Married Or Not?: Married or Not? / Ian's Ultimate Gamble

“Talk about getting your exercise,” Sherri said in a strained voice.

“I like it up here.” He opened the door and waved her inside. Once he had turned the light on, Sherri looked around. The apartment was much larger than hers and had a nice view of the hills west of Austin.

However, the place was definitely a bachelor’s pad. Newspapers were scattered around on tables and the floor, a pair of sneakers sat beneath the coffee table, a few dishes sat on the kitchen counter and more were in the sink.

“I could make excuses for the way the place looks,” Greg said. He must have noticed her looking around. “But the truth is, this is cleaner…and less cluttered…than usual.”

He continued toward the hallway and she followed him. He stopped midway and opened the door to a bedroom. “I’ll get some sheets and stuff.” He pointed to the door opposite. “That’s the bathroom. It’s yours. I have one off my bedroom.”

Sherri walked into the room and looked around. The bed had no headboard, but there was a bedside table and a chest of drawers.

“I’m not sure what’s in the closet, but whatever’s there, shove it aside.”

She turned and looked at him. “I doubt that I’ll need much space.” She laid the sacks on the bed. He dropped his beside hers and put his arms around her. He rocked her gently and after a moment she slipped her arms around his waist.

Sherri had no idea how long they stood there. When he eventually let go of her, all he said was, “I’ll get the bedding for you.”

While he was gone, she hung up the few clothes she’d bought, placed her underwear and a couple of sleep shirts in a drawer and took her toiletries across the hall to the bathroom.

When she came out she almost collided with Greg.

“Sorry,” she said.

“No problem.” He made short work of making the bed with her help.

He glanced over the room before looking at her. “If you need anything, just let me know.”

She nodded.

“Good night,” he said and closed the door behind him. He had turned on the lamp beside the bed when they’d first walked in and now it was her only source of light.

By now, she was too tired to think straight. She got her sleepwear out of the drawer and went across the hall. A warm shower helped to revive her a little. Once she’d brushed her teeth, Sherri stumbled back to her room, closed the door, turned off the light and dropped onto the bed.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee woke Sherri the next morning. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost ten. She didn’t think she’d moved all night.

She quickly dressed and visited her bathroom. When she came out, she followed the scent of coffee.

Greg sat at the counter reading the paper, but looked up immediately when she walked into the room. She’d made no sound that she knew of. He wore battered jeans that clung to him like a second skin and an old sweatshirt with the arms cut out of it. The outfit on anyone else would look ratty. On him, it was sexy as all get-out.

“Mornin’,” he said. “Ready for coffee?”

“More than ready,” she replied, still standing in the hall doorway. “I didn’t mean to sleep this late.”

“You obviously needed it. Shock works that way on people sometimes and you’ve definitely had your share of that during the past week.” He poured her a mug of coffee from the carafe by his elbow.

Sherri walked across the room and slipped onto the bar stool next to him, feeling his body heat beside her. She shivered and picked up the cup of coffee, inhaling the tantalizing scent.

“I’m afraid I don’t have much here for breakfast…or any other meal, unless you have an addiction to sandwiches. I thought we could go out a little later for breakfast…or lunch…and maybe do some grocery shopping.”

“Okay,” she said softly.

They sat there in companionable silence. He offered her a piece of the newspaper and she took it.

When they were finished with the paper and coffee, Sherri asked, “How did those men find me?”

“A good question. We’re looking for an answer to that.”

“Did they think I’d leave town after last night?”

“At the very least, they were hoping to frighten you.”

“Then their plan worked. Just thinking about what they did to my place gives me the creeps. I don’t understand people like that. The destruction was so brutal and personal. Why would they destroy my clothes?”

Greg shook his head. “Once we know who did it, we’ll find out why it was done.”

“So you think you’ll be able to find out who they were?”

“Generally speaking, people hired to do that kind of destruction aren’t the sharpest blades in the drawer. Even if they wore plastic gloves there’s a chance we can pick up a shoe print. There’s always evidence to be found when we sift through everything. There’s no need for you to be frightened. You’ll be safe here.”

She nodded and tried not to look at him. How was she going to make herself immune to his presence? She was already attracted to him more than she’d ever been to any man. Seeing him the last thing at night and the first thing in the morning, could become addictive and would play havoc with her peace of mind.

“So what next?” she asked after a long silence.

He looked at her and smiled. “What do you usually do on Saturdays?”

“Clean house, go shopping, pay bills, study.” She shrugged. “I guess I don’t need to worry about cleaning.”

He laughed. “If you’re afraid you’ll get out of practice, you can always do something around here.”

She glanced around the room before meeting his gaze. The teasing glint in his eyes was adorable.

“Ah, now I get it. I pay for my room by keeping the place clean, right?” She couldn’t hide the amusement in her voice.

He sobered. “No, of course not. There are no strings attached to my offer, I promise.”

“I have a hunch I’ll get in plenty of practice getting my apartment cleared out and cleaned up.”’

“I hired a crew to go in and clean up the place and told the owner about what had happened. He agreed to let you out of your lease, given the circumstances.”

“You’ve already done that this morning?”

“Yes. I also had one of the men tow your car over here. I didn’t want it sitting over there any longer than necessary.”

“I’m not helpless, you know,” she said, feeling exasperated. “I’m perfectly capable of cleaning my apartment and of retriving my own car.”

“Okay. Sorry. I wanted to save you some of the grief. If you want to keep the apartment, you can let the manager know before he rents it out again.”

She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. I would have liked to at least save anything that was salvageable.”