Finally (Neighbor from Hell #12) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,78

the shower curtain was slowly pushed open.

“What’s Dabbi Digital Marketing?” Devin asked casually as he reached over and turned the hot water back on while Charlie stood there, unable to help but notice that he looked pissed.

Really freaking pissed.

“I can explain,” Charlie said, licking her lips nervously as she struggled to figure out where to start only to gasp and blurt out, “It’s my company!” when he turned off the hot water.

Nodding, Devin turned the hot water back on. “Why did you move in here?”

“Because you glared at me until I signed the lease?” she reminded him only to gasp when he rewarded her with another blast of cold water.

“Why did you move in here?” he repeated.

She opened her mouth to give him another smart-ass answer to buy herself a little more time, but the expression on his face…

God, he looked so hurt.

“I gave myself a year to start an online marketing company. It’s been something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I kept putting it off, making excuses until Ben finally gave me the push that I needed. So, I set a goal for myself to finally make it happen. I gave myself a deadline, but in order to do it I needed to cut back on my expenses and save money. So, I-”

“Found a cheaper apartment,” he finished for her.

“Yes,” she said weakly, not really sure what else she was supposed to say.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Devin asked as he leaned back against the wall, watching her.

“At first, there was no reason to tell you anything. You were my boss and I wasn’t even sure that I was going to be able to get this thing off the ground. It wouldn’t have made sense to tell you that I might be quitting in a year if it didn’t work out. I wanted to make sure that I did this right, but I was going to tell you, Devin. I wasn’t just going to abandon Bradford Creations,” she promised him.

He glanced away for a moment as she stood there, trying to think of something else to tell him that would make this okay when he took her by surprise and asked, “Do you love me, Charlie?”

“Why would you ask me that?” she asked, frowning as she moved closer to him.

“Because you’ve never said it,” Devin said, shaking his head with a sigh as he looked back at her. When she didn’t say anything, he said, “Forget it,” as he pushed away from the wall and-

“You make me nervous.”

“What?” he asked as he slowly turned around.

“You make me nervous,” Charlie said, nodding solemnly as she reached over and grabbed hold of his shirt.

“I make you nervous?” he asked, throwing her a questioning look as he allowed her to pull him closer.

“Mmmhmm, very nervous,” Charlie said as she reached up and wrapped her arms around him.

“Is that good or bad?” Devin asked, wrapping his arms around her.

“Oh, it’s definitely good,” she promised him, nodding as she took a step back, pulling him into the shower.

“So, you’re saying that you love me?” Devin asked, reaching back to pull his phone out of his pocket so that it wouldn’t get wet and tossed it onto the bathmat on the floor behind him.

“Maybe,” she said, leaning up so that she could kiss his chin as she felt his hands slide down her back.

“Maybe?” he murmured, his lips pulling up into one of those devastating smiles that she loved as she reached for his belt.

“Well, it depends,” Charlie said, pulling his belt loose before she set to work on his jeans.

“On what?” Devin asked, ducking his head so that he could kiss the side of her neck as she reached inside his pants and wrapped her hand around him.

“On just how thoroughly you worship me in the next thirty minutes,” she said, deciding that everything else could wait so that she could give the man that she loved a chance to work for the three little words that didn’t come close to explaining just how much he meant to her.

*-*-*-*

“Charlie, we’re here,” Devin said, reaching over to wake her up and-

“I love you!” she shouted, instantly coming awake as she pushed back until her back was pressed up against the truck door, shooting him a panicked look.

“Aw, thank you, baby,” Devin said, smiling which earned a whimper from the woman hugging the bakery bag filled with jelly donuts against her chest as she sat there, staring at him in horror while