His phone rang half a dozen times before going to voice mail, which only made her angrier. It wasn’t going to be nearly as satisfying ripping him a new one in a message as it would have been if he’d answered the call.
“You have got to be the sneakiest, most devious, most underhanded jerk I’ve ever known,” she bit out. “After I very, very specifically told you not to buy one more thing for the apartment, you not only go ahead and have the fridge and freezer and pantry fully stocked with stuff I’ll probably never even use - what the hell are herbs de Provence anyway - then you buy me a brand new laptop and a brand new phone? And knowing you and your expensive tastes, I’m just going to guess that both of them were top of the line. You know, to serve your arrogant ass right, I should go ahead and donate both of those things - along with all the food - to this women’s shelter I volunteer at. How about - oh, I don’t know - maybe ask my opinion before you go ahead and buy stuff like that in the future? Actually, forget I just said that. Because you are not to buy me anything else in the future. Got it? Good.”
She stabbed the button on her phone to end the call before tossing it on her brand new sofa. Scarlett glanced at her old phone - which admittedly was a piece of crap - before glaring at the box that held the bright, shiny high tech one, which undoubtedly contained every gadget and fancy app anyone could ask for. Shit, she wasn’t even sure she’d know how to operate something that fancy. Same with the laptop. Provided, that is, if she wound up keeping either of them.
She kept herself occupied for the next couple of hours unpacking and putting away her clothes, toiletries, books, photos, and the other things she’d brought with her. She had left the few pieces of furniture she had managed to accumulate back in the attic room, figuring that if the next occupant wanted to get rid of the stuff it would be up to them to do so. Frankly, she wasn’t sure if her former roommates were even aware she’d moved out. A couple of them were out of town on vacation, two had still been asleep when she had left, and another had looked totally stoned, even at that hour of the morning.
Scarlett took a short break for lunch, eating a healthy portion of the admittedly delicious Thai noodle salad with peanut sauce, before brewing a pot of coffee in her sleek new coffeemaker. She opened the box of black and white cookies that had caught her eye earlier and downed two of them with her coffee.
The combined effect of carbs, caffeine, and sugar filled her with renewed energy as she finished putting away the rest of her things. Even with the new clothes Jackson had bought her in Phoenix, the spacious closet was still barely half full, just like her meagre supply of toiletries and cosmetics had left lots of available storage space in the bathroom. She shrugged, figuring that she had way more now than she’d ever had in her life, including her very own private living quarters for the very first time. Scarlett had rather calmly acknowledged the fact that when you grew up having not much of anything it meant you cherished the few things you did have that much more, as well as learning to be happy with less. She was a minimalist in more ways than one, even if this apartment was a whole lot bigger than what she needed.
Her doorbell rang just then, and she frowned, knowing that she would have had to buzz someone into the building. Figuring that it had to be the building manager or someone from maintenance she opened the door cautiously, only to immediately try and slam it back shut when she saw just who was on the other side.
Jackson managed to wedge his foot between the door and the wall before she could close it. “Hey, I come bearing gifts,” he complained. “Is that any way to treat your first guest?”
She glared at him fiercely, a glare that became a scowl when she glimpsed the bouquet of peach and yellow roses he carried. “I was under the impression that a guest had to be invited,” she informed him cattily. “And since I know for damned sure I didn’t invite you, much less buzz you into what’s supposed to be a very secure building, maybe you ought to tell me exactly why you’re here, Jackson.”
He grinned. “Told you. Housewarming present. As to how I got into the building, um, here.” He held out a key to her somewhat tentatively. “I, uh, actually had a key of my own. Not,” he assured her quickly, “that I ever intended to use it. Michael gave it to me, since technically I’m sort of a co-tenant on the lease. I let myself in last night to bring over all the food and stuff, but never planned to keep it. Here.”
Scarlett snatched the proffered key out of his hand. “Damned right you don’t get to keep it,” she muttered. “And what’s this BS about being a co-tenant? Your slick realtor friend didn’t mention anything about that to me.”
“Of course he didn’t,” agreed Jackson cheerily. “He’s already scared to death of you. No way he was going to break that sort of news to you. But it’s really just a technicality. I’d be happy to explain it to you. Do you think I could, uh, maybe come inside for a little while?”
Grumbling beneath her breath, she jerked the door open and motioned him inside with a little flick of her wrist. He set the bouquet of roses - the same colors as the ones he had sent to her at the resort - on the kitchen counter.
“You should probably put those in some water,” he advised. “Even though it’s nice and cool in here, it’s still a hot day. Wouldn’t want these to wilt right off the bat.”
Still mumbling under her breath, Scarlett began to pull open kitchen cabinets almost violently. “Since you bought all this stuff, any idea if there might be a vase in here somewhere?”
Jackson gave her a sheepish look. “Uh, I think I might have bought a total of three vases, if memory serves me. And I think I saw them in the cabinet above the fridge when I was putting stuff away last night. Here, let me.”
She glowered at his back as he reached up to retrieve a pretty blue glass vase, then filled it with water. But before he could unwrap the roses and place them in the vase, she snatched the bouquet out from under him and proceeded to do the job herself.
“Thanks for the roses,” she muttered ungraciously as she did her best to stick them in the vase, given that floral arranging really wasn’t one of her talents.
He chuckled. “You’re welcome. Sorry I didn’t answer my phone earlier when you called. I was in the shower in my hotel room. I’m staying at the Claremont again in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t,” she retorted as she carried the vase into the dining area, placing it carefully in the center of the table. “Though I suppose I should ask what brings you to town.”
Jackson spread his arms wide. “It’s moving day, isn’t it? Figured you could use some help putting your things away. Not to mention celebrating your new place. Thought I’d take you out to dinner someplace nice. And not that Chinese place you dragged me to that first time.”
“You’re such a snob, Jackson. And what makes you think I don’t already have plans for this evening?” she asked him. “Or that I’d want to go out with you? In case you didn’t get the message, I’m good and pissed off at you right now.”
He rolled his eyes heavenward. “So what else is new? I think you’ve been mad at me for one reason or another since the day we met. As for why you’d want to go out with me - aside from sharing my very charming company, that is, and eating at the nicest restaurant in town - I thought you might be interested in hearing what’s been going on back in Phoenix lately.”