Technically it wasn’t a lie. Because Brad and I hadn’t officially broken up. Although I was taking his ghosting me as confirmation that our on-again, off-again relationship was finally dead and buried.

We arrived at the apartment building and Frederica parked right in front of it. “There’s a parking garage,” she told me. “But we’re just running in and out today. I don’t know if you’re familiar with this part of town, but we’re only ten minutes away from your school.”

I was glad to hear it was so close. We got out of the car and headed for the front door.

Once we entered the building, I realized that Tyler had money. Not just doctor or lawyer money, but a lot of money.

A fact that was reconfirmed when the doorman took us up to the penthouse. I let out a sigh of comfort when we stepped inside. This felt familiar. A few months ago this place wouldn’t have impressed me. I probably would have thought of it as being cozy or cute. But now it seemed practically palatial. The entire living area was surrounded by windows that looked out over the city. I guessed it would be stunning at night. There was a large balcony, where I could see myself having my morning coffee, watching the sun rise. I turned to see the kitchen, and even though it had top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances and quartz countertops, it looked very lived in. The sink was full of dirty dishes and there were a dozen different things scattered over the various countertops. It didn’t seem like Tyler was a neat freak.

Clearly no one had died here recently, and it had not been invaded by any kind of insect. That was enough to make it the winner.

“What do you think?” Frederica asked once the doorman had left us alone.

“It’s fantastic.”

“Let’s go see the rest of it,” she said. We found the guest bedroom and I sat on the edge of the queen-size bed, bouncing up and down a little to test the comfort level. Definitely better than Shay’s couch.

The room had been decorated in a mixture of blues and grays that I found soothing. I could easily live in this room. My aunt was saying something about hand-scraped hardwoods and Italian marble, but I ran over to check out the large walk-in closet. I practically wept with joy at the thought of not having to live out of my suitcases any longer.

It was in that moment that I realized I would do whatever I had to do to become Tyler’s roommate. He wanted me to take care of his dog? I’d turn into Dr. Dolittle. He needed a clean home? Then I’d be . . . Marie Kondo? No, that was organizational stuff. Mary Poppins? She was the kid expert. Martha Stewart? More on the entertaining side of things.

An image and a name flashed in my mind. Mr. Clean! I would be Mr. / Dr. Clean-Dolittle. Practically perfect in every way.

“Isn’t this wonderful?” Frederica asked me, clearly sensing how much I’d been won over, given her victorious and smug smile.

“I have to live here. I love it.”

The elevator doors opened and closed and I heard a man say, “Pidge! I’m home! Where are you, girl?”

That had to be Tyler. And of course his voice was sexy, too. All deep and masculine and shiver inducing. I heard the skittering of claws on the floors and caught a glimpse of a golden, furry blur go racing by. I half wanted to run and jump into his arms, too.

Frederica grabbed my arm. “Come on, I can’t wait to introduce you to Tyler.”

The last time my heart had beaten this hard and my stomach fluttered this hard had been the first day of school with my very own class. When I was at the beginning of something special and important, knowing my life was never going to be the same again.

I just knew that the same was true here. Standing at a precipice, everything was about to change.

Time to meet Tyler Roth.

CHAPTER TWO

I stepped out into the hallway and made eye contact with him. The thumping and fluttering increased. Frederica had not lied. Tyler was a hundred times better looking in real life and I still didn’t understand how that was possible. It also allowed me to notice some things that the picture hadn’t revealed. Like how tall and broad he was. Lean and athletic, like a professional swimmer.

Yum.

“Close your mouth, sweetheart, before you catch some flies,” my aunt murmured as she brushed past me. I obediently snapped my jaw shut.

“Hellooo!” she called out, waving her arm as she walked toward Tyler. “So good to see you again!” She reached up and planted a kiss on his left cheek and I’d never been so deeply jealous of her, ever.

“Hello again, Mrs. Johnson.”

She slapped him gently on his upper arm. “Oh, stop that. I told you to call me Frederica.” She was shamelessly flirting with him while I stood in the hallway like a mannequin. I cleared my throat, intending to speak but not quite able to.

As if that reminded my aunt that I was in the room, she turned toward me. “This is Madison. Like I said in my text, I think she’d be the perfect person to live in your spare room.”

Part of me was irritated that I hadn’t been allowed to even introduce myself. Once again, someone in my family was speaking for me. To be fair, my throat felt like it was stopped up by a big ice block and speech seemed highly improbable.

He came over, hand extended. “Nice to meet you, Madison. I’m Tyler.”

When he said my name, every nerve ending inside me sparked to life. The picture also hadn’t prepared me for how good he smelled. With all my senses in overload, I briefly wondered what would happen when I touched him. I reached for his proffered hand, and when my hand made contact with his, those same nerve endings exploded into roaring fireworks. My knees might have buckled slightly.

I nodded silently at him, wanting to say it was nice to meet him, too. Talking would be good but what I needed to do in that moment was let go of his hand before I seemed creepy.

It was harder than I would have thought, but I finally managed it.

“Madison is a second-grade teacher,” Frederica said, interrupting my awkward moment. My annoyance was gone, and I was just thankful that she could talk for me. Or I was, up until the moment she said, “She’s very responsible and tidy and she just loves animals.”

I raised my eyebrows at her. Two of those things were untrue. I might have been responsible, but since moving out of my parents’ home I had quickly discovered that I was kind of a slob. I’d never noticed it earlier because there was always someone picking up after me.

Animals had not been allowed in my home growing up. I’d begged for a kitten, but my father had said animals were for working. Our ranch had all sorts of horses and goats and chickens, but we were always too busy to go there.

“Good to know.” He nodded.

“She also loves your apartment. How could she not? It is divine,” Frederica added, running her hands along the books on one of his bookshelves. She stopped at one and pulled it out. “Is this a photo album? Do you mind?”

“Uh, no. Go ahead.”

Well, what else could he say? No, creepy older woman with an inappropriate crush on me, put that back?

“Aw, look at you as a baby. So sweet,” she said. Lacking the strength to intervene and not wanting to participate in her invasiveness, I stayed put. Even though I desperately wanted to stand next to her and see all the pictures of him. I bet he was adorable.

She went on: “Oh, what happened here?”