And was I desperate enough to look for wisdom from baked goods?

The answer was yes. Yes, I was.

I let out a long breath, conceding what I knew in my gut: the search was over. Declan Tate was going to win by default. I needed the money. He was the least crazy person to walk in my door. And the truth was, I had peni-lized him—punished him for having a penis. I’d thought about that a lot over the past couple of days, and oddly, I’d thought about him. His charisma, how he’d made me laugh—there were worse traits in a roommate.

But before I considered this for real, he and I needed to have a discussion, set some ground rules.

I picked up the phone and dialed the number I had for him.

He apparently knew it was me.

“Hey, Mollz! How’s it go—”

“Okay. You can have it,” I blurted.

“Seriously?”

“Those cupcakes were so damn good. You won me over, which was obviously your intent.”

“Cupcakes plural? Did you have more than one?”

“No comment.”

He laughed and spoke to himself, “Take note, Declan. The way to the new roomie’s heart is through her stomach.”

Roomie.

I sighed.

What am I doing?

He must have sensed my frustration. “Don’t be so down about it, Mollz. It’ll be fun, and like I said, you’re barely even gonna have to see me. Our schedules work out perfectly for avoidance.”

“When do you expect to move in?”

“You tell me. I can leave my buddy’s place this afternoon and be there by five. He’s eager to have his privacy back anyway—something about not wanting me in the room when he fucks his girlfriend. Can you believe that?” He laughed. “Anyway, do you have to work tonight?”

Tonight? That seemed so soon, but honestly, I might as well just get it over with.

“Actually, no. Tonight is my night off. I’m not working the next couple of days.”

“Perfect then. I’ll pack up my stuff and come on by.”

I grabbed the “Do” cupcake and took a bite. “Great,” I said with my mouth full.

***

A few hours later, there was a knock at the door.

When I opened, I was greeted by Declan’s blinding set of gleaming teeth.

“Howdy, roomie.”

I moved out of the way, allowing him to enter. “Hey.”

A whiff of his scent floated by me. Amazing. I couldn’t say I minded the idea of my apartment becoming saturated with whatever cologne he wore. The vibe in my place was about to be bombarded with masculine energy.

The bag on his arm dropped to the floor with a thud. He looked around before wheeling his suitcase to a corner of the room. Then he walked back toward me and caught me off guard when he reached for my face.

I flinched as he swiped his finger along the corner of my mouth. It grazed my bottom lip, giving me goose bumps.

“You had some frosting there.”

I touched the same spot. “Oh.”

A few minutes before he arrived, I’d demolished the “It!” cupcake top—the last one. All that was left now were eight stumps of naked cake.

He examined my face. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine,” I said, feeling flushed.

I wasn’t sure if all the sugar was going to my head or what, but I was more on edge than I thought I’d be.

“Stop freaking out about me being here.” He chuckled. “I take it you’ve never lived with a guy before?”

“You’d be correct. My parents divorced when I was sixteen. So, after my father left, it was just my mother, me, and my sister, Lauren.”

“Well, I promise, I don’t bite.”

I swallowed, unnerved by the fact that he was so attractive. Almost too attractive. I would never want to be with a guy like that. Deep down, he was probably full of himself, even if he didn’t show it. There was no way he didn’t know he was good-looking.

“We have to set some ground rules, okay?”

He straightened his posture and nodded once in an exaggerated manner. “Shoot.”

“This should go without saying, but what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours. I don’t share my personal items, like toiletries or food.”

“Got it. But it should work both ways. Like…if I happen to cook up something delicious and you partake, you’ll let me have something in return.”

My brows furrowed. “In return? What exactly are you insinuating?”

His eyes widened. “Not what your dirty little mind is venturing to right now. We already established that I’m into someone else, remember? I just meant, you know, like, if you eat my food, you owe me something of equivalent value. Don’t dish it if you can’t take it kind of thing.”

I squinted. “What makes you think I’m going to eat your food?”

“You might not. But you seemed to like the cupcakes, so…”

He had a point. But the cupcakes were a gift. I supposed I could agree to his stipulation and just vow that I wouldn’t ever touch his food. Pfft! I didn’t need his food.