stack of bar napkins under his nose. “Now that it’s official. Here.”
“What are those?” There must have been fifteen napkins in the pile.
“Things any roommate should know, but since we weren’t officially roommates, I won’t hold it against you.” She placed the first one down. “No kissing of any kind, as previously agreed upon.”
“I don’t remember agreeing to any such thing.”
She ignored him and placed another napkin down, spinning it to face him.
“No leftover stealing,” he read. “Whoever claims the leftover gets the leftover, unless said leftover is pizza; then it automatically belongs to Annie.” He plucked the pen from her fingers and poised it on the napkin to make an addition. “May I?”
“Be my guest.”
“You mean, be my roommate.” As he scribbled on the napkin, he noticed she was reading over his shoulder, so he turned his body to block her view. She let out a huff that had him chuckling. When he was finished, he slid it to her.
She picked it up and laughed. The napkin now read, Whoever claims the leftover gets the leftover, unless said leftover is pizza with green things on it. Then it automatically belongs to Annie. All other pizzas are up for grabs.
“Next.” He wiggled his fingers impatiently. She handed over the rule, which he read to himself, then tossed on the bar top. “Wait. You’re bitching that I leave the toilet seat up in my own bathroom?”
“When the bathroom is connected to the bedroom I’m sleeping in, yes.” She was indignant now, and for some reason that turned him on. “I don’t like falling in the water at three in the morning.”
“Who says you get the bed?”
She handed him the next napkin and he looked down, but focusing on the handwriting strained his eyes. “You read it.”
The quirk of her brow was pretty much screaming bullshit. He quirked his back, and with a huff she reluctantly read it aloud. “Annie gets the bed, the whole bed, because she was there first and called dibs on it.”
She gave him a sunny smile, and he laughed. That smile had him doing a whole lot more than laughing, but he was pretty sure that was against the rules too. But damn, her smiles were going to create problems. He already knew it. “How about we put up a wall of pillows and—”
“Nope,” she interrupted. “The whole bed or it’s a deal breaker.”
“Fine, but I get to hold the remote control.” He couldn’t give two shits about the remote control. He just didn’t want her to think he was a pushover. Even though, when it came to her, he totally was.
“As long as it’s understood that just because you hold the remote, doesn’t make you boss.”
“Don’t I know it.”
She pointed to the napkin, and he dutifully added that he didn’t get to be the boss. They went through the remaining napkins, mostly rules about dishes and cooking and snooping. He added a few of his own, including that anything silk or lace had to be either in her drawer or on her body. If he found it hanging in the shower, she’d have to model for him.
When they were done, she stacked the napkins and handed them to him. He folded them in half and slid them into his front pocket. “Feel better?”
She bumped her shoulder with his. “A little. But there’s one more.”
Her eyes were filled with uncertainty as she handed him the last napkin. It was warm, the corners worried from being clutched in her hand. He wondered if it was separate from the others because she’d been considering holding it back.
He looked down, and his chest gave a hard thump. “Roommates have to be up-front and honest with each other. No fake promises or lies.”
He met her gaze, but she was fiddling with the mug, tracing a line of foam down the side with her finger. Her eyes were hidden by a curtain of hair, her shoulders slumped forward like a protective barrier.
He hated that she felt the need to add the last two words, because it meant she’d had her fill of lies and disappointments, and that didn’t sit right with him.
Annie dedicated her heart to everything she did and everyone she met. Her warmth filled the room even before she entered. What really astounded him was her amazing capacity to love. If she loved as openly and deeply as she did everything else, he could only imagine how many times she’d been let down over the years. How many Clarks had,