“But who, Ryan?”
“I don’t know. Why else would they dig through the trunk and the scrapbooks?”
“It just doesn’t make sense. Nobody knows anything about it besides our friends and your dad.” She shrugged, as if she didn’t buy the idea that someone might have an issue with her searching for her parents. “I guess I need to decide what to do with this place. I can’t leave it empty. It’s just a target for thieves right now.”
“Maybe you should turn it into a rental.”
Trying to finish her bite, she covered her mouth and mumbled, “Dex thinks I should sell it, but I’m not ready for that.”
“I wouldn’t sell it,” he said, watching her eyes as they scanned the furniture. Her expression was darker than usual, her shiny brown eyes turning a little dull, and he thought maybe it was a reaction to her current feelings.
“Maybe you’re right about renting. Maybe I should move in and get a roommate.”
“Really? Like who?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it before.”
“Would you be interested in renting to me?” His pulse jumped as he made the suggestion, but now that the words were out, he couldn’t take them back.
Bailey lifted a brow. “You want to move?”
“Yeah, it’s too much to live and work with Wade and Lucas. I need some distance.”
“You want to live in this big house by yourself?”
He lifted a hand palm up. “No. I thought I could be your roommate.”
“Oh, you’d be okay living with me?” she asked, surprised.
“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re certainly not going to be a messy roommate.”
She chuckled. “True, although I’m sure I’ll spend most of my time picking up after you.”
“So what do you think? Can I be your new roomie? I need to get out of that house.” Doubt instantly rushed his thoughts after he said it. Could he live with her? After years of reining in his feelings, could he keep them from interfering with their very platonic relationship if they were living in the same house?
“Can you handle it if I have someone sleep over?” she asked, as if reading his mind.
“Of course. Why would I be jealous?”
“Uh…I didn’t mean that.” She gave him a questioning look, and he felt like he was shrinking under her gaze. “I meant if Dex stays over. Why would I think you’d be jealous?”
Christ. He was starting to work up a sweat. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter, but if you want some time to think about it, or if you’re having second thoughts, I don’t want you to feel obligated.”
“No, I like the idea, but I hope it’s not so you can keep some deathbed promise to my mom.”
Ryan threw the burrito wrapper in the bag and wiped his hands on a napkin. “Actually, I want to be closer to Dad. He’s pretty lonely now that Helen’s gone.”
“Oh, right. I didn’t think of that.” She looked over at him. “Do you promise not to fight with Dex?”
“I promise to try.” He gave her an exaggerated grin. “Is that good enough?”
Bailey threw her wrapper and napkin into the bag as well and shrugged. “I guess.”
“Can I move in this weekend?”
“Yeah, sure. Which room do you want?”
“The guest room. I was thinking we should keep the music room the way it is so I could use it.”
Bailey’s expression softened, and he knew right away that she liked the idea. After a moment, she whispered, “Mom would love that.”
“So would I.” He stood and helped her get to her feet. “You know you can talk to me about her.”
“I know.”
Ryan’s heart dropped at the look on her face. He hated the lingering sadness that showed in her expression. “Then why don’t you?” he asked.
“I don’t want to make you feel worse. I know you miss her, too.”
Still holding her hand from helping her up off the floor, he pulled it to his chest and said, “I’m sure it’s nothing compared to how you feel.”
Bailey pulled her hand free. “This weekend’s fine, and you can have the guest room. We can take out that furniture and put it in the garage for now. You can have the music room, too. Everything in there is yours. I’ll take my old room and Mom’s room, but I’ll have to give thirty days notice on my apartment before I can move in so you’ll have the place to yourself until then.”
Ryan nodded. “That’s fine, Bay.”
“Split it fifty-fifty. There’s no mortgage, but we have to keep up on the property taxes, insurance, and utilities.”
“Just tell me how much.”
She slid back down into the desk chair and looked up at him. “Okay, I’ll crunch the numbers and let you know.”
“All right.” He gave her a curt nod and said, “It’s a deal.”
She mimicked his nod before turning around to face the mess.
Ryan watched her from behind for a long moment, wishing he knew what to do to help her through the grieving process. She was keeping busy to avoid the grief—typical Bailey—but what happens when she runs out of things to do?
When his eyes scanned down her body, he wanted to slap himself. What was wrong with him? Why was he suddenly fantasizing about her? Lately, he’d grown an aching longing for his best friend that he couldn’t shake. He’d always had feelings for her, but he’d also always lied about those feelings. Bailey had no idea, thanks to his tight-fisted control over his heart.
That being said, now was not the time to loosen his grip. He needed to keep things on the level they were already on. Love and sex screwed up perfectly good relationships.
There it was, though. His eyes couldn’t help but drift up and down her body every time he saw her, and he couldn’t keep from staring into her eyes to judge her mood whenever she looked at him or focusing on her smile to see which one she was wearing on any particular day.
As he went back to cleaning, he wondered
