Page 82 of The Roommate

She fairly cackled with glee when she saw Graham. Claire, on the other hand, jerked her head around and glared at him.

“Your mom beat me three times in a row!” She lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes at his mom. “I’m starting to think you’ve played gin rummy before.”

“Never,” his mom said, trying to straighten her expression. “Beginner’s luck.”

Claire pointed at Graham. “You. Should I trust her?”

He barely heard her over the blood rushing in his ears. His heart hadn’t been this full in...well, ever.

He swallowed. “Definitely not.”

Claire grunted and grabbed the deck to shuffle. “Up for another round, Nancy? If that is indeed your real name.”

Graham laughed and shook his head as he walked back out, finding an identical smile on his dad’s face.

“Told you,” his dad said.

Graham joined him at the counter and turned on the faucet to wash his hands, trying to hide the slight tremble in his fingers.

His dad nudged his shoulder. “I like her.”

“Dad.”

“I’m just saying.”

Graham sighed. “I like her, too.”

His mom was asleep by six and his dad was glued to a baseball game on TV, so Graham asked Claire if she wanted to go out for dinner.

Her face lit up and she spent the next half hour researching local restaurants on her phone while he cleaned up and changed. His jaw nearly hit the floor when he walked into his old room and saw her. She’d changed into a casual T-shirt dress he hadn’t seen before, and while there was nothing noteworthy about it, everything about her wearing it drew him in. She was the perfect mix of sexy and comfortable, and he wanted to bottle this feeling in his chest for safekeeping, proof to remind himself when he was old that there was once a woman who made him want to drop to his knees and give her the world.

He made his way to the bed and sat on the edge, tossing his crutches on the mattress. He reached for her and pulled her to stand between his legs. “I changed my mind,” he said to the thin layer of cotton separating his lips from her skin. He ran his hands up her back and nuzzled her ribs with his nose. “I want to stay right here.”

“Hmm.” She sighed. “That sounds nice.”

His body and heart lit up. “Yeah?”

“Yes. But first you have to feed me.”

As if on cue, his own stomach growled. He mimicked the sound in his throat and tilted his head to meet her eyes. “Fine. You win this time.”

“Oh, Graham,” she said with a laugh, “I always win.”

She walked to the dresser and grabbed her purse while he steadied his crutches back on the ground.

“Not when you play cards with my mom, apparently.”

She pinned him with a faux stern glare. “Do you want to get laid tonight or not?”

“Very much so, yes.” He decided against bringing up her earlier rule that they wouldn’t have sex in his parents’ house. Whatever had changed her mind, he wouldn’t question it. “What I meant to say was, Claire, you are forever the winner of all time.”

Flipping her blond hair over her shoulder, she continued out the door. “That’s what I thought.”

As if forgetting something, she stopped short and doubled back, nearly smacking into his chest. She went to the bed and pressed a kiss to his dog’s head. “See you later, Gertie.”

Fuck.

He was so screwed.

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