Kianna Alexander - A Love Like This

“Hi, Hadley. It’s Devon.”

Her heart leaped into her throat the moment she heard his voice. He didn’t need to identify himself; there was no mistaking the sexy baritone she often heard whispering to her in her dreams at night. It took a few seconds to find her voice, and when she did, her words tumbled out in a rush. “Devon, hi. How are you? Is everything okay with your rental unit?”

He chuckled. “Everything’s fine, I just need a little bit of help. I knew you were the right person to call.”

She smiled, wrapping the spiral telephone cord around her index finger like a love-struck teenager as she replied, “I sure am. What can I do for you?”

“I went to the doctor to have my back checked out, and it turns out I need to avoid going up and down stairs.”

Hadley’s mind automatically swung into problem-solving mode. Flipping open the property book on her desk, she leafed through the pages. “We could move you, but I don’t think we have any single-story units available until after the New Year.”

“That’s fine. I love this place, and I don’t really want to move out of it, anyway.”

Her brow creased into a frown. “So, what would you like to do? I certainly don’t want you going against the doctor’s orders.”

“Oh, I won’t. I have no desire for my back to get any worse.”

“How can I help, then?”

“Could you possibly spare a staff member to come over here and rearrange things for me so I don’t have to use the second floor?”

It was an unexpected request, but it confirmed her suspicions that he hadn’t been telling her the full story about his back. She thought about the layout of the unit for a moment. What he’d asked for seemed doable. Since there was a bedroom and a three-piece bath on the first floor, the arrangement would work fine. “Sure, I’ll send someone right over. They will be there within the hour, in fact.”

“Great.” The tone of his voice indicated he was smiling. “Thanks a lot, Hadley. I really appreciate it.”

“You know how much we value your business. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

“Perfect. Thanks again.” And he disconnected the call.

Unraveling her fingertips from the cord, Hadley sighed. Then she returned the receiver to the cradle and sat back in her chair, grinning. An opportunity had presented itself, and she wasn’t about to miss it. She’d promised to send someone over to help him, and she would. She simply hadn’t said whom.

I have the perfect staffer in mind to take care of Devon.

Me.

* * *

Devon had just bent to grab a soda from the bottom of the refrigerator when he heard the knock at the door. He shut the fridge, with his ginger ale in hand, and went to answer it. Hadley wasn’t kidding about getting someone over here quickly. It had only been about a half hour since he’d put in the call to the office.

He strolled to the door, looking out the bay window as he passed it. Noting the MHI company car sitting in the driveway, he didn’t bother to check the peephole before swinging the door open.

He’d expected to find some guy in the all-blue MHI uniform, ready to do his bidding.

Instead, as the door opened, he came face-to-face with Hadley. She stood on the porch, wearing a long-sleeved blue MHI T-shirt, a pair of dark skinny jeans, high-top sneakers and the most alluring smile he’d ever seen.

He’d been hanging around the town house in a loose tank and athletic shorts and suddenly felt very aware of his attire. Apparently, Hadley shared that awareness, because he saw her eyes rake over his body. Then her gaze lifted to meet his.

“Hi, Devon.”

His name on her lips sounded almost musical. “Hi, Hadley. I thought you were sending someone over.”

She shrugged, as if she did this sort of thing all the time. “Everyone else was either out on a job or had already gone home by the time you called. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.” Her lashes fluttered as she gazed up at him.

He sensed the double meaning in her words. He smiled, folding his arms over his chest. “So, you’re sure you’ll be able to move everything I need to be rearranged?”

She laughed, a tinkling sound reminiscent of ice cubes falling into a glass. Bending her arms at the elbows in a show of strength, she quipped, “Kickboxing, remember? I got it. Now, are you gonna let me come in?”

Shaking his head, he stepped aside to allow her entry. Once she’d crossed the threshold, he closed the door behind her and locked it.

She strode to the center of the living room, near the coffee table, and turned his way. Cracking her knuckles, she asked, “What do you need me to do, Devon?”

The more he watched her move—and considered the way her petite, shapely figure looked even in casual clothing—the more he thought about asking her to do things that would probably be very bad for his back. Shaking those thoughts away, he gestured to the stairs that led to the second floor. “First, I need all my clothes and toiletries moved from the master upstairs into the downstairs bedroom.”

“No problem.” She crossed the room and jogged up the stairs.

He watched her go, again appreciating the view of her ample backside as she climbed the steps. He took a deep breath, wondering how he would keep his thoughts on the task at hand and off her body. The attraction crackling between them was palpable, and part of him knew it had been there for at least the past three years. It was possible she’d been attracted to him before that, and that he’d simply been too wrapped up in his grief over losing Natalie to notice.

Now, as the passage of time lightened the burden of the loss, he saw Hadley in a new light. But the fact remained: she was Campbell Monroe’s baby sister. Not to mention their oldest sibling, Savion. Since Savion had been two years ahead of Devon and Campbell in school, Devon didn’t really know him that well. Still, every interaction he’d ever had with Savion painted him a serious, exacting man who’d likely be content with his baby sister staying single forever.

She returned about fifteen minutes later, descending the stairs with his suitcase in one hand and his toiletry bag in the other. “I went through the closet and the dresser, folded all your stuff and put it in here. Then I cleared everything around the bathroom sink and put it in the toiletry bag.” She moved toward him, extending the bags in his direction. “Look through it and make sure I got everything. Then I’ll help you set it all up downstairs.”

He took his bags to the window seat, where he opened them and inspected the contents as she stood nearby, waiting. “There are only two things missing. My sneakers and my slippers—they’re under the bed.”

“Got it.” She dashed up the stairs again, returning with the shoes. “Is that everything?”

He nodded, impressed with her eagerness to help. “Yes, thank you.”

She smiled again, the corners of her glossy pink lips upturned. “I was just thinking, you’ll need the linens from the closet upstairs, too. Why don’t you go ahead and start putting your things in the downstairs bedroom, and I’ll move the linens to the downstairs closet?”

“Sounds good.” He watched her walk away again, then took his bags into the downstairs bedroom. The room was well appointed, though not as much as the master upstairs. The decor was all done in varying shades of blue, from the dark carpet to the textured medium-blue wallpaper and the softer blues echoed in the bedding. It would meet his needs nicely. The only downfall was the queen-size bed. He preferred the king upstairs, due to his height. But for the sake of his back, he would manage fine with the queen.

He went around the room, putting away his clothes again, the same way he had on the day he’d arrived. Once he’d done that and slid his empty suitcase into the closet, he grabbed his toiletry bag from the bed and headed for the bathroom.