I don’t think I’ve been more freaked out in my entire life than when Gio opened that door and his firearm was so openly displayed. Well, maybe that one time when Adam pushed me into the pig stall when we were eight after he’d just finished telling me how pigs eat humans, making me scream just as our pregnant sow, Bertha, decided to nuzzle my arm, looking like she was hungry and thought I’d make a good meal.
“Look,” I say, willing my heart to stop trying to jump out of my chest. “I’m not a criminal and I’m not armed. You can search me if you want. I swear. I’m just here to look at the room.”
“Shit,” he mutters, quickly slamming the drawer shut and locking it before turning his very apologetic gaze my way. “I’m sorry, okay? But in my defense, Marco and Luca never said you were a girl.”
I roll my eyes and rest my helmet on my jutted hip. “Seriously, what is it with people in this city thinking I have a dick? I’m a woman. Alex can be short for Alexandra too, you know. Although, I’m just an Alex.” Her hands go to the zip on her jacket. “But if you need me to prove it, just say the word. You don’t need to whip out your damn gun though.”
“I get that now.”
“And it was you that messaged me and said to come around and look at the room. Didn’t think you’d take that as an invitation to use me for target practice,” I snap, letting my temper loose. Probably not the best impression to be making on a prospective landlord. I take a deep breath in and slowly exhale, blowing out the tension as I do it.
“Look, let’s have a do-over.” I hold my arm out. “Hi. I’m Alex. I’m the new firefighter at 101 and, as you can clearly see, I’m also a woman. I’ve just moved here from Iowa. I’m a career firefighter, legacy even, and when I met your brothers the other day, they told me you were looking for a roommate, and I just happen to be desperate for a place to live that isn’t a hotel with room service that my ass really can’t afford to indulge in.” Gio’s lips curve up, so I forge on. “So, if you’re one of those dudes that can’t handle living with a woman, no harm, no foul. I’ll go.”
That gets him. His head jerks back, his brows knitted tight, but I don’t let it sway me.
“But I really hope we can move past this rather awkward first meeting and see if we can’t cohabit in relative peace and quiet because—as I said—I am rather desperate. I promise I’m house-trained, and I’ve got a lot of experience living with men—”
His eyes widen, and I realize what I just said.
“What I mean is, I lived with my brother and my father for the past six months after my mother—bless her soul—passed away, and then with my ex-childhood-sweetheart slash comfort-zone-I-now-regret for years before that, so I’m a good roommate/housemate. I promise.”
The man tilts his head as if studying me. His eyes are wary and cautious—and maybe a little tinged with guilt—before his expression morphs, his lips curving into a wry smile. And because I am a single woman who hasn’t had the time or the inclination to enjoy male company recently, I don’t miss the fact that his grin makes him look even more stupidly attractive. So not good. Avert, abort, step away from the hot guy, Alex. I have been known to go a little crazy about stupidly attractive men—especially tall Italian-American drinks of water like the one standing in front of me right now.
From his short chocolate-brown hair to his hazel eyes and golden olive skin, to his perfect brows most women would kill to have and a jaw so square you could chisel stone with it, he’s beautiful. Then there’s the body, which looks the perfect balance of built but not cut in his navy-blue tee and grey sweatpants, which I definitely don’t focus on for too long because every woman knows grey sweatpants are to women what a red flag is to a raging bull.
He rubs the back of his neck with his hand and with a sheepish smile, holds out his arm, nodding down to his outstretched hand. “Okay, Alex. Let’s try this again. I’m obviously Gio. And you can blame my asshole brothers. They failed to tell me that you were you, so they probably wanted this exact kind of awkward first meeting to happen. That’s no excuse for scaring you, though, and I apologize.”
And now it all makes sense.
“Right,” I say, shaking his hand, biting the inside of my cheek to distract me from the way his biceps move. “I happen to know all about asshole brothers since I have one—a twin, even—so this time, I’m gonna give you a pass.”
His brows and the corner of his mouth tip up simultaneously. “Seems we’ve got something in common already. Want to come have a look inside?”
“Thought you’d never ask.”
“Now I see why Marco and Luca didn’t tell me more about you.”
I frown. “Why’s that?”
“’Cause you’re a smart-ass.”
“Yep,” I say proudly as I step inside the house. “Is that gonna be a problem?”
Closing the door behind me, he chuckles and shakes his head. “Probably why you say your brother is an asshole too, right?
I laugh. “Pretty much. But I’ve only got one, thank god. You’ve got two.”
“Might have to share some tips with me on how to deal with them then. Something tells me you probably give your twin a run for his money.”
Gasping in mock offence, I hold my hand to my chest as I fight off a grin. “Did you . . . just call me an asshole?”
His face falls. “What? No!” he splutters. “I was just—”
I decide to put him out of his misery. “Ha! Gotcha!”
Chuckling, we reach the hallway and come to a stop in an open-plan living and dining area with two big couches and a healthy dose of masculine knickknacks scattered around the room. As to be expected—and far from disappointing—there’s also a big-screen TV mounted on the wall. The place is even clean. Actually . . . it’s immaculately so. Suddenly, I’m not so sure that this will be a roommate match made in heaven after all. Then I remember Luca’s words from yesterday, combining it with my new knowledge that they set their brother up something wicked. Because I’m anything but tidy. And Gio looks like he’d be the type to put plastic covers on the sofas.
“So, it’s pretty average for the area,” he says.
My head jerks his way. “Average?” I’m totally lost now.
“The house size. You totally zoned out, didn’t you? Look, I promise I’m not some macho guy who watches sports twenty-four/seven when I’m home. Don’t get me wrong, I like football and I’ll be a Cubs fan till I die, but I’m not—”
“What football team?” I blurt out, giving him my full attention as I put all thoughts about him being a pedantic neat freak on hold.
“What?”
“What team do you go for?” I ask, hitting my stride. “Because I’ll tell you now, I’m pretty much a sure thing unless you tell me you’re a Bucs fan. If you say that, I’ll walk straight out the door.”
Gio barks out a laugh and shakes his head at me, his lips twitching.
“A sure thing?”
“A sure roommates thing.” I grin back at him, and we stay like that, staring at each other, just smiling like idiots. Until Gio’s body jolts and he snaps out of it, turning his back on me and walking towards the doorway that leads to the kitchen, effectively shutting down whatever the hell just happened.
“So, this here is the kitchen.” And like that, Gio switches from friendly and maybe a little flirty to all business. I guess platonic flirting and joking around might not be on the agenda. Oh well, not like we’ll be living in each other’s pockets all the time, right?
Although, me being me, and that being someone who likes a challenge, I decide it might just be my new mission to make Gio Rossi relax a bit and just be. Get him out of his head. Because it’s the only way I know how to handle the hard stuff I have to deal with on the job, and the way he’s holding his broad shoulders so tightly that they’re almost touching his ears says all I need to know about the man he is.
A good one, but also a cop who doesn’t always leave the job at the precinct door.
And I sense a bit of a kindred spirit. A bit of kismet maybe . . .
“Ah, Alex?”
My gaze jerks to his. “Yeah, kitchen, living, doesn’t have shit taste in football teams, check.”
That earns me a snort. “Wanna see your room then, smarty pants?”
“Lead the way, officer.”
“Smart-ass hose jockeys,” he mutters, but he does it with his mouth turned up.
I snort and shake my head. “Stick-up-their-butt po-po,” I retort, not quietly. That earns me a chuckle as I follow him down the hallway and try to focus on anything but his butt.
Roommates, Alex. Friends, hopefully. No checking out the landlord.
The room is bigger than I expected, and even has its own bathroom, which is an unexpected but definitely not unappreciated bonus. Better still, Gio explains that I’m welcome to use the double bed and other furniture in the room if I want since it was Marco’s, and he left it when he moved out.
“So, what do you think?” he asks when we finish the tour and are back in the living room.
“It’s a room without noisy neighbors having sex all night—not that I’m against people getting themselves some, just not all night, every night, when I’m trying to sleep. Or the old dudes yelling obnoxiously at some sports game on the television, and here, I don’t have the temptation of room service cheeseburgers, which my generous curves will seriously thank me for.” His eyes drop down before jerking back up, amusement written all over his face. “So, if you think you can handle living with a firie and the shift work, then I’m good to go . . .”
“Since I work shifts too, there’s no worries about me being inconsiderate when it comes to sleeping and downtime.”
I tilt my head, schooling my features. “And the guys said it was sweet to pay in sexual favors. Is that still the case?” I ask, as all the color drains from his face.
“What? No. I mean, shit. Sorry, but fuck no. God! I’m going to kill those two,” he growls, stalking to the kitchen counter and picking up the cell phone lying there.
“Wait! Wait!” I say, choking with laughter. “I totally made that up. I’m just playing with you, Gio.”
“Fuck. You’re such a smart-ass. I can already tell you’ll get along far too well with my sisters.”
“You have sisters too?”
“Two of them. One older. One younger. And you work with my brother-in-law, Cohen, too.”
“Yeah, I’ve met Cohen. You guys definitely like to keep it in the family, don’t you? If I move in, am I gonna be adopted by your mama too?”
Gio smiles and nods. “Pretty much.”
“Hey, as long as she feeds me, she can adopt me anytime.”
My eyes kind of glaze over a bit as I lose myself in his smile. I quickly recover, but not before my cheeks heat as a flush washes over me. I bet this man is never short of a date or a bedmate.
I need to get outta here so I can stop thinking my new roommate is hot. I don’t have time to moon over him or any man. I’m here to work and learn and spread my Iowa wings in the Windy City. But a little eye candy at home is okay. I mean, I may be focused on my career, but I am still a red-blooded female.
“So, that’s everything. Is there anything else you want or need to know? Any questions? Concerns? Disclaimers?”
I cross my arms over my chest and bite my lip, making a show of thinking really hard about absolutely nothing. “Do you have a problem with clowns?”
Gio jerks in surprise. “Doesn’t everyone?”
I tilt my head to the side. “What about houseplants?”
His brows furrow. “I guess a bit of greenery is okay. Why?”
Nodding, I tap my finger against my chin. “All right then. Last one, do you promise not to cooperate when—not if—my brother and/or my father call you to check up on me? Because believe me, they will.”
To his credit, he tries to fight his laughter for as long as he can, and the smirk that curves his lips is definitely one of those sexy, all-knowing ones that never bode well for me—mainly because those panty-melting kind of grins are my kryptonite. Not with the roommate, Alex. Behave!
“I guess there’s only one thing left to say then,” I say.
“What’s that?”
“When can I move in?”