Heart of Stone - Book 1: Fighting Fate

Maybe I should have called first to make sure he’s even here? Aubree bit her lower lip as she looked up at the apartment building with its twenty-floors and secured entrance. Wouldn’t it suck monkey-balls if he was out late with friends or had gone to bed early? It was eleven-thirty-three after all.

Dragging her two heavy, extra-large wheeled suitcases to the front doors, she stepped inside the first set of doors and stood before the intercom system. Dialing his three-digit number, she stepped back and waited.

Luckily, she didn’t have to wait too long. When he answered, confusion laced his voice.

“Hello?”

“Dan, it’s me!” she sang.

There was a pause. “Aubree?”

“Yeah. Wanna let me in?”

A loud buzz answered her as the second door opened.

She wheeled her luggage to the elevators, thankful that one of the three was already there with its door wide open.

She pressed the button labeled 15 for his floor and the door slid closed. The elevator groaned at first in protest before it fell silent and starting climbing. Anticipation filled her despite exhaustion ransacking her body of energy ever since that scare outside of town.

That’s behind you now, so let’s not think about it again, she coached herself.

She pictured Dan’s lean face with the dimple in his chin, high cheekbones, wide forehead, clean-cut dark brown hair that he swept to one side, and deep brown eyes. It had been so long since she last trailed her fingers across his jawline and pressed her lips to his hungry, pink ones.

So long since we last kissed... A small smile crept across her face as she pictured him kissing her deeply with pent up emotions.

Her stomach fluttered happily at the thought and if it weren’t for the fact that her luggage weighed a ton, she would have skipped out of the elevator and down the hallway to his apartment.

Alas, she had to use what little strength she had left to tug her belongings to his door at the end of the hallway and knock.

Unfortunately, the huge grin she had been expecting wasn’t there.

Her frown matched the one greeting her. “What’s wrong?” she asked him.

He ran a hand through his thick hair and cast a sideways glance to his living room. She followed his gaze and wasn’t happy with what she saw.

The place wasn’t quite a disaster, but it looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a few weeks. A few mismatched socks littered the floor, along with dirt lining the corners of the tiled floor in the entry. A T-shirt was draped over a lamp and a pair of boxer briefs were wedged between the cushions of the couch. Crumbs sprinkled along the carpet under the coffee table in front of the flat-screen television that had a few dirty dishes and empty take-out containers on it. The carpet itself needed to be steamed clean.

She wrinkled her nose as a musty smell leaked out the door in greeting.

“I was going to clean up tomorrow before you got here,” he said.

She arched an unimpressed eyebrow at him but was too tired to make a big deal about it at this point. She wanted nothing more than to curl up on his bed and fall asleep.

Both mentally and physically exhausted, she shrugged, “Whatever,” and pushed her way in. “We can deal with it tomorrow. Right now, I’m too tired to care.”

He hung his head. “Yeah, sorry. You can take a shower or draw yourself a bath if you want.” He brightened a little as he wiggled his brows and added, “Maybe I can join you?”

Normally, she would have jumped at the idea of taking a hot shower with him, but not this time. She waved it off, much to his dismay. “Next time.”

He helped her bring her luggage in while she headed straight for the bathroom.

Frustration mixed with exhaustion coursed through her as she unwound her silky honey brown hair from her messy bun and combed her fingers through it. She grimaced at the dark brown whiskers sprinkled all over the drain in the sink. She couldn’t help but mutter under her breath as she stripped out of her clothes and turned the water on so it could heat up.

She hoped this was just a slip in general tidiness. That he’d been too busy at his job to keep up with everyday cleanliness around the apartment, but still... How hard was it to put the dirty dishes in the sink and wash them every night?

Sighing, she climbed into the shower and let the hot stream fall on her neck and shoulders.

Tomorrow. I’ll deal with all this tomorrow.

In the morning, she noted that the dirty clothes had been picked up and the dishes stacked in the sink, but they still needed washing. It took them three hours to clean the apartment up and wash all the dirty dishes, some of which had to soak for a while due to the amount of sticky residue all over them.

Needless to say, Aubree wasn’t pleased.

By the time they were done, her stomach growled with a vengeance. She groaned. “I’m starving.”

His stomach growled like a wild beast in response, tugging at the corners of his lips. “Well, that makes two of us.”

“Well,” she huffed, placing her hands on her hips, “You better treat me to some lunch, after all the work I spent cleaning up your mess.”

He held his hands up in surrender before wrapping an arm around her slender waist and pulling her to him. “That, I can do.”

He bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips in hopes of cooling her frustration at him, and as much as Aubree tried to bat off the fluttering butterflies in her stomach as nerves for moving in with him, it worked.

With the angry girlfriend momentarily sedated, he guided her out the door.

They arrived at a cute café a few blocks down from his apartment, where they served gourmet coffee and delicious pastries, much to Aubree’s delight.

He may be a bit of slob, but he knew how to make his girl happy.

Ever since they left the apartment building, however, Aubree felt an odd uneasy sensation tugging on her. She glanced over her shoulder to figure out what was giving her the heebie-jeebies. Unable to place her finger on its source, she chalked it up to anxiety at the rough start with Dan and hunger.

Now, with the delectable treats staring back at her from behind glass, all feelings of discomfort dissipated. Her mouth started watering immediately as the smell of baked goods and coffee with hints of vanilla, chocolate, and hazelnut filled her senses.

Jabbing her finger against the glass at each pastry, she said, “I want that, that, and that. Oh my god, what’s that? I want it!”

Dan chuckled. “Like a kid in a candy store.”

She shot him a hard look. “Shut up. You owe me.”

He was still grinning as if knowing she’d say that. “Wipe the drool from your lips and tell Becky what you want.”

Straightening up, Aubree eyed the curvy young woman behind the counter. Her nametag flashed in the fluorescent lights overhead. She pressed her lips together and felt moisture. Dammit, she had been drooling!

Feeling her cheeks heat up, she wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and gave the woman a sheepish smile. Placing her order, with all four pastries that she’d previously pointed out and a large coffee, she waited as Becky rang up their order.

Aubree looked around the space as she waited. The café was larger than it looked on the outside and she was happy to spy a table for two next to the door. The modern finishings hinted that it had been either remodeled recently or was relatively new. The walls were a creamy beige color with chocolate brown accents along the windows.

The jingling of the bell over the door caught her attention and she sucked in a breath when a hot piece of rugged man-meat strolled in.