I hate my faerie life and i'm luvin it!!! by Tara Zlick (red white and royal blue hardcover .TXT) 📕

the man who moves
out when things go wrong. And a woman who’s having trouble
starting over tends to stay put. Nothing overly mysterious,
really.”
“I’ve thought of moving out . . . It’s always seemed like too
much trouble, somehow.”
“It might help you get a new perspective, though.”
Laurel sighed. “Not the best time to go apartment hunting.
It’s tough when the students are all in town.”
Sammi knew that was true, having been a student here once
upon a time long ago. By the end of the summer, it was hard to
find a decent apartment anywhere. Of course, Sammi did know
of an apartment that just happened to be vacant right now. An
apartment that she preferred not to rent to students. “This is just
a thought,” she said, “but one of the apartments in Hippie House
is vacant. Now, this is a very unusual house, as you’ve already
seen. We all share the two kitchens and the living room
downstairs, and we only have the one front door so we basically all have each others’ keys. But this way you actually get to know
your neighbors, in a way you don’t in a regular apartment
building.”
Laurel frowned uncertainly. “I don’t know . . . It is a bit odd.
And I’m not really so sure I want to move, anyway.”
“Well there’s no pressure. I’ll show you the apartment, if
you like. That way you’ll at least know there’s somewhere you
can move to, if you decide you want to.”
Laurel looked decidedly uncomfortable with the whole idea,
but allowed Sammi to show her the apartment anyway. When
Sammi mentioned casually that the other two tenants in Hippie
House were bachelors, Laurel looked distinctly more interested.
The four apartments in Hippie House were all identical, each
consisting of a sitting room, a large bedroom with a fireplace and
a skylight, and a private bathroom. The floors were well-tended
hardwood, and the massive banks of windows let in lots of
sunlight. The walk-in closets were almost large enough to qualify
as an additional room.
Laurel tried to remain noncommittal as she explored; but
Sammi could see at once that it was love at first sight.
Jason Dunhill had looks to die for, the classic tall, dark, and
handsome. He worked as a personal trainer, and as such was
about as image-conscious as a movie-star. He was an expert at
applying self-tanner, so his skin was always a beautiful, golden
brown—no streaks, and no yellow, and no skin cancer. His dark
brown hair was thick and coarse-textured, which meant it always
stayed exactly where he put it. Green eyes of a shade that made
some people suspect he wore tinted contacts, although Sammi
knew for a fact that he didn’t. And his body was, of course,
impeccable, nicely built without being bulky.
Unfortunately, he was also thirty years old with the attitude
of a randy teenager. He had come home from work just in time
to get a glimpse of Laurel leaving, and he had instantly gone into
his tomcat-on-the-prowl act, giving Laurel an unsubtle once-over
and making it disgustingly clear he liked what he saw. Laurel had
been oblivious—too much on her mind, and besides, she
probably elicited that behavior from men all the time. But Sammi
was embarrassed to put a client through that kind of harassment,
even if the client hadn’t noticed. Now, Sammi was counting
slowly backward from one hundred to avoid a possible murder.
Jason grinned up at her from his seat on the couch, green
eyes twinkling with amusement as he enjoyed her chagrin.
“What’s the matter, Sam? You look like you’ve just drunk a big
ole glass of sour milk.”
Sammi sat on the love-seat that was parallel to the couch,
perching on the end of the seat in case she needed to make a
hasty escape before she resorted to violence. “I’ve told you
before, Jace: I don’t want you ogling my clients. I spend a lot of
time counseling women with broken hearts; I don’t need you
coming along and trying to break them all over again!”
Jason rolled his eyes. “I hardly think I broke that chick’s
heart by looking at her! Besides, she was gorgeous. If I’d seen
her on the street I would have looked, so why shouldn’t I look
when I see her here?”
Sammi felt her face heating up. “Do you ever consider
anyone’s feelings?” If she’d known Jason was this much of a
sexist, womanizing asshole, she never would have rented him an
apartment in Hippie House. But her intuition had failed her
entirely where he was concerned, and while she’d tried to get rid of him by setting him up a couple of times, he’d been about as
interested in the women she’d introduced him to as a child was
in eating spinach.
“What is your problem, Sam? All I did was look at a pretty
woman, and you’re acting like I committed a federal crime.
Lighten up!” He wasn’t looking so amused anymore. In fact, his
jaw had set in that stubborn way she was so familiar with, and his
eyes had narrowed dangerously. He was capable of throwing
quite a temper tantrum, and if she didn’t watch it, she’d soon be
treated to one.
Sammi sighed and rubbed her face, trying to rub some of the
tension from her facial muscles. Much as she hated to admit it,
Jason was right. Damned if she was going to give up her
grievance, though.
“Look, Laurel is thinking about renting the empty apartment.
She just had her heart broken by a man she was with for five
years. She doesn’t need the complication of a man like you
sniffing at her skirts day in and day out.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “Sam, will you listen to
yourself for a moment? I just looked at her, for Christ’s sake!
And even if I’d started panting like a dog and slobbering all over
her, it would be none of your business. You’re my landlady, not
my mom. So knock it off!”
Sammi swallowed back another snappish comment. What
was it about Jason that got under her skin so easily? It was
hellishly difficult for them to be in the same room together for
more than five or ten minutes without getting into one of these
little sparring matches of theirs; and Jason usually won, which
annoyed her even more.
Deciding that she would make even more of an ass of herself
if she stuck around, Sammi made a silent and, she hoped,
dignified exit. Imprint

Publication Date: 12-30-2010

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