Love Like Her (Against All Odds #3) - Claudia Y. Burgoa Page 0,8

that if they found someone in my shoes, they’d help her.

We walk toward the bedrooms and pass what I guess is a room. There’s a bed leaning against the wall, a bunch of boxes, and more artifacts like the ones in the living room. Is this guy, Gil, avoiding home? He has probably been doing it for years, but why?

There’s an archeological site right in this apartment. If we could dig a little, we can find what makes him live on his own, share someone else’s family, and stay away from home. Is this even home for him?

Eros opens the door to a room. “You’re staying here tonight.”

The waft of laundry detergent, cedarwood, and musk remind me of him.

“This is your room,” I state. I turn to look at him. “I can take the couch.”

“There are plenty of beds in this apartment,” he assures me. His grin is starting to become my favorite thing. I wonder what it’d be like to kiss the dimple on his right cheek. “There are only two rooms with a lock and a bathroom. Gil’s and mine.”

“Where will you sleep?”

“As I said, there are other guest rooms. There’s a cable where you can charge your phone right by my nightstand,” he instructs. “See you in the morning, Liv.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” he says. “Just pay it forward.”

Chapter Four

Olivia

It feels like I just set my head on the pillow when my phone rings.

“Hello?” I yawn.

“Finally.” Dad sighs with relief. “We’ve been calling you all night, and you haven’t answered your phone.”

I look at the screen, and indeed there are many missed calls from him and Dan. What’s more surprising is that it’s not two in the morning as I thought, but almost seven.

“This is the first time I heard it.”

“Only you could sleep on a chair.” He lets out a loud exhale. “We tried to buy you a ticket for today, but there aren’t any planes going out until tomorrow. I guess you’re lucky you found a seat for tomorrow’s flight.”

“Thank you for trying, but I’m going to be fine,” I say as I breathe the scent of Eros.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to steal his pillow—a little souvenir from the weirdest couple of days of my life.

“Have you eaten anything?”

I stretch, push away the covers, and get out of the bed. I never lie to my parents. They aren’t going to take this well either. Thinking fast on my feet, I ask Dad, “Can I speak to Dan?”

Dad makes a weird noise, and I hear him say, “She wants to talk to you.”

“Good morning. Are you okay, sweetheart?” Dan asks with so much worry in his voice. I feel guilty for what I’m about to say.

I push the door open and head to the living room.

“Yes, I’m all right, but last night I did something Dad might not approve of,” I confess and twist the truth. “This family offered to take me home.”

So, it’s a half-truth. Eros offered to take me home. I spoke to his sister. That makes them a family, right?

“That’s very nice of them, but it’s also dangerous, Olivia.” His voice is firm. He’s not upset, but he’s disappointed.

I’d rather have Mom or Dad yell at me than disappointing Dan.

“Can I speak to them?”

“To whom?”

“The family,” he explains.

“Well, they’re sleeping. It’d be rude to wake anyone up. Why don’t I ask them to call you when they wake up?” I offer.

“Please do so. We need you to be careful. I’ll call around to try to get you a hotel room for the night.”

“Dad’s going to be upset, isn’t he?”

“Look at this from his perspective, sweetheart. You took charge of your life, and so far, things have been bumpy. He’s frustrated because there’s nothing he can do to save you from everything that’s been happening. It’s out of his control. For a guy with OCD who loves his daughter very much, it is hard. I know you have to learn, live, and make mistakes to grow up, but as a parent, it is hard to be just an observer.”

I’m not sure if I should apologize for wanting to make my own mistakes or if he’s assuring me that this is part of some growing pains Dad and I have to go through. My parents have to let go while I need to learn how to do stuff on my own.

“Yesterday was long and difficult,” I mumble. “It was hard to say yes to this offer, but it felt like the only answer to