Alex poured himself a scotch and got her a club soda then followed her into the living room. He came to a stop when he saw the bags on the floor.
“Oh, sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know where else to put them.”
“That’s all right. What’s in them?”
“Not trash, I promise.” She smiled. “My stuff. Clothes, a couple of photo albums, toiletries.”
“I see.” He didn’t really. He’d expected a small suitcase. Enough for maybe a night or two. This looked like much more than a nights worth. Unease stirred in his stomach.
“Don’t worry. I’m not moving in or anything.” She tried to sound flippant, but he heard a note of hurt. “There was an issue with my apartment and I had to move my stuff. No big deal. I’ll move it all tomorrow.”
“It’s not a problem.”
“Really? Because you looked kind of ill when you saw my stuff here. Thought I was moving in for good, huh?” She grinned at him and he smiled back.
“It just caught me by surprise.” And now he felt stupid and a bit of a jerk. “You can put everything in the bedroom.”
“I don’t want to mess up your room. Can I put them in the spare bedroom? My clothes need a wash. I put one load in, but then I got distracted with dinner.”
“No problem. Feel free to use the washing machine. Here, I’ll help you move them.”
He picked up the bags and strode down the hall to the spare bedroom, placing the bags on the bed. He turned and walked back toward the living room, Tara behind him. “What happened at your apartment, was there a leak or something?”
“No, I got evicted.”
He froze and she bumped into him from behind. Turning, he grabbed hold of her arms to steady her.
“You got evicted? Why? What happened?”
“My property manager is a jerk. That’s what happened. He’s hated me ever since I moved in. He wanted me to have sex with him in return for fixing my leaking shower. Needless to say nothing has been fixed since then.”
“That asshole. Give me his name and address, I’ll deal with him.”
Tara patted him on the arm, giving him a big smile. “That’s so sweet.”
He didn’t feel very sweet. He felt murderous. How dare some asshole pressure her like that?
Tara moved around him and took a seat on the sofa. Alex paced in front of her, too restless to sit.
“I mean it. Who is this asshole?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to have to deal with him ever again. I packed up my stuff and left.”
“Wait, that’s not everything you own?” Surely not. She must have stuff in storage.
“It was everything I wanted to take,” she replied. “Don’t worry, though, I won’t be overstaying my welcome. I’ll move into a motel tomorrow.”
He waved that off. “No, you won’t. This is perfect, actually.”
She frowned. “My getting evicted and moving into a motel is perfect?”
“Not that. I was going to talk to you tonight about your living situation.”
“You were?”
“Yes. I want you close to me.” He sat on the coffee table in front of her and leaning over, grabbed her hands. “I don’t like knowing that you live in such a bad area of town. Getting evicted is horrible, but it does mean that you’re free to move. It means that we can be closer and spend more time together.”
She looked dazed. “That’s what you want? For us to be closer?”