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“What!” She bent to have a closer inspection of the shag he pointed to with the tip of one work boot. There wasn’t any stain, but it was too fun not to rile her. When she straightened again, he couldn’t help but smirk at her expense. Grinning, she snatched his hat and gently whacked him in the arm with it. “Bastard.”
Luna returned the baseball cap to his possession but eyed him with a humored glint. “Thank you for helping me with the rug.” When she was like this, as if things were okay between them, he could almost forget about the time five minutes ago she made him want to tear his own skin off.
“You’re welcome.” His eyes drew across her face. Sam couldn’t help noticing the freckle beside her right eye—it drew his attention like the North Star. It was as though every time he studied her, he couldn’t help finding a new aspect to appreciate. It was annoying as hell, especially since he couldn’t forget there was another Luna, one who apparently hated him. He had to keep reminding himself she was just another tenant, nothing else.
He cleared his throat. “I hope this is the end of what you’re planning to do to the place.”
Her chin lifted in stubborn determination. “No. Not even close.”
“Luna—”
“I told you I wanted a nice apartment and I’m going to have it. You agreed to it.” Her eyes sparked, ready for a fight, the hardness returning much to his disappointment.
“I don’t give a fuck what you do in here, but I also don’t want to get fired!”
She threw him an odd look. “Is this not a Sunderland Property? Doesn’t your family own the place?”
He tensed. “My dad. But it doesn’t matter. To him, it’s all business and he wouldn’t give two shits about firing my ass.” As much as Schnell Ridge apartments could sometimes be an inescapable cage to Sam, it wasn’t a cage he was eager to leave. What else was he supposed to do? Go back to school? Take up sports medicine like nothing had ever happened? He wasn’t that same person anymore. “He left, and the only thing he cares about is that I’m not sitting here screwing it up, losing him money.”
Her expression shifted again, her lips stretching into a frown, her eyes attempting to see the absolute truth of him. As much as he didn’t want her anger, he didn’t want her pity. Sam stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Look, how about this. Whatever you’re going to do, you let me know. If it’s something I want to help with, you let me. It’s not that I think you can’t do these things—clearly you can. I would just feel better to be involved and knowing it’s going to be done right. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She blinked as though surprised, tilting her head as she thought about it. “You’re not going to stop me?”
“You don’t seem like the type of woman I can stop.”
This pleased her, the mischievous glint returning to her eyes, and his traitorous chest warmed at the sight of it. “So, I can do anything?”
“Within reason. We’re going to have a problem if you start knocking down walls. But the deal is you have to be honest and up-front with me. Sneaking around, going behind my back, both you and your new rug will get evicted.”
“Fine, but let’s say I want to paint the kitchen cabinets. You’d be okay with that?” Luna waited with raised eyebrows, probably trying to see if he would renege on the deal directly after making it. The reality was, he already regretted everything.
Paint the cabinets? What the hell? They were perfectly fine except for the occasional handle popping off. The wooden cabinets were functional, and what else did a person need them to be? God, he hated that she was making him use the same line of reasoning as his father. When did he stop being fun? Scratch that. He and his knee knew exactly when he stopped.
“Why do you need to paint them?” he asked.
“Because it would make the kitchen look brighter and updated.”
“Okay, I said within reason.”
“How is that not within reason? I’m not replacing the cabinets. They’ll essentially be the same but better.”
Sam groaned. He was going to hate everything about this. “Fine, but only if I’m allowed to help. And no more risking your life for rugs.”
The confident look on her face made it appear as if she was taking all the victory points. “Deal.”
This could be the worst deal he’d ever made.
Why did it make him feel so good?
Chapter Ten
Luna was unsureabout this whole apartment renovation arrangement as she preferred doing her own thing without opinions from other people. She was eager about the painting part, not about hanging out with her landman, who probably had a lot of unwanted opinions and was also a person she was trying not to become familiar with. Ross would have been her preferred painting partner. Even Mia would have been okay. Even so, she wasn’t about to fight Sam, especially considering she hadn’t planned to paint the cabinets in the first place, nor did she think Sam would agree. But he had, and she was going to take advantage of the situation.
And why not? Cabinets painted, with new hardware added, were going to make her kitchen brand new. Plus, with the white subway tiles she’d installed as a backsplash, it would transform everything. She’d already taken a picture of the “before” and couldn’t wait to share the “after”. The commendations she was receiving on her social media these days were giving her a buzz like no other. #GirlGettinItDone #ApartmentFlip #MakingLandlordsCry
Luna laid protective plastic across the floor and countertops, and was putting blue painter’s tape on the wall when a knock came at the door. She jumped off the stepladder to answer, but the door was having an issue again.
“It’s stuck!” she yelled.
