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Sebastian
“This is why I live alone.” My youngest brother, Liam, lets out a long exhale. “Maybe you’re wrong and she didn’t see your dick. ”
“I’m not wrong,” I reply as I look back at the closed door of his office. “You’re sure I’m not interrupting you? There’s a woman in the waiting room.”
He skims his finger over the screen of the cell phone on his desk. “I’ve got five minutes before my next appointment.”
You wouldn’t know by looking at him that Liam is a grief counselor. He’s wearing gray pants, a white button-down shirt and black shoes. That part fits the bill. It’s the rest of him that doesn’t.
His shirt sleeves are rolled up to reveal forearms covered in tattoos. His shoulder length dark blond hair is tied into a messy low knot and a beard covers his jaw.
Considering the fact that he towers above me a good two inches at six-foot-five, he’s got an undeniable presence that can’t be ignored.
“The woman who saw my dick last night is Julian’s future sister-in-law.” I pace in front of his desk. “She didn’t come right out and say she saw me nude, but she could barely look at me.”
“Maybe she’s shy.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “If she’s not making a big deal about it, why are you?”
It’s a valid question. I should have let it roll off me, but once I got back into my bedroom after Matilda went into hers, I let my imagination wander.
Julian is protective of Matilda because he’s about to become part of her family. His fiancée, Maya, is even more vigilant when it comes to her younger sister. She told me to watch over Matilda, not flash her within the first ten seconds of seeing her.
I don’t need this to come between one of my closest friends and myself. I have to address it before Julian hears about it from Matilda.
“Julian and I have been friends a long time. I don’t want something like this to fuck it up.”
“I hear you. Why are you living with this woman? Why not find another guy to live with?” Liam looks down at his phone again. “You’ve got two more minutes.”
For most of the past ten years I’ve lived alone. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I took on a roommate. It was a buddy from work who needed a place to hang his hat after his marriage went south.
He took over the second bedroom and then one night a week, his kids took over the apartment.
When he decided to get his own place, I saw it as the perfect time to make a change in my life.
I called Maya and set up a time to talk to her about the possibility of selling my apartment. I picked it up years ago at a reasonable price. I’ve kept an eye on the market so I knew that if I got out now, I’d pocket a nice profit.
She listed it and sold it within a week for the full asking price with a thirty-day close.
My salary as a homicide detective with the NYPD keeps a roof over my head, food on my table and clothes on my back, but the windfall from the sale of my current two-bedroom apartment is enough to set me up in a new place and pad my savings account at the same time.
“I didn’t expect my place to sell that quickly,” I say, walking toward his office door. “A decent priced rental is hard to come by right now. Maya said her sister had an extra spare room and the rent is low, so I grabbed it before someone else did.”
“Why the rush to move in? You had some time before the new owner came knocking on your door, didn’t you?” he asks.
“I had a couple of days off. It made sense to make the move while I had the time.”
“It sounds like you made the right choice.” Liam falls into step behind me.
“It’s a good move for me right now.” I turn and tap him in the middle of the chest with my knuckles. “I’ll hang out there for a few months and then start looking for a new apartment to buy.”
“Tell her you’re sorry that you inadvertently showed her your dick.” He puts his hand on the doorknob. “Don’t make a big deal about it. Apologize and move on.”
“You think?” I ask as he swings open the door.
“I know, “ he responds with a pat on my back. “Now, get lost. I’ve got work to do.”
***
“I’m Sebastian Wolf,” I say, holding out my hand toward her as she closes the apartment door.
She looks down at my outstretched palm before her gaze slides to the table behind me. A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “I’m Matilda.”
Matilda.
Maya calls her Tilly. Julian does too, but the first time he ever mentioned her to me he referred to her as Matilda.
I prefer it. It suits her.
She’s beautiful. Her hair is long, brown and falling in waves around her shoulders. Her eyes are big and blue.
She can’t be much taller than five-foot-six since I’m towering above her.
Her hand drops in mine for a quick shake before she tugs it away.
“Did you buy those?” She cants her head to the left. “There were some flowers in that vase that Maya and Julian bought for my birthday, but they’re gone now.”
I glance over my shoulder at the bouquet of mixed red and yellow blossoms I picked up at the florist down the street on my way home from Liam’s office. “I noticed they were dead, so I thought I’d replace them with a new bunch.”
She brushes past me to smell them. “They’re beautiful.”
No, she is.
I shake off the thought and weigh my next words. “Matilda, I need to say something.”
She straightens. “What is it?”
I swallow, hoping that my instinct isn’t steering me wrong. I want to clear the air so we can start off as roommates on the right foot. “I wasn’t expecting you to come home last night.”
“Maya told me that.” She glances down briefly before her gaze locks on my face. “She said that she explained to you that I would be out of town for a few more days, but my plans changed. I had no idea who you were last night. I thought you were here to see my last roommate.”
I don’t see the point in prolonging this, so I dive in. “I don’t know how long you were standing near the doorway when I noticed you, but if you saw me without...”
“I did,” she admits as her gaze trails down my gray T-shirt and faded jeans. “I saw you by the window without any clothes on.”
“I’m sorry.” I scrub the back of my neck with my hand. “I don’t want this to be a big deal.”
“It’s fine.” She blows out a short breath. “We don’t have to make it into a big deal.”
“I would have had pants on if I knew you were on your way home.”
“That’s good to know,” she says with a small smile. “Let’s make a rule that if either of us is in a common area, we need to be dressed. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” I shove my hands into the front pocket of my jeans. “I’ll only take my clothes off in my bedroom or when I shower.”
Her gaze goes to the flowers again before she looks directly at me. “Since we’re in agreement that what happened last night isn’t a big deal, I don’t see any reason for either of us to mention it to Maya or Julian.”
I had no intention of telling Julian that his future sister-in-law got a good look at my cock. “They won’t hear about it from me.”
“Good.” She lets out an audible breath. “We can put it behind us now.”
I can’t tell if she’s more relieved that we cleared the air or that I’m in agreement that what happened last night isn’t any of Julian or Maya’s business. Either way, I’m grateful that this conversation didn’t end with me looking for a new place to live.
