Lucky Number Four (3 page)

I giggle and quickly exit as he throws an
oven mitt at me.

Later that night, while finishing up my
homework, I remember the slip of paper from the grocery store and
pull it out of my purse. Grabbing my cell phone, I quickly dial the
number. A female voice answers.

“Hello?”

“Uh, I saw your ad on the board at the
supermarket, and I was wondering if the rental is still available,
and if so, could I come by and look at it?”

“Yes, it is, and yes, you can! How about
tomorrow, say around one?” her bubbly voice replies.

“Sure. I mean, that would be wonderful.” I
grab a piece of paper and write down the address and then thank
her. She tells me her name is Emily. We say our goodbyes and
disconnect.

I breathe out a sigh of relief. Well, that
was easy, and she sounds so nice. I’m not going to tell Kevin and
Julie just yet. It might not work out. I know they’ll be upset, but
I have to give them some space for my sanity … and theirs. I’ve
only been back two days, and soon they’ll realize they need to be
alone.

I hear Kevin yelling my name as the front
door opens, announcing that Julie’s arrived home. I tuck the
address in my backpack, put a smile on my face, and exit the room
to greet her.

Smoothing down my hair, I ride up in the
spacious freight elevator. When I found the building—or, should I
say, giant warehouse—I’d become more excited. I watch those home
improvement channels and I’ve seen what people have done with
warehouses. There are four floors, and the address I’m looking for
is at the top.

The wide steel doors open, and I pull back
the old-fashioned gate. I step out and look to my left, where I see
two blank doors. The same on my right. In front of me is an ornate
double door with the number four hundred above it.

My excitement turns to nervousness when I
wonder if this whole floor could be the loft. No, it can’t be. I
mean, really, it would be so huge!

I hesitate and shake my head.
Just do it,
nothing to lose. It’s just a rehearsal for looking at future
apartments. I want to see what this place looks like. The rent is
probably so out of my league anyway. So buck up, Dora, and march
on.

While I’m doing this dialogue in my head, my
feet have made the decision for me, and I find myself standing in
front of the door. There’s a button to the side and I press it,
hearing a muffled chime sound from inside. I paste a smile on my
face as I hear the lock being disengaged and the door is flung
open.

Oh, my sweet sexy heaven
, my brain
thinks as my eyes ogle the sight of a tall, beautiful male standing
before me wearing nothing more than a skimpy pair of silky boxers
and a smile. I take a quick glance at his face before examining his
body, which is tanned and totally amazing—with twelve-pack abs. I
swear, honest truth. I give it a twelve out of ten for definition.
His hands rest on his hips and my eyes are drawn to
the
area.

“Do you like what you see?” his husky voice
asks, bringing my embarrassed face up to meet his laughing
eyes.

“Uhhhh, I’m looking for Emily?” How moronic
can I sound? I know my face is a “wish a hole would open up in the
floor and swallow me” cherry red.

“Emily, you have a visitor,” Mr. Dreamboat’s
loud voice echoes in the hall.

“Geez, Drew. What would our grandmother say
if she saw you answering the door in your boxers? Move your bubble
butt out of my way,” a feminine voice, the one I recognize from the
phone call, pipes up from behind the black-haired god.

A tall, black-haired girl emerges as she
pushes gorgeous Drew to the side. “Hi. I’m Emily, and you must be
Pandora. Come in. I swear, this boy never learned manners.”

Besides the hair color and the height, they
don’t look like siblings. Maybe I heard her wrong. She’s very plain
until she smiles and then her whole face lights up. I instantly
like her and wish I could afford to live here just to have her for
a friend.

The whole time I’ve been thinking this, she’s
been chatting to me and I notice Drop-dead Gorgeous has ignored her
suggestion and made himself comfortable on a deep brown sectional
in the middle of the room. And what a room it is. It’s like my
apartment living room times ten. My favorite fall colors of rich
browns, oranges, and reds fill the room. It looks like a room right
out of one of those popular design magazines.

Emily leads me to the sectional, ignoring
Drew, and sits on the opposite side of him. “Please sit, Pandora.
Would you like something to drink?”

I shake my head and try to ignore the eyes
that are watching me. I will my face to quit turning red, but does
it listen? Hell no.

“So how did you hear about the apartment?”
Emily asks.

“I saw it on the board at the supermarket. I
just live about a block away from here.”

“Damn that Liam. We’ll never hear the end of
it!” Drew’s rich voice interrupts. I wonder who Liam is.

“Shut it, Drew. You guys and your juvenile
games.” She looks at me. “They each put an ad in different places,
and so far, Liam has had more nibbles from his ad. Now Pandora, let
me tell you a little about the place. There are four bedrooms, each
with its own bathroom and a sitting room. There’s a games room
complete with pool table, big screen TV, etcetera, a kitchen, of
course…oh, and an indoor garden complete with a lap pool. Any
questions?” Emily sounds like a real estate agent trying to get a
sale.

“Well—” My brain seems to have forgotten to
signal my mouth, as I find it hard to speak. This place is a
freakin’ palace. Like I can afford it.

“She’ll take it. Look, she’s speechless.” Mr.
Dreamboat interrupts again and Emily taps her foot, looking at him
with disgust.

“You wanted me to do this, right? Well, let
me do it,” she says to him. “My flight leaves in three hours and if
I miss it, you’ll be in big trouble.” She turns to me. “Pandora,
what do you think? I think you’ll be a perfect fit.”

“It’s beautiful, but I don’t think it’s in my
price range. I mean, I’m a college student and I work, so…” I
shrug.

My eyes are drawn to a billboard outside the
window with a picture of a male model in his underwear. The model
is Drew. I swear by my twenty-twenty vision it’s the same grinning
guy who is presently sitting across from me. I look out of the
corner of my eye and see him look at the window and then he
chuckles.

“Yeah, it’s me. The others are jealous, but
what can I say? Fame, baby, fame.”

Emily rolls her eyes and glares at him.
“Conceited much? Pandora, look. You can afford it. Our dad owned
the building, and he gave it to Drew for his birthday last year.
Yeah, I know he’s a spoiled brat, but I have to love him—it’s in
the family contract.” A pillow flies across the room and hits her
in the head. “Anyway, money isn’t the problem. It’s whether you’re
a fit, and I have an overwhelming feeling, you are.”

“So you live here with Drew and another
roommate?” I ask when it finally sinks in this is his
apartment.

“Oh. No, I don’t live here. I just popped in
for the weekend. Drew and two others live here,” she says. I get
the feeling she’s not telling me everything. “Why don’t I show you
what would be your room?” Emily gets to her feet, pulling me up as
she does.

“Who are the two others?” I ask. A feeling of
dread lies heavily in my stomach.

“Oh, just two guys who are model friends of
Drew,” Emily says quickly as Drew laughs.

“I’m the best-looking one, of course,” he
quips.

“Drew, you are not helping. Go to your room,”
Emily’s voice echoes in the vast room.

“Okay, okay.” Drew stands and moves closer to
us. “All kidding aside, Pandora, you are the one. When can you move
in?”

“God, Emily. What is all this racket?” a male
voice with an Australian accent sounds behind me.