Until Alex - J. Nathan Page 0,5

speechless. She was the spitting image of my mother.

I walked back to the loveseat and dropped down across from her, crossing my legs beneath me. “What do you mean?” I settled in, hoping she’d elaborate. Divulge information. Shed some light on the mysterious guy across the hall.

“Hayden.”

Hayden. I let the name and his image mesh in my mind. Yeah. I could see it.

She lowered her iPad and lifted an all-knowing eyebrow. “It’s who you’ve been looking for, isn’t it?”

Having no desire to deny it or explain it, I shrugged. Plus, I wasn’t really sure how to explain it. Hayden was a stranger. Someone I’d barely spoken to. Someone I knew nothing about. Someone whose mere presence comforted me in ways no one else’s had.

See? I was a mess.

“Well, allow me to tell you a little something about Hayden.”

I leaned in, ready to absorb it all.

“In the three years he’s lived here, I’ve never seen him bring home the same girl twice. It’s a different one all the time. And he never lets them stay. They’re always sneaking out an hour or two after they arrive.”

A rush of disappointment washed over me. It was inexplicable. I didn’t even know him. “So why do you let him live here?”

My aunt lifted a shoulder. “He pays his rent on time and doesn’t make any noise. That’s all I care about.”

“I bet if he lived next door, you’d hear some noise.” I gasped as the words left my mouth. It had been a month. A long trying month since I felt the urge to spew sarcasm. And though it wasn’t delivered with the same oomph I normally used, it felt amazing to just exist in the moment with nothing else weighing me down. Not my sadness. Not my anger. Not my guilt.

My aunt smiled.

Fighting back my own smile, I glanced around her living room. As if I’d been living in an unfocused microscope since arriving, everything twisted into focus. Holy red plaid. Sofas. Ottoman. Curtains.

How had I not noticed?

Little wooden trinkets sat atop her weathered maple furniture. Doilies rested below the light fixtures, fitting into the country motif. Our housekeeper back home would’ve been appalled by the fine layer of dust coating the furniture, but it worked for my aunt. And her taking me in when I had nowhere else to go, worked for me.

“So he lives alone?” I looked back to Katherine, hoping she’d reveal more than just the specifics of Hayden’s sex life. But she only nodded. “Where’s his family?”

She lifted her iPad. “Sorry, sweetie, that’s his story to tell. Not mine.”

I definitely wasn’t surprised he had a story.

“Just don’t go falling under his spell,” she warned.

“His spell?”

She lowered her device, letting her eyes fall upon me. “I may be closing in on forty, but it doesn’t mean I’m blind. He’s gorgeous and brooding. Doesn’t get more tempting than that.”

This time I did smile. And it felt good.

The fact that I was in so much trouble…not so much.

CHAPTER TWO

HAYDEN

“Dude, can’t you go any faster?” Remy asked from the passenger side of my truck.

I glanced over, cursing under my breath. His damn boot was planted on my dashboard. I’d given up asking him to move it, but it still pissed me off to no end. Especially when he laughed it off, leaving it there like he owned the truck.

That was Remy. He did whatever the hell he wanted. Including inking up his body and piercing his face and tongue.

“Once we get there,” he said. “I hope the asshole says he ain’t paying. I’d really like to beat a deadbeat’s ass tonight.”

I shook my head. Remy lived for the shit we did for cash. I just hoped they paid so we could get the hell out of dodge.

Remy dropped his foot and leaned forward, pointing to a single-level house coming up on our left. Except for the television flickering inside what I assumed to be the living room, the house sat draped in darkness. My eyes shot to the truck in the driveway. Good. He was home. Hopefully he’d just fork over the cash.

I steered clear of any street lights as I pulled my black F150 to a stop across the street and a few houses away from our target. I didn’t own much, so I tried to keep it out of harm’s way.

Before I even shifted into park, Remy jumped out. He jogged down the deserted street and crossed the lawn with wide strides. Apparently he planned to fly solo. He’d been doing