Luckily for me, she was so drunk she practically passed out as soon as we were through the door. She was mumbling some crap about Finlay but wasn’t making sense, so I just dumped her on the bed and pulled her shoes off, letting her mumble on until she fell asleep. My dick wasn’t going anywhere near her.
I have deliveries coming all afternoon, so I need to make my way over to Antonia’s to drop my surprise on her right now. I shouldn’t have slept in this late but being in a real bed, even with a shitty mattress, was exactly what I needed. Throwing my clothes on, I grab the pen she left with the letter and scribble,
Good luck with that, but more importantly, GOOD LUCK to the poor son of a bitch you’re talking about.
The lift makes its slow ass ascent up to the fourth floor.
I smell myself again, thankful for Julie being such a slut that she keeps men’s toiletries at her house for her one-nighters to use the morning after.
The doors open and I see the door to apartment 4a open, and a few men in there assembling furniture.
Instead of just opening Antonia’s door and walking in, I knock first and then make my entry. I don’t want the workmen seeing that the door is unlocked. Antonia really needs to get better at locking it.
She’s standing at the table, her caramel hair hanging loosely down her back, her jeans hugging her perky ass perfectly. Finlay is one lucky son of a bitch.
“What’s up, gorgeous,” I say.
She turns, and her smile reaches her eyes. “Gavin, hey.” She walks over to me, giving me a warm hug. It’s then I notice her dining table is covered in books, and a girl is sitting there, reading, paying no attention to the stranger in her space.
She has brown hair, in braids like a twelve-year-old. Her head’s down, apparently engrossed in whatever she’s reading.
Leaning in, I whisper into Antonia’s ear. “You do know when you go to the library you’re allowed to bring the books home, but you’re not supposed to bring the librarian as well, right?” I earn myself a nipple twist that hurts like a bitch. “Ow, fuck!” I rub my sore nipples.
“Mary.” The girl looks up and looks completely surprised to see that someone else is even in the apartment. That book must be good; I bet it’s that mommy porn that’s so popular with women these days.
“This is my friend, Gavin.” Antonia gestures to me, so I hold up a hand in a small wave.
She stands and walks over to where we’re standing. Wow, she dresses like a librarian too.
As she comes closer, her bright blue eyes catch me off guard. They’re stunning. Her whole face is striking, in a sweet, totally not my type way.
“Hello.” She smiles
“British too, huh?”
“Guilty.” She holds her hands up in surrender.
“Gav, this is Mary, my cousin. She’s staying with me for a few weeks.”
“Cool.” I give her a polite nod before giving my attention back to Antonia.
“So, there seems to be new neighbor moving in.”
Her face drops. “Finlay didn’t say anything.” She walks to her door, swings it open, and stands in the corridor separating the three apartments on this floor.
“Huh, that’s strange. Finlay surely would have mentioned something. God, I hope they’re nice,” she says, chewing on her lip.
I smile and rest my arm on her shoulders. “They’re friendly and ridiculously good-looking too. You’ll love them,” I tell her.
Her face tilts to look up at me. “You know them? That doesn’t bode well for me liking them, Gavin.”
I clutch my hand over my heart to fake offense, which gains me an eye roll and a smirk. I dangle my keys in front of her, and she snatches them and gapes open-mouthed at me. “No way!”
I laugh. “Yep. Say hello to your new neighbor.”
“Finlay didn’t say anything.”
I stand behind her, towering her much smaller frame, and squeeze her shoulders. “I asked him not to. I wanted to surprise you.”
She looks over her shoulder at me and bobs up, kissing my cheek. “You did. What’s happening with the loft?”
I sigh. “It had a lot of damage from the flood. I’m going to sell it on. It has only one bedroom too, and my brother’s going to be living with me, so I needed a two bedroom.”
Her eyes flash with curiosity. “Really? I’ve not met any of your family yet, and you’ve been privy to my family’s darkest secrets.” She rolls her eyes.
“Well, now you will.” I grin, but it drops from my face when Gaby’s door opens, and she bounds out, laughing to someone on the phone
“No, I’m leaving now. Okay, Mom. Sure. Bye.”
She ends her call and startles when she sees us standing there.
“Oh, hey guys.” She waves. She’s wearing a cute dress, and flaunting her ring defining the fact she’s Mike’s fiancée. Her fucking rock sparkles at me as if tormenting me on purpose, but fuck you, ring, because I’m happy for her and Mike. I dodged a bullet.
“Say hello to our new neighbor,” Antonia tells her, gesturing over her shoulder at me.
Gaby’s brow furrows. “New neighbor?” She looks to the open door of 4a, and her mouth drops open. “You’re moving in here?”
I nod my confirmation.
“Wow, that’s great. I need to go. I’m meeting Mom for shopping,” she says in a strained voice.
“She still trying to buy forgiveness then?” Antonia asks her, saying it like it is as she always does.
Since Gaby found out her father wasn’t her father, her mom will be pulling out all stops trying to buy her affection back.
Gaby scowls at her. “She just wants to take me shopping, Antonia. It’s normal for moms to do that.” She disappears into the lift with a loud, over the top sigh.
Antonia turns her gaze to me. “So, I just wanted to say with regards to Mary…”
I stop her with a finger to her lips. “Don’t even say it. I learned my lesson with the boundaries, and plus, she’s so not my type anyway.” Antonia’s eyebrows pinch together, but her voice isn’t the one I hear.
“Really? Because I do have a vagina, you know?”
I look around Antonia to see Mary staring at me. Shock mutes me into silence, which makes her leer.
“Yeah, girls talk, and just to be clear, you’re not my type either. Especially what you’re packing in your pants, which is probably cock rot from having too many slags bouncing on and off it.”
I choke on my fucking tongue.
What’s a slag?
Antonia is holding her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh, or she’s just as shocked, I can’t tell. She’s shaking her head as Mary saunters back into the apartment.
“Holy shit!” I bellow at Antonia, who’s now chewing on the side of her mouth. “What the fuck was that?”
“She is my blood, Gavin. I don’t know why you’re so surprised,” Antonia, tells me, trying to hide her laugh.
“Maybe I didn’t expect it for the fact that she looks like a priest’s daughter? But hell, she talks like a trucker!”
She begins to laugh loud then she starts bouncing up and down and crossing her legs. “Oh crap! I need the toilet!” She laughs and runs into her apartment. It’s been so long since I’ve heard her genuine laugh and it gives me hope that maybe she’s healing.