Harlequin Romance March 2021 Box Set Cara Colter (the mitten read aloud TXT) 📖

if this little guy belongs to you? I’m staying in the apartment upstairs and—’

‘No, it doesn’t.’ The man glared at her. ‘You got something against pets?’

‘Of course not. It’s just—’

But she found herself talking to the door that had been closed in her face.

‘Did I hear Claude say you’ve got something against pets?’ demanded the occupant of the other apartment on this floor.

‘No, I—’

‘Wanna kick me out ’cos I have a cat?’

She stilled. ‘Do you know who I am?’

‘We all know who you are.’ And the woman shut the door in her face too.

She continued down to the next floor. The woman who hadn’t returned her greeting earlier didn’t even answer the door, though Callie could’ve sworn she was at home. She turned to find the door of the apartment opposite open, and a man glaring at her.

‘Not my dog,’ he growled.

‘How did you—?’

‘Heard you upstairs.’

Were the walls that thin around here?

‘You coming down here to tell me you’re increasing the rent?’

She moistened dry lips. ‘Nope.’

‘You expect me to believe that?’

Her spine stiffened. ‘Yes.’

‘Well, I don’t. And don’t go disturbing Jilly in Number One. She works nights and needs her rest.’

‘Right. Thank you. I—’ She rolled her eyes. ‘And I’m talking to another door.’

By the time she reached the basement apartment she was feeling ragged. She raised her hand and knocked, not sure if she hoped to find the resident at home or not. A firm tread sounded.

She pushed her shoulders back. No matter how glaring and bad-tempered this person might be, she would not turn tail and run. She lifted her chin, determined to give as good as she got.

The door opened, she hiked up her gaze…and her jaw dropped.

‘Owen!’

* * *

Callie Nicholls stood on his doorstep, and at the sight of her something low down in Owen’s gut sprang to life. He tried to stamp it out, exterminate it. For pity’s sake, if he concentrated hard enough he would conquer the inconvenient heat flooding his veins. He just had to try harder.

A glance at her face, though, and all that was forgotten. The corners of her mouth drooped, her shoulders were hunched up towards her ears, and tiny lines fanned out from her eyes. She looked dragged down, worn thin…exhausted.

‘What’s up?’

‘You really don’t want to know…’ The bitter edge to her words made him stiffen. ‘But maybe you can answer a few questions for me.’

‘Right, hit me with them.’ He’d meant the words to sound rallying, encouraging. Instead they’d emerged clipped—like a command—making him wince internally.

Get a new hotel.

Treat your grandmother with respect.

Tell me your questions.

Way to woo a girl, Owen.

Not that he had any interest in wooing this girl. He had no interest in wooing any girl. He might find her attractive, but he wasn’t making a play for her.

She stuck out a hip and his mouth dried.

‘One: why does everyone in this building hate me?’

Ah.

‘Two: does this dog belong to you?’

He glanced at the little dog cradled in her arms, but before he could answer she powered on.

‘Three: why didn’t you tell me you lived in the basement apartment of the block I’ve inherited? What’s the big secret?’

It took all his strength not to fidget.

‘And four,’ she continued after a short pause, ‘are you going to invite me in?’

In answer to her last question he pushed the door open wider and waved her in. ‘But before you put the dog down, let me close my office door.’

His office was the first room off the hallway that led to the rest of the apartment, and the door stood wide open. He’d been working when she’d knocked.

Her eyes widened when she glanced past him and caught sight of his computer equipment. ‘You have some fancy-schmancy computer gear there, Owen.’ She ruffled the dog’s ears. ‘And we sure as heck don’t want you getting in there and causing havoc, Barney.’

‘Most of the equipment belongs to my company.’

‘The company you work for?’

‘Yep.’

He omitted the salient fact that he owned the company. He wasn’t ready to trust her. He tried telling himself that who he was and what he did was no concern of hers, but it didn’t ring true. Whatever. It had no bearing on their current conversation.

‘You can put Barney down now. It should be safe.’

Her lips twitched. ‘Fingers crossed—but I refuse to give any guarantees. Barney and I aren’t all that well acquainted yet.’

They followed the little dog as he trotted down the hallway and into the open-plan living room.

‘Oh!’ Callie pulled up short when she saw it. ‘I thought it’d be dark and poky down here, but it’s…’

‘Not?’ he finished for her, moving towards the fridge.

‘It’s amazing.’

It was. Light flooded into the room from the French doors that led outside to a small private courtyard. The living room walls were painted a warm cream, and the pale furniture reflected back the light, making the room appear airy and spacious. He could afford something much grander these days, but he didn’t want grander. Not at the moment.

‘Beer?’ he said.

‘Beer?’

She swung from surveying a picture on his wall, her eyes widening and her lips curving in a way that chased away all the shadows.

Don’t focus on the lips.

‘Yes, please!’

Her enthusiasm made him grin. ‘I forgot. Aussies and beer go hand in hand, don’t they? Or is that an outdated cliché?’

‘Nope, it’s pretty much a national standard. Trying American beer is on my list of must-dos while I’m here.’

‘If it’s not up to scratch I can point you towards a couple of local liquor stores that probably stock Australian beer.’

She stared at him, and then she smiled, and for a moment the world tilted.

‘That’s kind of you.’ She hiked herself up to sit on one of the stools at his breakfast bar.

He handed her a beer. And then remembered his manners. ‘Glass?’

She shook her head, glancing back behind her to see the dog lay sprawled in a patch of sun, completely at ease. ‘This little guy has a habit of making himself at home wherever he is. So…?’

She turned back,