Naughty Neighbor - Lauren Runow Page 0,82

each other with huge smiles covering our faces.

I ask her to stay and hang out with us, and before long she’s assisting Jake with the preorders, becoming a great addition to our team. Every once in a while, my mom walks over and rubs my back—her silent way of saying how proud she is of me.

After the signing, we pack up and then exchange pleasantries with the other authors. Mom and Charisse both want to get home at a decent time, so I take the very small box of books we have left after the signing and load it into Charisse’s car to bring back to Chicago before they bid me and Jake goodnight.

When they’re both safe and driving away from the hotel, I turn to Jake, who runs his hands up and down my arms.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go home too?” I ask him.

He takes my hand and pulls me into the lobby. “And miss a night in a hotel room with the sexiest woman in publishing? Never.”

“Yes, but you could have a night in the wonderful house in Lincoln Park.” My attempt to persuade him to go home fails.

“My mother is still shocked I convinced you to move in with me.”

“I didn’t just move in. We bought a house. You do realize what this means for my fear-of-failing-relationships heart?”

He pulls me close and kisses me firmly. “That you know this one isn’t going anywhere.” His words are spoken against my lips.

I grin with a shake of my head and follow him into the elevator.

I’m amazed we still want to be with each other every waking moment since we bought the house a month ago. Moving in wasn’t a big deal for us, as we’d basically lived together already. Living next door to one another made it hard to go home. It was just a matter of whose bed we were sleeping in each night.

The first night we had attempted staying at our own places for the night ended with him trying to talk in Morse code through our thin walls. It was cute for a little while, but it only made me want him lying next to me more. A half hour later, we were making love on my living-room floor.

Our leases were up for renewal around the same time. That was when Jake floated the idea about buying a place of our own. I was thinking we’d get a bigger apartment. He had grander ideas. The house is a gorgeous Tudor in upscale Lincoln Park and way more home than I have ever had. I was hesitant and about to say no way until he showed me my office. With built-in bookcases and a picture window overlooking the backyard … I was intrigued. When he told me his idea to have a reading nook built under the slanted eaves … I was sold.

He had a designer come in and work with the two of us to combine our styles. His high-end with my wine-stained one seem to blend together quite nicely.

While I love my house, I’m content with sleeping anywhere as long as Jake’s there.

God, I’m such a sap.

And I love it!

He slides the key card into the door, and we walk into our suite at the Milwaukee Regent. I run to the bed and plop down on it, lying with my arms out wide.

The emotions and feelings running through my body are always intense after signings. It’s like a huge crash from the highest of highs. I was a ball of nerves before, convinced no one would show. Then, they showed, and I was anxious not to disappoint them. I kept a smile and stayed on point for hours, talking to hundreds of people until my throat hurt. My nerves were kept tight, and now that it’s all over, it’s like a whoosh of energy leaving my body. I just want to crash. So, I am. Into the fine thread count of this very fancy bed.

Jake walks over to his suitcase and pulls out a bottle of my favorite cabernet. “Shall I open it?” he asks with a shit-eating grin on his face.

I hold up my arm in the air with my thumb held high as my answer.

He laughs as he taunts, “Come on. You’re okay. You weren’t that busy at the signing.”

I sit up straight in shock. “Not that busy? My wrist has a cramp, which, for the record, I am not complaining about! I just can’t believe how long some people