Page 6

Chapter Six

STEVIE

“K nock, knock.” I peek my head inside the pool house door. “Anyone home?”

“Stevie? What are you doing back here, sweetie?” Nan asks, popping up from the couch with more grace than someone her age should have.

“Bode took Caleb for a walk, so I thought I’d come see you.”

“This is a nice surprise.”

“I haven’t seen you much since I moved in.”

More like I needed to get away from Bode. Away from the scent of his cologne. Or bodywash? I can’t tell, but being around him makes things tingle that haven’t tingled in a long time.

Is it because of that swoopy hair that flops across his forehead? That perfect jaw line that always seems to have the right amount of scruff? Or those deep brown eyes that lock on to mine when I walk into a room?

I don’t need to be around another man like Bode right now. I don’t know him as far as I can throw him, but a man that good-looking can only be trouble.

“How about a glass of wine?” Nan smiles at me as she walks into the kitchen and grabs a bottle from the fridge.

“Sure.”

“I have your favorite rosé.” She winks at me.

“Thanks.” I look around the open floor plan of the pool house. “I’d definitely say you upgraded your digs, Nan.”

“Pool house, my ass. I don’t see a single thing in here to fix a pool,” Nan tells me, shaking her head and handing over a glass filled to the brim with pink liquid.

“Pretty sure you could fit all of my apartments in here and have room to spare.”

Wooden shutters are drawn over the French doors, hiding the living room and kitchen from the main house. A set of stairs at the back of the room leads up to the bedrooms.

Everything in here is cozy. It looks lived-in. Not that Bode’s place doesn’t, but his vibe feels more modern to me.

This? This looks exactly like how my Nan would live.

“Are you settling in?” Nan pats the space on the couch next to her and I take a seat.

“For the most part.” I nod, sipping on the cool, fruity wine. It’s needed after sorting through my pathetic box of things next door. “I don’t plan on being here that long.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to intrude. And Bode is basically a stranger.”

“A hot stranger,” Nan corrects.

“You cannot say that!” I sputter.

“What part of that statement is not true?” She quirks a brow at me.

I sigh, running my fingertip along the rim of my glass. She’s not wrong. Bode Adams? A man that sexy is trouble. The kind that is so effortlessly sexy, he doesn’t even have to try.

That kind of trouble isn’t worth it.

Well, maybe a little.

But not right now. I don’t need to focus on him. I only want to focus on me and getting back on my feet.

“I know that face.” Nan startles me out of my thoughts.

“What face? I’m not making any sort of face.”

“You think I don’t know what that means?” Nan asks. “You’re thinking about Bode.”

I gulp down more wine than is necessary and end up choking around it. Shit. Way to not give myself up to the one person who can read me like an open book.

“Getting involved with Bode is the last thing I need right now.”

Want? Absolutely.

“You worry too much about things,” Nan tells me.

“Me? How can I not worry when I don’t have a place to live?”

“You do have a place to live,” she corrects.

“You know what I mean.”

She waves me off. “That Brady was an asshole to you. I don’t know what you ever saw in him.”

I snort around the sip I just took, wiping my mouth. “Nan. When have you ever liked anyone I dated?”

“That Mikey was nice.”

I roll my eyes and mop up the wine on the edge of my glass with my sleeve. “That was in seventh grade. You’ve really never liked anyone since then?”

“Well, maybe when you date someone worth liking, I’ll like them. Like Bode.”

“And how well do you actually know Bode, hmm?” I tuck my legs under my butt and cozy up into the couch cushions.

“Only what I know from Eve.”

“He’s a player, Nan.”

I looked him up. It wasn’t hard to find Bode Adams. After a brief tour of the house, and a few words from Nan, I learned all I needed to about my landlord.

Bode has played for the Nashville Knights since he was drafted out of college. He’s one of the top players for the team, which has seen a resurgence from one of the worst teams in the league to being a contender.

I know a few things about sports, but not much.

What I did notice? The ad campaign Bode did for a sports drink. Why they need to show so much skin to sell a sports drink is not for me to decide.

But with abs like that? No wonder Bode has a reputation.

Something I also discovered in my searching.

“If he’s such a player, then how come I’ve never seen him with another woman?”

“I…well, how would I know? I just moved in.”

“Stephanie, Stevie, darling,” Nan starts, “I love you more than anyone in this world, but you take life too seriously.”

I’m back to fiddling with the rim of my wine glass. “How can I not?”

In my twenty-five years, it seems like nothing has ever gone right. Maybe I’m looking in all the wrong places, but between men, apartments, and making ends meet, it always seems like I’m moving away from where I want to be in life.

“You were never dealt the best hand, but that doesn’t mean you have to bear that weight every day. You can hang it up and let go every once in a while.”

“How can I trust myself?” I voice my deepest fear to the one person who I know won’t judge me for it. “Every time I think I’m making the right decision, it blows up in my face.”

“Sweetheart.” Nan pats my cheek. “I’m not saying you need to jump into any kind of relationship with anyone. But if you go looking for the worst in people, you’ll always find it.”

I blow out a breath. “Sometimes what you say makes sense.”

“I can be smart when I want to be.” She taps her temple. “Now, let’s watch some baking shows and wish we could bake.”

“Hey. I know how to bake, thank you very much.”

“Well, then maybe you need to have a lesson for everyone in the house.”

All I can do is laugh. Being around my grandma makes this weird in-between phase better. Before, I’ve always had my own place. If things went sideways with a guy, I had my sanctuary. Things like where I was going to spend the night was never a problem.

I went against my better judgment and got swept up in a pair of pretty green eyes. Move in after a month? Why not?

Maybe getting kicked out and ending up with Nan is where I’m meant to be in this stage of life. Focusing on myself and my job.

If I can hold on to that for a little while longer, everything will be okay.

And maybe this time, a pair of mesmerizing brown eyes won’t distract me from my plans.