Veronica
Nellie insisted Veronica was being silly. "So he's a little younger than you, Roni. He's just gonna be your roommate for a few weeks. You're not marrying the guy. What if he was sixty? Would you be feeling weird then?"
Veronica peeked out her kitchen window at the group of boys chatting in her garage. At first glance, they'd all looked so damn young when she dropped him off today. Taking a better look at them now, with Noah's big muscular arm stretched out up against the wall, he hardly looked like a boy. His biggest friend was a man in every sense of the word. Even the youngest one was big. Maybe that's what was beginning to bother her. Why hadn't she thought this through further before making such a big decision? This man was moving in with her now. And he'd be sleeping in the bedroom just across from hers.
The worst part was he wasn't just any man. He was her sexy trainer, the one she'd fantasized far too many times about already. Most importantly—body of a man or not—the fact still remained she was nearly a decade older than him. That alone was the biggest no-no. Serious relationships were probably the furthest thing from his mind, and at her age, the last thing on her mind was a fling.
"I don't know. This is kind of a big step people take isn't it? Even if this were a girl moving in with me, I have to live with someone now. The only person I've ever lived with was my mother. What if things don't work out? He's become sort of a friend now. What if this messes things up?"
She wouldn't make Nellie feel guilty by telling her she'd started to rely on her training sessions now to make up for the loneliness she'd been feeling ever since Nellie had become engrossed in her marriage counseling sessions and trying to work things out with Rick. Secretly Veronica couldn't believe Nellie was giving him another chance, but she wouldn't go there either.
"Why don't you just tell him up front that you're feeling a little nervous because you've never actually lived with anyone else and to keep an open mind about the possibility that this may not work out? This way he doesn't get too comfortable. Personally, I think you're worrying for nothing."
Yeah, Nellie didn't know about any of Veronica's fantasies. Of course, Veronica wasn't about to tell her either. She wasn't admitting that to anyone ever. She watched as his friends walked out of the garage and toward the truck, then admired Noah's big muscular back as he closed the garage. Even in a shirt, it was impressive.
"He's on his way in now. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Okay, and stop worrying will you. Enjoy the company while you have it."
Veronica frowned, hating how pathetic that sounded. She hung up just as the kitchen door opened and in walked Noah shaking the rainwater out of his hair with his hand.
"I thought you were having lunch with your friends?"
"Nah," he said, walking by her to get to the sink. "There's only room for three in the cab of Abel's truck, so I figured I'd spare Hector a soaking and stay here so he could jump in the front." He rinsed his hands then turned to Veronica. "But I could go for a bite to eat. Did ya get anything good at the market?"
"Uh-huh." She walked over to the pantry and pulled out a loaf of bread. "I got cold cuts for sandwiches, and there is stuff for salad. I was going to throw some fish in the oven later tonight, but I could—"
"A sandwich is fine." He walked over to the fridge and pulled out the stuff for a sandwich. "Were you gonna eat too?"
Veronica set the bread on the counter. "Well, yeah, I guess I could go for a sandwich too."
This was definitely going to take some getting used to. She was so used to being alone. Having someone to share her meals with and hanging out permanently was going to be different.
"So I guess we get to talk about this arrangement sooner than I thought." Noah didn't even look up from his sandwich making as he spoke. "Me and my friend Gio had talked about getting a place to share a few months ago. So I kind of had an idea of how things would work. Maybe it's something we can implement in our case."
After making their sandwiches, they each sat at the table across from one another. Veronica listened to Noah, trying not to get too caught up in his intense dark eyes as he spoke. She actually had to look away a few times, worried he'd notice how taken by them she was. By the time they finished their lunch, she'd agreed to everything except the amount of money he was offering to pay her. It was too much. With the house paid, she didn't even have a mortgage or rent to pay. The utilities is all she wanted to split and maybe a small portion of what she put away monthly for the property taxes she paid twice a year. But no more.
"I can't stay here rent free, Roni."
Veronica wiped her mouth, wondering how long it would take her to get used to hearing him call her that. She was being ridiculous. Truth was she'd really begun to feel fond of Noah and his friendship—a friendship she wouldn't ruin by thinking of him in any other way than just that—a friend—a younger brother even. Yeah, she could look at him that way. It would be easier to think of him that way than just a guy living with her.
"Why not? I do. The mortgage is paid, so there is no need for me to collect rent, but all the other stuff we talked about I'm in agreement with."
Noah frowned but grudgingly agreed. "All right, but I'm fixing everything that needs to be fixed around here, including your car. I noticed it leaks. Which reminds me. If you're going to insist on driving me around in this weather, then I'm going to insist on giving you gas money." She began to protest, but he held his hand up. "Don't push it, Roni. You already got your way on one big thing. I won't bend on this one."
Veronica stared at him then smiled. "Okay."
It was settled now, and with her newfound epiphany on how she'd be going about this, she was sure now this could work out painlessly. It was almost maddening that she hadn't thought of it sooner. She was the older, wiser one, right? From that moment on, she decided to take Nellie's advice about this sudden change in her life and embrace it.