Forged in Stone - Alyssa Rose Ivy Page 0,5

me bolting for the door.

“I have no problem with it. None at all.” He smiled sheepishly. “By the way, my name is James.”

I took a deep breath. No matter who he was, I couldn’t stay in my towel. I was cold, and his looks were getting longer and longer. “I’m getting dressed. Would you please give me my room?”

“Your room? You are staying in Charlotte’s room?”

“Charlotte? Is that the daughter?”

“How do you know the Calloways?” he asked. “I told you my connection, what is yours?”

“I’m house sitting for them while they’re away.”

“While they are away?” He wrinkled his brow. “No one told me there was a house sitter here.”

“Yeah… I agreed to stay for a year.”

“Do you pay rent?”

“No, I just watch the place.” I tightened my hold on the towel.

“You were not watching it very well tonight.”

“Wait, when did you get in here?” I hadn’t thought about that. Had he been here the whole time?

He glanced at the clock. “A few hours ago.”

“Maybe I was still out. I would have heard the door.”

“I didn’t use the front door.”

My eyes went immediately to the balcony door. “You broke in?” I started backing away. That changed everything. If he’d had a key… well, maybe then the owners had okayed the visit. “I thought you were their friend.”

“I am.”

“I don’t believe you.” I cursed myself for leaving my cell all the way downstairs.

“It is true.”

“Get out!” I backed into the hallway, heading for the bathroom. I could lock myself in there.

“Wait. I am who I say I am.” He jumped off the bed. “I can prove it.”

“Then do it, or I call the police.” I struggled to keep my voice level. I didn’t particularly want to deal with the police, but I wasn’t going to just take the word of a guy who’d broken in.

He kept his distance. “Do you know where Charlotte’s stuff is? She used to have pictures on her wall.”

“There are some boxes way up in the back of the closet.” I should have run for the bathroom, but I didn’t. I stupidly waited.

He pulled down a cardboard box and rifled through it. “Here you go.” He held out a photo collage.

I accepted it while holding onto my towel tightly with the other hand and stuffing the book under my arm.

A quick sweep of the pictures had me staring at a younger version of the same guy. I glanced from the teenager to the man in front of me. He had filled out in all the right ways. “Ok, so you do know them.”

He grabbed his shirts and boots and walked into the hallway careful to keep his distance from me. “I will wait downstairs.”

“Okay…” I ran into the room and locked the door, still holding on to the collage. I glanced down at the pictures again. He was in even more of the photos than I thought.

I studied his smile. That was one trait that hadn’t changed.

I pulled on my Harrison University hoodie over a long sleeve t-shirt and my favorite pair of jeans. I brushed out my wet hair. I refused to make any more effort than that. The guy was an intruder, not a potential date.

I walked downstairs slowly, still not sure what to do. Clearly I couldn’t let the guy stay, but the thought of him leaving and my never seeing him again bothered me way more than it should have.

I stepped into the kitchen in time to watch him staring into the nearly empty freezer. “I need to go shopping.”

He turned. “Yes, you do.”

“I wasn’t expecting company.” I felt more confident now that I was dressed. We were on more equal ground, although his lack of a shirt was making it hard on me. I had to fight to keep my eyes on his face.

“What about Brad? Was that the name?” He smirked.

I groaned. “Don’t remind me.” Despite the situation, thinking about the awkward meeting with Brad sounded worse.

“Not the world’s best boyfriend?”

I shook my head. “Oh, he’s not a boyfriend. Just some guy my friend tried to set me up with on a blind date.” For some reason it was important to me that James knew Brad wasn’t my boyfriend. I was beyond pathetic. A guy broke into my house, and I was worried that he knew I was available. But he was a friend of the owner. This wasn’t completely random. I held onto that fact as though it changed anything.

“It did not go well?” He hopped up on to the kitchen