Simmering Love (Slow Burn Book 3) Read online

  2

  Pepper

  “Really, Pepper? May? I told you to quit calling me that.” My cousin, Mason, glares at me as he gives a great sigh of disapproval.

  I grimace. “Sorry, it just slipped out, so I went with it,” I say with an apologetic shrug.

  I babble when I’m nervous. At first, I was nervous because I was by myself, about to go look at a stranger’s couch in his home—and I was serious about my mace. But that transformed into, Holy cow, he’s super hot, and now, my armpits are sweating, so cue the verbal diarrhea. It stems from my childhood. As an only child, I learned to fill the silence around me with chatter. My parents have always been good to me though. My mom is very involved, almost to an irritating point, and my dad thinks I’m going to take over the family business one day. My continuous talking transferred into my older years, and now, I can’t stand it when everything is quiet. I fill it with anything that pops into my brain.

  “How was I supposed to know that Ben knew you?” I ask Mason as he huffs and starts striding toward where Ben is still bent over in laughter.

  I watch the two bicker back and forth for a moment, feeling a little left out before Mason finally acknowledges my presence again.

  “You sure you want this guy’s couch? Never know what could be on it,” he says with a laugh, and I wrinkle my nose.

  Thanks for the visual, May.

  I paste a cheery smile on my face and give an enthusiastic nod. “Yep. I like it. It has character—unlike my old brown leather couch. I hated that thing. No, this couch will look wonderful with my new color scheme—”

  “I’m going to stop you right there, cuz,” Mason says, throwing up a hand.

  I blush.

  Curse this mouth of mine.

  “Hey, what am I going to do about a place to live?” I ask Mason, wrinkling my forehead.

  “I gave the front office a piece of my mind about the unit they tried to give you. But trust me, you don’t want to live there—mold everywhere. The second unit they showed me was the same. They need to be shut down. Sorry I can’t get you another place yet, but until then, you can move in with Jules and Ginny and me while you look.”

  “Nope. I’m not moving in with you and your new wife and baby. I’m a strong woman, and I can solve my problems.” I put my hands on my hips to drive my point home.

  Come hell or high water, I want to fix this issue on my own.

  I tap my foot on the ground as I think, and I’m very aware of both guys shifting nearby. I can feel the flush rising up my neck, as a new plan doesn’t immediately come to me.

  “Ben, can you hold on to the couch for a bit longer until I figure out what I’m going to do?” I turn to the guy who is staring at me.

  He promptly jerks his eyes to the side as if he wasn’t just staring a hole through my body, and I can feel my flush get deeper. But this time, it’s not from embarrassment. My gaze drifts along his face while he’s not looking at me, noting the dark eyebrows and the way one piece of hair flops on his forehead in a charming, boyish way, as if no amount of brushing or water will get it to lay right. I want to put my hand on his arm and bat my lashes like I did with the boys back home, but that won’t help me establish my strong, independent persona. No, I need to be professional about this.

  “Yeah, sure.” His deep voice brings me out of my thoughts.

  I beam at him. “Perfect. Now, where is a nice hotel around here? I’ll stay there until I figure it out,” I say to Mason.

  He frowns. “Pep, Aunt Sophie would kill me if she knew I stuck you in a hotel instead of you staying at my place. I can’t believe she didn’t scout out the finest apartment around for you.”

  I color deeper at his words and grimace. I watch his mouth curl up in a grin as he looks at me, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

  “Aunt Sophie didn’t pick the apartment, did she?” At my head shake, Mason bursts out in laughter again. “Damn, Pep. You are helpless, you know that?”

  I bristle at his words, and anger sweeps through my body. This is exactly what I didn’t want. To feel like the incapable child that I am.

  I can’t seem to get away from it, but now, no one knows me here, and I love it. I have always lived in the spotlight as a Stratten, and I’m tired of it. Starting over sounded wonderful, so when I was presented with the opportunity to go to grad school here in Nashville, where my cousin Mason and his family live, I jumped on the chance. It took some groveling on my part to get my parents to agree, but here I am. Proving everyone right that I can’t make it on my own without help.

  Ben clears his throat and looks a little constipated, his gaze darting between Mason and me as he speaks up, “I have an extra bedroom you can use until you find something else.” He doesn’t look either of us in the eye.

  In the silence that follows, I could hear a pin drop before my brain catches up with what he said.

  This is perfect. This solves everything.

  “Absolutely not,” Mason says, crossing his arms.

  My heart drops. “But, May—”

  “Mason,” he says with a growl.

  “But, Mason, this is a great solution. Now, I won’t be living by myself. I’ll have a big, strong guy to protect me.” I smile back at Ben and grip his forearm in a squeeze as I try to reason with my cousin. I don’t mention how we all know this is temporary.

  Damn, that’s an arm right there.

  Ben is looking everywhere but at us as we argue back and forth.

  Without thinking, I fling myself forward into Ben’s arms and let out an attractive screech. “You mean it? This is great. Thank you, thank you. I’ll find something else as soon as possible. And don’t worry; I’ll pay whatever rent I need to,” I say before stepping back and grinning at him as I watch him turn a darker shade of red.

  Mason is staring at him, his mouth open at the scene he just witnessed. “Aunt Sophie will kill me when she finds out I’ve let you shack up with one of my friends,” he says.

  “Whoa. No one said anything about shacking up,” Ben says, throwing his arms up, a look of surprise crossing his face.

  I furrow my brow. “Ben is right; no one is shacking up. This is merely a friend helping out another friend, right, Ben?”

  “Yeah, I mean, I have the room, and it would help me out with the rent. I don’t mind giving you a place for a bit.”

  “See, it’s temporary, Mason.” I give both guys a winning smile and thank all of my beauty pageant days for preparing me for this diplomatic moment in my life.

  Mason lets out a groan that tells me I’m wearing him down, and I grin wider.

  “Great. Now that that’s settled, looks like I’ll be keeping the couch after all.” I look at Ben and then squint.

  Most of my stuff is in my car. I dropped off the rest at Mason’s earlier, so I’ll just have to run over to his place and get it, but this is exciting. I’ve gained a roommate, and I’m thrilled at the prospect of having someone around to talk to. It will be an adjustment since I’m used to being alone, but I can’t say I’m mad about it.

  “Grab your keys, Ben. Looks like you’re helping us haul stuff over for your new roomie,” Mason says.

  I flinch slightly. “Hey, don’t tell Mom about this, okay?” I nudge Mason’s side a little.

  He shoots a scowl at me. “I won’t. But only because I don’t want to hear the hour-long ass-chewing she would give me for letting her perfect princess room with a person of the male gender. You are pushing the limits, you know?”

  Part of me is enjoying the rebel side that’s sneaking out, but the other part of me knows that I’m walking a thin line with my parents.

  “Your mom sounds nice,” Ben says, filling the silence, and it strikes me as a really funny comment.

  I bend over, wheezing as I giggle, not able to catch my breath as both guys stare at me.

  “Nice isn’t how I’d describe her,” Mason mutters.

  I glare at him. “She’s not mean, just a little overbearing when it comes to her pla
ns for me. Don’t worry; I’ll take care of Mom, just leave it all to me.”

  “That’s exactly what I shouldn’t do,” Mason says, crossing his arms before rolling his eyes and huffing. “Come on. Let’s go get your stuff.”

  3

  Ben

  Two hours later, we have all of Pepper’s stuff moved into the apartment, and I swear she hasn’t stopped talking the entire time. I’m starting to rethink this whole roomie situation, but it looks like my dick got ahead of my brain.

  Why do I never stop and think before I offer a solution?

  I’m not usually a big talker, which is good because Pepper has enough words to fill the silence that I’m normally sitting in. I haven’t always been used to the silence. I had a roommate who would talk to me—before everything blew up. Sometimes, I feel like it was a blessing, and then other times, I’m hit with a sense of foreboding, as if I could have done more to fix the problem. That’s what I’ve always been—the fixer—but I’ve grown tired of it. Though I guess, in a sense, I’m a fixer for Pepper. I just solved her problem for her. But I should refuse to fix any more. I’ll try to just sit back and watch everything go up in flames. Which is hard for me as a firefighter.

  “That’s the last of it,” Pepper says, rubbing her hands together to dust them off. She glances around the room, where boxes spill over with everything from picture frames to clothes to bathroom accessories.

  Maybe I should have told her there is only one bathroom in between our rooms and all of that stuff isn’t going to fit.

  “All right, well, I promised Jules I’d be back for dinner, so I’m going to split,” Mason says, inching toward the door and giving me an apologetic look.

  I scowl at him to let him know I see through his game.

  “Thank you, May,” Pepper says, launching herself against him and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Best cousin ever.” She plants a kiss on his cheek and then steps back.

  This girl doesn’t do anything small. She’s balls to the wall at all times. I almost have whiplash, watching her bound from one part of the apartment to the next as she unloads boxes.

  Mason leaves, and I stand there with my arms crossed, surveying the mess that sits in my living room and the kitchen.

  “Okay, where is my bathroom?” Pepper asks as she comes to a stop in the hallway.

  “Right there,” I say, pointing to the door right past mine in the hallway as I try to keep my face serious.

  “Isn’t that your bathroom?” She tilts her head to the side, and fuck me if it isn’t adorable.

  “Yep,” I say with a nod.

  She places her hands on her hips and glares at me. “There’s only one bathroom?”

  “Yep.”

  “Can you say anything other than yep?” She puts her hands up to grasp her hair and pull it into a ponytail, leaving that little slice of heaven at the band of her shorts exposed for my eyes to feast on. Then, she places her hands back on her hips. “Well?”

  “Yeeeuuup,” I say with a smile, jerking my eyes back to her face.

  She growls, “Fine, we can share. It will work out. Want to help me drag these boxes here into my room? I’m just going to sleep on the mattress until I can get my bed frame put together. Oh, no, not that box; it’s for the kitchen; yes, that one right there.” Her sentences all run together as she directs me with each box.

  I don’t speak, only do what she says. I’m ready to just collapse by the time everything is where she wants it. She seems to have an endless amount of energy, and I can only gape at her as she continues running around, putting stuff away.

  “All right, is that everything?” I ask, fingers crossing that she says yes.

  “Oh, hmm. Yes, I think so. We can be done for the night. Have you eaten? Let me order something to eat. What takeout do you like?”

  “Um … Chinese?”

  “Perfect. I love Chinese. Let me see …” She trails off as she opens her phone and looks up the nearest place that delivers.

  I take the time to stare at her. This girl is completely different than me, an enigma but so fascinating. I can’t put my finger on what draws me to her, but there is an attraction, which is bad news for me. I need to keep this relationship directly in the friend department and not screw this up, considering she’s my coworker’s little cousin.

  “Earth to Benjamin.” Pepper’s voice brings me back to the present.

  I blink a few times before I see her frowning face looming in front of me. Well, not actually directly in front because I’m a foot taller than her, but she’s standing there, waving her arms.

  “What?”

  “Can I call you Benjamin? Is that even your name? Or did your parents just go straight for the nickname and name you Ben?” she prattles on.

  I furrow my brow in confusion.

  Weren’t we just talking about food?

  “Uh, yeah, my full name is Benjamin, if you want to use it,” I say, shoving my hands in my pockets.

  “I like it,” she says with a smile. “You look like a Benjamin. Now, I ordered three different things, so hopefully, you like one of them. You didn’t exactly answer any of my questions. My favorite is General Tso’s chicken, but everyone makes it different, so this will be a trial to see if it’s the kind I like—oh my gosh, you have a dog?” Her excited squeal cuts off the paragraph of words exiting her mouth as she picks up a picture sitting on my end table beside the couch that I was trying to get rid of.

  “Oh, yeah, that’s Danger. He’s with my parents, but I’m picking him up this weekend. He usually stays here with me.” I gesture to the dog bowls shoved in the corner, next to my entertainment center.

  “Danger? What a funny name. He’s so tiny,” she exclaims, still gazing at the picture. “I never had a pet, growing up.” She frowns before setting the picture back down and turning toward me, clasping her hands together. She bounces on her feet with a grin. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

  “He’s a rescue I got about three years ago. I think he’s got some dachshund in him,” I say, grinning.

  “Where do your parents live?” Pepper asks.

  “Oh, here. About twenty minutes away. I grew up in Arkansas until I was twelve, and then my dad was transferred here with his job, so I consider myself a Nashville native.”

  Pepper sits down on the couch and tucks her legs underneath her, leaning on one of the pillows as she nods. “And you work with Mason at the station?”

  “Yep,” I say, nodding, and she grins.

  “A man of few words,” she says, and I rock back and forth on my feet, a little uncomfortable with being called out. “That’s okay. I’ve been told I talk a lot.”

  I don’t know whether I should agree with her or tell her that she doesn’t. So, I just end up grunting like a Neanderthal, feeling a little ridiculous.

  “Are you only a firefighter?”

  “No, I do construction work with a friend too.”

  “And you like doing that?”

  “It’s okay. I enjoy the firefighting more. I like helping people. But the construction is what really pays the bills. I’d like to go back to school though.”

  “Oh? For what?” Pepper asks.

  I flush. I don’t know why I told her that. I guess all her talking is rubbing off on me.

  “I’d like to eventually get a degree in some sort of therapy, but I’d have to go back and get my master’s to be licensed.”

  “I think that’s really neat,” she says, smiling.

  I return the smile. I haven’t told many people about that particular dream of mine.

  Pepper continues to carry the conversation until I’m saved by the bell—er, knock—as the takeout arrives. I breathe a sigh of relief that the attention isn’t on me anymore.

  We can’t sit at the table since it’s covered with boxes, so we tuck into the couch, and we shovel food in our mouths, the apartment silent for the first time since Pepper arrived. I never would have dreamed this morning that I would have a roommate by the end of the
day, but here I am. Utterly fucked since I kinda, sorta, maybe think my roommate is hot as sin and just as tempting.

  Just roommates, I remind myself.

  “W’nna t’n the TV ’n?” comes from beside me.

  I whip my head around, trying to remember the signs of a stroke as I stare at Pepper.

  “What?” I watch as she swallows the large bite she was chewing and wipes her mouth with a napkin.

  God, those lips. I can feel my pupils dilate to take it all in.

  “Want to turn the TV on?” She points toward the entertainment center with her spoon as she grins at me.

  A small piece of rice clings to her chin where she missed wiping it away with the napkin. Without thinking, I lean forward and wipe it off with my thumb, and then we both freeze.

  “Sorry,” I say quickly, looking away as I sit back against the couch before leaping to my feet like a crazed animal, searching for the remote.

  Anything to avoid looking at Pepper. She has to think I’m a creep.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” I hear her voice say somewhere in the background, but I’m focused on finding the damn remote.

  Why is it never where I think I left it?

  “The remote is over here, if that’s what you’re looking for,” Pepper says with a laugh.

  I hear the familiar sound of the TV switching on, and I sit back down, breathing heavily like I might pass out from whatever weird feeling just clenched me to my core.

  “What do you like to watch? I have a strange fascination with doctor shows—you know, the ones that follow a doctor who helps people with medical problems. I’ll search for one of those … unless you hate those kinds of shows. It’s your apartment; you can pick if you want.” She holds the remote out to me with a smile, but I don’t take it.

  “It’s your apartment now too. You can pick,” I say and shovel another forkful of rice in my mouth.

  Truth is, I always spent time in front of this TV with my brother, watching movies or playing games. To watch it with Pepper now feels foreign, like I’m not the same person. This is probably the first time it’s been on in a month.