Page 11 of The Best Man Problem
After that night, they instilled a strict policy. No nookie without warning the roommate. And he never intended to have that problem again. No roommates? No accidental ass viewings.
Besides, if he hadn’t chosen to stay in a hotel, he never would have met Lilly.
Not true, dumbass. You met her yesterday.
Yeah, and she wanted to pretend they didn’t know each other. Ouch.
“Mr. Stottlemire never complained about any noises.” Kenneth shrugged.
Marie came into the room from the small bathroom. “Mr. Stottlemire was fifty percent deaf in both ears. He wore hearing aids that didn’t work and loved us because we always brought him leftover apple turnovers from the shop. He wouldn’t have complained even if we had stomped around like a herd of elephants.”
Lincoln didn’t care about loud feet. His friends could tap dance for all he cared. As long as they kept other activities from drifting down to his poor ears.
“Lincoln, I unpacked your toiletries and set them all up for you.”
“Babe.” Kenneth wrapped an arm around his fiancée. “You weren’t supposed to unpack anything.”
“You guys won’t let me carry any boxes. How else was I supposed to help?”
He smiled. “Thanks, Marie, but you don’t need to help at all. You were the one who convinced the landlord he should rent to me when there were five other people putting in offers on this place. You did enough. You’re awesome.”
She raised one dark eyebrow. They all knew why Kenneth was so insistent his fiancée didn’t do any heavy lifting. Though she’d been in remission for a year, the cancer that almost took Marie’s life had scared them all and taken strength she was still trying to regain.
“I know I’m awesome. I’ve been saying it for years.”
He laughed along with her and Kenneth. The cancer might have taken her strength, health, and nearly her life, but damn if it hadn’t been able to take away her spunk. He’d never gotten a better call in his life than the day Marie and Kenneth rang to inform him she’d gotten the all clear from the doc. He’d been elated for her—and Kenneth. The guy had been a massive wreck from the moment she’d been diagnosed. But those two stuck together through thick and thin. They’d already seen sickness; now he hoped their marriage would be filled with a lifetime of happiness and health.
Someone’s should be.
He shook off the morose thought. He was here for Marie and Kenneth and new beginnings. Not to wallow in the crap show that had been his love life. It had been two years since Jessa left. Time to move the fuck on. That’s why he was here. New state, new life.
“Was that the last of the boxes?”
He nodded at her question.
“When are they picking the pod up?”
“I’ll call the company tonight. They should be grabbing it before morning. Is it okay in the driveway for that long?”
Kenneth shrugged. “It’s fine. Street sweeping day isn’t until Tuesday. The cars will be okay parked on the street another night.”
Great. He was here. All moved in—mostly. He still had a lot of unpacking to do, but this was it. He had a new job starting in a few weeks, a place to live right under his best friends, and a woman who was fascinating to figure out. Lilly Walsh. Just thinking her name made his heart beat faster. She might want to pretend they never met, but he’d seen the racing of her pulse, heard the uptake of her breath. She remembered every detail of their night together.
Fondly, he could only hope.
It was the best damn night he’d had in a long time.
“I believe the proper payment for helping a friend move in is pizza and beer.” He dug his phone out of his pocket. “Should I order in, or do we go out?”
“Let’s order in.” Marie snuggled into Kenneth’s arms. “There’s a great local place on Broadway that delivers.”
“They deliver beer, too?”
“Sadly, no, but I think…” She turned her head to look up at Kenneth. “Babe, do you still have that new lager we got from Renegade?”
One thing Lincoln had learned in his short time in the city: small craft breweries were a dime a dozen. Denver was a hops lover’s paradise.
“Yeah, I think so. You two order the pizza. I’ll go check.” Kenneth kissed his fiancée on the cheek and headed up the stairs, calling over his shoulder, “No pineapple!”
