A Bossy Roommate (Next Door to a Billionaire #2)

26. Carter

26

CARTER

T he end of the week is coming, and Aunt Eleanor’s preparing to fly home. I was actually surprised when she told me she’d bought her ticket, only because I’d sworn she was going to extend her stay further. And trust me, I want her to.

My aunt staying means Eden and I need to keep up the charade and stay in character, spending our nights in my bedroom. This arrangement will grant us those precious extra hours together, and, perhaps most importantly, ample time for those much-needed date nights.

Eden is one of the best assistants I’ve ever had, probably the best if I really draw up comparisons. But I know it’s not why I want her here. It has nothing to do with work and everything to do with her as a person.

Somewhere along the way, what had started as a business transaction has begun to morph into something else.

“Are you sure you’re okay to travel?” I ask my aunt, not letting her answer. Her health is my main concern. “I don’t think you should. You need to stay. You shouldn’t rush things. I wish you would at least let me call Dr. Mayweather just in case to check you out.”

I’m with my aunt in her room at Hattie’s place, helping Hattie pack Auntie’s things—and by helping her pack, I mean not helping her pack, but instead trying to prevent her from leaving. Eden is in my apartment, avoiding the plethora of cat hair like the plague, and assisting with tea and sandwiches. The owners, Lewis and Kate, have a cleaning crew scheduled to come and disinfect the entire apartment on Monday before Eden moves in—which will give her and me an extra day or two together at my place.

After that, I’m determined to find a way to keep her by my side.

Tied to my bed, if necessary. Naked, to be precise.

“For the last time, Carter Donovan Bancroft. Will you stop fussing over me already?” My aunt shakes her head, lightly batting at my arm with her boney hand and then tiptoeing to give me a kiss on my cheek. “I’m perfectly fine. If it makes you feel better, once I get back home, I will go right to my doctor and have a full exam.”

“You’ll be all the way across an ocean. I can’t hold you to that. But just know if you don’t, Eden and I will book a ticket and fly out ourselves to make you go.”

“You really found a good one, Cartie. That wife of yours is a gem.”

“Yeah, she is,” I agree without hesitation.

Smiling warmly, Aunt Eleanor sits down on one of the suitcases and pats the chair next to her. “Come, sit with me for a minute.” When I do, she reaches out and takes one of my hands in both of hers. “Cartie, do you know why I’ve been hounding you so much to get married?”

“Because you like to see me sweat,” I tell her.

She laughs immediately. “True.”

“And,” I continue, “because that’s the way things were done when you were my age.”

“Where did you get that nonsense from?”

“From you . You’ve outright said it to me. More than once.”

She chuckles and slips her arm around mine. “Smart advice. You should listen. But no, jokes aside, the honest to God reason why I wanted you to get married is that, when I am gone, I do not want you to be in this world alone.”

Her words hit me like a bus. The raw truth is almost too much to handle, and I have to breathe for a moment and process what she just said. With everything she’s had going on, all her health issues and scares, my aunt has never once mentioned her death. She’s implied it with the usual offhanded, “I’m not going to be around forever you know!”

This is different.

“Well, that’s not happening any time soon, so you don’t have to worry about it,” I tell her firmly, wrapping her in a large hug.

She chuckles and pats my back. “I know, I know, it’s not. But let’s not kid ourselves, Cartie. I’m in my late sixties. Who knows how much longer I have on this earth? But at least now I can rest easy knowing my little one is going to be taken care of.”

“I’m hardly little anymore, Auntie.”

She pinches my cheek. “You’ll always be my little one. I also know you don’t need Eden to take care of you, not in the physical or traditional sense. Emotionally, however, you have always been a lonely boy. Even when surrounded by friends.”

“I like the solitude.”

“I know you do. But I have seen how you are with Eden. I have seen how you light up when she enters a room, and how she lights up when you enter a room…how you two are naturally drawn together. I’m happy, Cartie. So happy that you have found someone who makes you happy. It is important to have people by your side who will be there for you when you make the tough decisions, and who will help even when you don’t think you need it. I don’t think you realize how much that girl loves you, and how special it is to find someone who is so perfect for you.”

I open my mouth to respond, yet for once, I find myself at a loss for words.

Eden had seamlessly fitted into my life overnight. Our connection is so strong that it’s easy to forget that we were practically strangers just a short while ago.

“Carter.” My aunt squeezes my hand. “You treasure that woman and do not let her go, even if it gets tough.”

I smile and give her another hug. “Love you, Auntie.”

“Love you too. Now, let us finish packing up my things.”

For my aunt’s last night in New York, she has dinner with me and Eden at my place. We invited Hattie, but Hattie excused herself, stating she had commitments elsewhere. “I must apologize, but it appears that young Myrtle is feeling rather lonely today. Whenever I’m not around to keep an eye on her, she tends to get into a bit of mischief, I’m afraid.” But I can tell in her eyes that she wants to give us the time with my aunt.

From across the table, I watch Eden and Auntie, pleased at how close the two have become during my aunt’s visit. I’m not sure what they’re talking about—I’m too lost in my own head.

I keep looking over into the living room, seeing the Bancroft family sign on the mantel. We’re a family, albeit an unexpected one.

Somehow, Eden has become part of my family.

Sunday

The next morning, I wake up early. Aunt Eleanor’s flight leaves at an ungodly hour, which means we have to get up at 4:00 a.m. in order to get ready and make it there on time. Eden starts to dress. I didn’t ask her to come with us, didn’t even expect it from her. Once my aunt is on the plane, our whole arrangement will be over. She does it anyway, without a moment’s delay.

In the quiet of the early morning, the three of us load up my car with all of Aunt Eleanor’s things. We drive to the airport in silence.

After we’ve unloaded her ridiculous amount of luggage onto a nearby cart, checked her in, and accompanied her as far as we’re allowed, she pulls both of us into a tight hug. It’s emotional.

While I’m happy she’ll be going back home where she’s surrounded by her friends, loved ones, and doctors, my stomach is in knots. Eden’s hand comes to rest on my back, and I wrap my arms around her and my aunt’s shoulders to pull them close.

Both Eden and my aunt cry, and I almost crack.

I want to take Aunt Eleanor and those damn bags back to my apartment, insisting that she stay forever. I can’t. The lie will come out. I would break her heart, and that’s something I can’t do, no matter how much mine hurts.

With tears prickling at the corners of my eyes, I bring them closer, feeling the sobs that emanate from them as they cling to me, and I tighten the embrace.

“Love you, Auntie,” I whisper.

“I know…Cartie,” she sniffles, her voice soft and trembling. “I love you too.”

My arms strengthen, pulling them closer in the embrace. “I know.” I lower my head and place a kiss to my aunt’s wrinkled forehead.

We stay that way for what seems like an endless time—it’s not long enough, and it never will be—holding onto each other firmly, not wanting to let go.

Eventually, I allow them to reluctantly pull away, knowing it’s time to say goodbye. It’s a bittersweet moment, but I know that the memories of our time together will stay with me forever.

“You’ve been quiet,” Eden says when we get back into the car, and I pull into traffic. “I know you’re worried about her. When you handled her bags, I made her promise to video chat with you as soon as she was checked out by her doctors.”

“Thank you, Eden.”

“She also made mention of us coming to visit her for our honeymoon.”

“She did?” I smile.

“Yes, but I think I was able to direct her away from that idea when I told her how crazy work is.” Her pause is filled with a warm smile. “Of course, if you did want to visit her and she was insistent I came along, I wouldn’t mind.”

“You wouldn’t? Have you ever been to Paris?”

“No, never. And that wasn’t me fishing for a trip out of the country,” she adds hastily. “I was just telling you what she said.”

“I know. I didn’t think you were fishing for anything. Paris is a gorgeous place. I’ll take you sometime.”

Eden grows silent. When I look over at her, her cheeks are pink. Her eyes sparkle. “You’d take me to Paris? To the city of love?”

“Sure. Everyone should go there at least once in their lives.”

I try to keep my voice casual—however, I know she likes to tease me, talking about love —but the second she asked me, and the words came out of my mouth, there was no other answer. I didn’t have to think twice.

Eden has weaved her way into my life and into my heart without me realizing it.

What had started out as a fake marriage to appease my aunt has turned into something more, something real. There are feelings here that I’ve been trying to suppress, trying to put aside, because I know what’s happening between us is temporary.

And yet, despite all that, I’m beginning to fall for a woman who’s set to leave for her family’s company in just a few months—which, ironically, I’m helping to make a success. Eden’s sister Diane is pleasant to work with. With her practical no-nonsense approach, we immediately saw eye to eye when she first called. Hopefully, she won’t insist on bringing Eden back earlier than the six months she’d announced. In order to meet the growing demands, Diane will soon need to expand her staff.

Eden seems flustered by my unexpected response. “Are you sure?” she asks, bringing my thoughts back to the topic of visiting Paris with her.

“I’m always sure.”

When we get home, Eden puts her finger to her lips and all but tiptoes off the elevator so that Hattie won’t hear us and come to the door. For once, I wouldn’t have minded a chat with the woman who kept my aunt so happy. But we don’t want to wake her. With the moving company due to arrive at her doorstep at 10:00 a.m. the following day, it’s evident she has a long day ahead of her. She needs all the rest she can get. Nonetheless, I intend to pay her a visit later on to inquire if she requires any help.

Once our door is closed, however, I can’t take it anymore. I do what I have to do—I pull Eden into a kiss. Kissing her has quickly become my favorite thing, my obsession, my need. A delicious moan escapes her, one that makes me fit her closer against me. The way her body molds to mine, how her hand buries itself in my hair, how her mouth automatically opens for me to explore—it drives me absolutely feral, and I want to claim every part of her.

I’m in trouble. I know that and yet, I don’t give a damn.

With her face cradled in my hands, I kiss her like I’m dying, like she’s all I need, like there’s nothing else on this earth that I want more than her.

Because, at this moment, it’s the truth.

When I draw back, she slowly opens her eyes. They’re cloudy, staring back at me as if in a daze. Before she can speak, I kiss her again, maneuvering us toward the couch, too eager and too lost in the moment. Her back hits the couch cushions, while I cover her body with mine, diving in for more.

I need to feel her lips on mine, feel her trembling with need, my body inside hers, like I need air to breathe.

We probably should talk, should discuss the unspoken things between us that I’ve been avoiding. But when I draw back to look down at her, and she looks back at me, her eyes shining with excitement, all other thoughts fly out of my head as I begin unbuckling my belt with one hand and leaning down to capture her lips once more.

“Carter?” she moans, spreading her legs under my weight.

“Yes, Eden baby, I’ve got you.”

I press my forehead against hers, caging her with my arms. She clings to me, beautifully, radiating with excitement, warmth, and love.

I thrust into her.

Two hours later

Just when I raise my hand to knock on Hattie’s door, it swings open.

“Greetings, there you are!”

“Is there anything I can help you with, Hattie? Lift something heavy?”

She looks at me as though I’ve just suggested something absurd, like petting her cats.

“Oh, dearie me! No, no. I’ve just had a call from my new landlord, and it appears that my moving plans for tomorrow have been scuppered, after all that.”

I stand there, utterly flabbergasted, bewildered by the revelation.

She continues apologizing profusely, telling me that she doesn’t have an exact date, but it’s only a matter of time as my mood lifts with every word she says. “I just wanted to find out whether you’d be willing and able to put Eden up for another few days?”

“Absolutely,” I assure her immediately, without batting an eye.

“I’ve already got in touch with the moving company,” she continues to update me on the situation, a hint of uncertainty in her voice as if not entirely sure if she’s misinterpreted my words, “and I’ve made the necessary calls to both Lewis and Kate. Oh, and I’ve contacted the cleaning crew as well.”

“Good. Let me know if you need anything else, Hattie. Have a good day.”

“Ooh, dearie me!” She beams at me. “You too, love, you too!”

With a victorious stride, I enter my apartment, ready to pop some bubbly.