about.