All You Can Handle (Moments In Maplesville Book 5) (4 page)

The front door opened and Sonny lost her ability to breathe.

“Madison?”

“Ian?”

For a second she was certain Candid Camera would jump from behind the huge azalea bush on the right side of the porch.

This could
not
be happening
.

“What are you doing here?” Ian asked, stepping out onto the porch.

Sonny held up her phone. “Answering an ad from Craigslist. Yesterday I set up an appointment with someone named Vanessa Chauvin to see the garage apartment at this address.”

His amber-green eyes went wide. “Vanessa couldn’t make it, so I told her I’d show the apartment myself.”

“
You
own the apartment?”

“You’re the person who answered the ad? Vanessa said the renter’s name was Sonny.”

“Yes.
I’m
Sonny. That’s my nickname. There are only a few people who call me Madison anymore.”

Ian took a step back, as if he’d had the wind knocked out of him a second time. “So, you pulled the old fake name trick last night, huh?”

“I didn’t give you a fake name. Madison
is
my name, but I go by Sonny.”

He ran his hand over his head and down his face, then released an uneasy laugh. “This is crazy,” he said. “You’re here to see the apartment.”

God, this really was happening.

Sonny’s first instinct was to do an about-face and hightail it off of the porch, but she wanted this apartment. She
needed
this apartment.

They were adults. They would just have to deal.

“Look, Ian, this doesn’t have to be weird. We can just pretend last night never happened and start fresh.”

She held out her hand.

His eyes traveled from her hand up to her eyes, and a current of desire flashed through her. Less than twelve hours ago those ridiculously sexy eyes had stared at her, drenched in desire as his rock hard body penetrated her over and over again. Pretending last night didn’t happen was an exercise in futility, but one she was willing to endure if it meant getting this apartment.

“You really think that’s possible?” he asked. “Pretending last night never happened?”

“It is if we try hard enough.”

With a subtle huff of laughter, Ian finally clasped her outstretched hand. Electricity pulsed between them. He felt it, too. Sonny could tell by the way he flexed his fingers once he released her hand, as if he was trying to shake off the effects of their skin meeting again.

Yeah, pretending last night never happened probably wouldn’t work.

“Of course, if we can avoid being seen by the neighbors I guess we can occasionally give in to the temptation of sneaking into each other’s rooms at night,” Sonny said with a nervous laugh.

Instead of answering with the suggestive reply she anticipated, Ian remained silent. His brow furrowed slightly.

Okay. Apparently
someone
couldn’t take a joke
.

Sonny cleared her throat. “Can I see the apartment?”

Several heartbeats passed before he nodded and took a step back.

“Yeah, sure. Of course.” He gestured for her to enter the house ahead of him. “Let me just get the key.”

She stepped into the brief foyer that led into an open living room and dining room area, separated by three white columns. The house was beautiful. A bit messy, with several pairs of tennis shoes kicked off haphazardly next to the sofa, magazines scattered on the end table, and a jacket tossed in a chair. But it was tastefully decorated and had the kind of live-in feel that the cavernous mansion she’d grown up in could never attain.

Ian appeared in the short hallway, keys dangling from his finger, and motioned for her to follow him. “Let’s go through the kitchen. It’s easier to get to the garage.”

Sonny swallowed her envious sigh as she followed him through the kitchen. The massive amount of counter space was a pastry chef’s wet dream. The center island boasted a single sink with a towering gooseneck faucet. Cast-iron pots and pans hung from a rack above it. She wondered if they were just for show or if Ian actually cooked.

Sonny was suddenly struck by the absurdity of this entire situation. She knew how his eyes fluttered closed when he orgasmed, but she didn’t know if he liked to cook.

Why did she think a one-night stand wouldn’t be a big deal?

She decided to cut herself some slack. She could not possibly have guessed that the one guy in Maplesville whom she’d allowed herself to sleep with would turn out to be her potential landlord. She knew this town was small but she couldn’t have ever anticipated it being
this
small.

Ian led her across the driveway to the garage, which they entered through a side door. Instead of a car, there were at least a half-dozen motorcycles occupying the space. Two were covered with light brown tarps. Several others lay on their sides, parts strewn about them on the garage floor. The last one—a huge, gleaming machine of polished black and chrome—sat uncovered in the middle of the space.

“You like bikes,” Sonny observed.

Ian looked over his shoulder at the collection of motorcycles. “Yeah,” was all he said.

She stopped short, her spine stiffening with affront.

She didn’t know what to make of his terse responses. It was as if he’d become an entirely different person after her off-hand suggestion about sneaking into each other’s rooms. Maybe she should clarify that it was just a joke?

Okay, so maybe there’d been a touch of truth to it when she’d suggested it, but Sonny would never admit to that now. Not with the way he’d reacted. This aloof, unapproachable person he’d turned into following her joke was so different from the guy she’d met last night.

He started up the interior steps leading to the apartment, but Sonny stopped him, grabbing his wrist. He looked down at where she held him. She waited until his eyes met hers again before she spoke.

“Ian, let me know if this is too awkward for you. I’m really interested in this apartment—there are a number of reasons why it is absolutely perfect for me—but if this is too uncomfortable for you I’ll understand.”

He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “No, we’re good,” he said, and continued up the stairs.

She wasn’t sure how much she believed that, but if that’s what he needed to tell himself to make this okay, so be it.

The stairs led directly into the studio apartment. The moment she entered the space, Sonny knew this was exactly where she wanted to live.

It was more spacious than she’d anticipated, with two large windows overlooking the driveway, allowing ample natural sunlight to flood the apartment. A small kitchen was tucked into the back right corner; equipped with a two-burner stove, single sink, microwave and full-sized refrigerator.

“There’s not much to it,” Ian said. He pointed to the door directly across from them. “There’s the bathroom. There isn’t a full-size tub, only a shower.” He pointed to a red and black Chinese screen. “There’s a twin bed behind there. It isn’t all that comfortable from what I can recall. There’s also a closet over there,” he said, gesturing to the left side across from the kitchen.

If this was how he typically presented the apartment to perspective tenants, it was no wonder this place was still vacant. Sonny could only hope that the real estate agent who was supposed to show her the apartment had a better spiel.

“Vanessa Chauvin mentioned that utilities are paid,” Sonny said.

He nodded. “Yeah, they are. It’s also wired for cable, but I’ve got satellite in the house. You would have to call the cable company and have them reconnect the service if you want it.”

“Internet?”

“I don’t have any trouble connecting wirelessly when I’m working in the garage. I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to get online up here. You’ll just need the password to the network.”

“Do you work in the garage often?” she asked.

The idea of walking downstairs and finding Ian sweaty and covered in sawdust or motor oil or whatever gave men that earthy smell after working all day with their hands made her lightheaded.

“I’m down there a lot,” he answered. “I restore bikes in my spare time.”

She nodded and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Will that be a problem?” he asked.

“No.” She shook her head a bit too emphatically.

He shoved his hands in his front jean pockets and lifted his shoulders in a hapless shrug. “Okay. Well, feel free to look around for a while. Make sure it’s exactly what you want.”

Sonny heard the sound of the door downstairs opening moments before footsteps pounded up the stairs.

“Hey Ian, I need your help.”

A young girl with long, skinny micro braids stopped short as she arrived at the top of the stairs.

“Oh. Hey,” she said. She turned to Ian. “The switch isn’t working on my robot. I need you to see what’s going on with it.”

“In a minute, Kimmie,” Ian said.

Sonny just stared. The girl, who looked to be about eleven or twelve, was a female version of Ian, with those remarkable eyes and golden brown skin.

Was this his daughter?

Sonny had to remind herself to take a breath.

“Uh, this is my younger sister, Kimberlyn. Kimmie, this is Madison…uhh…Sonny. She’s thinking about renting the apartment.”

Kimberlyn walked up to her with wide-eyed fascination. “I love your hair,” she said, reaching up to touch Sonny’s ’fro before jerking her hand back.

“Come on,” Ian said, clamping a hand on his little sister’s shoulder. He turned to Sonny. “Look around and let me know if you have any questions. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Sonny swallowed then nodded. “Okay, thanks. Nice to meet you, Kimmie.”

“You, too,” the girl said. “Oh, and this place is really cool. You’ll like it. You should stay.”

Sonny smiled at the little girl’s enthusiasm, but she still wasn’t sure what to make of Ian’s oddly cold reception.

She would have expected that type of reaction from the guy in the stuffy suit, yet last night he’d been the epitome of laid back and fun. It was today, dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt that showed off just the right amount of his toned chest, that he came across as aloof and uptight.

She shook her head. Figuring out Ian should be the least of her worries. She wasn’t here to figure him out; she was here for this apartment. That’s what she should be concentrating on.

Sonny meandered around the space for a bit, but it didn’t take long to confirm her initial expectation. This place was perfect for her. The only thing that wasn’t clear was whether or not she could handle living so close to her new landlord.

~ ~ ~

“I don’t know what happened. It was working just fine yesterday, but today?” Kimmie lifted her shoulders in a hapless shrug. “Fix it. Please!”

Ian sat at the dining room table, which was covered in various electronics. He took the robot he and his twelve-year-old sister had built over the course of the last three weeks and peered inside, hoping he could spot the issue without having to open the acrylic body casing.

Actually, having to break open the body casing wouldn’t be a bad thing. It would give him an excuse to stay away from the garage apartment. He needed some time to think before he faced Madison—
Sonny
—again.

“Please don’t tell me it’s broken,” Kimmie said.

“Give me a minute to look at it,” Ian said.

Kimmie was convinced that most of her classmates in the science and technology category at this year’s science fair would be doing something pertaining to the Internet or telecommunications. She wanted to go “old school” and work with animatronics. Being a bona fide gear-head, Ian had been geeked with her choice. He may have had more fun working on the science fair project than Kimmie had.

“Everything looks good from here,” Ian said, twisting the robot around in his hands. “You’re sure it’s fully charged?”

“It’s been on the charger all night.”

“If that’s the case than it should have enough juice to stay powered for at least—“ Ian stopped short as he looked at the small round side table where the charger sat. “Umm, Kimmie,” he said, walking over to the table. He picked up the cord, which dangled over the edge. “Was the charger itself plugged into the outlet?”

Kimmie’s mouth dropped open. “I...thought so.”

Grinning, Ian plugged the charger into the wall socket and then plugged the robot into the charger. It lit up, its arms moving up and down, its square head turning from left to right.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Kimmie pumped her fist in the air, then dashed over to him and lifted the robot from his fingers. “Now I can shoot my next scene.”

Ian folded his arms across his chest. “I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t shoot your movie until after the science fair?”

“These are just practice scenes,” she said as she fiddled with the Sony Action Cam handheld video camera Ian had bought her for Christmas.

He knew he should order her to get back to learning her information for the science fair, but Ian decided to leave her to her movie making for now. Even though
he
thought building a robot was the coolest thing on the face of the earth, Kimmie was more concerned with making them the stars of her next big feature film. His baby sister was determined to take Hollywood by storm. She just had to get through junior high first.

Ian made his way back to the kitchen. He stopped with his hand on the door, his head falling forward as he sucked in a deep breath. He wasn’t ready to go back into the garage.

Was it the coincidence to top all coincidences, or was it just his bad luck that the woman who had occupied every square centimeter of his brain since she’d pulled out of the parking lot of The Corral last night would be the same person who Vanessa had described as the
perfect
candidate to rent his garage apartment?

Coincidence or not, the question was what exactly was he going to do about it?

When he’d opened his front door and saw her standing there, it was like a dream come to life. Until she mentioned sneaking into his room. Then he remembered the young, impressionable pre-teen who slept just down the hallway from him.