Love at First Flight by Marie Force

Street.”
    He laughed. “You do not! ”
    “Why?
    “I live on Chester.”
    “You're kidding me! I can't believe
we've never seen each other in the neighborhood.”
    “I know. How long have you lived there?”
    “Four years. It used to be Jeremy's
mother's house, but she got remarried and moved to Texas. He bought the house
from her. What about you?”
    “I lucked into an amazing rowhouse about
a year ago. I lived in an apartment across the street, and I got to be friends
with the guy who owned the rowhouse when he was renovating it. He got
transferred unexpectedly and needed to sell it fast, so he gave me a sweet deal
on it. He said he wanted it to go to someone who would take good care of it.”
    “What a great story.”
    “It's way too big for just me, but when
I bought it
    I thought Paige would live there with me
eventually. Oh well.”
    “You wouldn't be interested in...”
Juliana stopped herself with a shake of her head. “What?”
    “Nothing. Just a ridiculous thought.”
    “Tell me. Come on.”
    “I was going to ask if you might be
interested in a roommate, but that's insane.”
    “Why?”
    “We barely know each other.”
    “I meant why do you want to live
somewhere else?”
    “With everything that's going on now
with Jeremy, I can't stand the thought of spending even one night in the house
he pays for. If I went to stay with one of my friends, I'd have to explain why
I'd left our place.”
    “I'm sure you contribute your share.”
    She looked down at her hands. “Here and
there. I pay my mother's mortgage, so I don't have a lot of extra money. That's
why I shouldn't have mentioned being roommates. I can't afford it.”
    “Why do you pay your mother's mortgage?”
    “It's a long story,” she said,
hesitating. “Basically it's either that or she ends up homeless. When my father
split, he cleaned out the bank account. We hired an investigator to try to find
him, but he's long gone.”
    “For what it's worth, I'd love to have
you as my roommate,” Michael said, sensing she didn't want to talk about her
deadbeat father. “We already get along better than most of the people I've
lived with, and I'm hardly ever there anyway. I've got a big place, and I only
use a fraction of it. You're welcome to it if it would help you out for a
while.”
    “You're sweet, but it's a crazy idea.
Besides, I really can't afford it.”
    “I don't need the money, but I wouldn't
mind the company.”
    She turned to look at him. “You're
serious.”
    “Sure I am,” he said, taking the Inner
Harbor exit off Interstate 95.
    “I'd have to pay you something.”
    He shrugged. “Whatever. I don't care. So
is that a yes?”
    After a long moment of silence, she
suddenly said, “Yes. Yes, I'd love that.”
    “What's wrong now?” he asked when her
smile faded. “It's kind of... you know... embarrassing.”
    “What is?”
    “The reason Jeremy and I are taking this
break. I've decided not to tell anyone about it because then people would know
I wasn't... well... enough for him,” she ended on a whisper.
    Michael reached over to squeeze her
hand. “He's a fool.”
    “Maybe I'm the one who's been the fool.”
    “I don't think so. Shall we go home?”
    “Now?”
    “Why not? You've got stuff with you,
right? Will anyone be trying to get in touch with you tonight?”
    “No, we both have cell phones. We don't
have a phone in the house.”
    “Cool. You can get whatever else you
need tomorrow then. And after work we can go get your car.”
    She laughed.
    “What's so funny?”
    “I just feel better all of a sudden.'
    “Good.”

    ***

    “Oh, Michael, this place is amazing!”
Juliana ran a hand over the exposed brick wall in the living room. Like most
rowhouses, it was tall and deep. The living room fed into the dining room,
which led to the kitchen. There were gleaming hardwood floors and a fireplace
with a mahogany mantle.
    “Thanks, but I can't take any of the
credit. The guy who owned it before me did all the