Roommating (Preston's Mill #1) by Samantha Chase, Noelle Adams Page B

herself. And
the most stupid thing she could do was fall for a guy who wasn’t going to be around
for the long-haul.
    She’d just been upset about her father tonight. That was all
that had happened. People sometimes kissed someone they didn’t intend to, and
it wasn’t the end of the world.
    That was all that had happened tonight.
    She really hoped her dad was okay.
    Her phone rang just then, as if her thoughts had conjured
the sound. She gasped when she saw the caller was her father.
    “Dad!” she said, after scrambling to connect the call.
“You’re supposed to be sleeping.”
    “I was,” he replied, sounding weak but still with his
characteristic dry intelligence. “But they keep coming in checking on me every
other minute, and I kept worrying about you.”
    “Why are you worried about me?” she asked, her voice
breaking slightly. “You’re the one in the hospital. You’re the one having
surgery tomorrow.”
    “I’m okay.”
    “No, you’re not. Are you in a lot of pain?”
    “Nah. They’ve doped me up pretty good. How are you holding
up, Heather?”
    “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    “Well, I did have some vague thoughts about you there by yourself,
falling apart.”
    She sniffed and smiled. “I’m not falling apart.”
    “Is Chris with you?”
    “He’s in the apartment,” she said slowly. “He lives here.”
    “I know that. I mean, is he helping you out? You need to
have someone with you.”
    “I’m fine, Dad. I really am. Chris is helping out. We’re
going to cover everything at work while you’re in the hospital, and I’ll be
there first thing tomorrow so I can see you before you go into surgery.”
    “Okay. Good. Sorry about all of this.”
    She almost choked. “Don’t be ridiculous! You can’t apologize
for health problems, Dad.”
    “I’m your dad. I can do what I want.”
    She started to laugh, but it turned into a little sob before
she knew what was happening. It was a moment before she could say coherently,
“Yes, you can. You’re going to be just fine. Now get some sleep so you’re ready
for tomorrow.”
    “So Chris is there?”
    She felt weird that her father was taking comfort in that,
but she also didn’t want to take that comfort away. “Yes, he’s here. I’m doing
fine.”
    “Good. Good. You need someone.” His voice was fainter, like
he was getting tired.
    “Goodnight, Dad,” she said softly. “I’ll see you in the
morning.”
    When she’d hung up, she stared at the phone for a minute
before she finally put it down.
    Her dad was right about one thing. She did need someone. The
idea of his dying—sometime in the future, hopefully in the very far off
future—was like a huge dark void, threatening to consume her.
    She would have no real family then—no family that acted like
family, anyway.
    She’d always kind of assumed she’d be married with her own
family by the time her father died. He’d been a healthy man all his life, so
she was hoping he’d have a good long life. But today had really scared her.
    What if she ended up completely alone when he died?
    The thought was terrifying—so scary she couldn’t let herself
dwell on it. Her father was okay. He wasn’t going to die any time soon. She had
time. Plenty of time.
    But she definitely couldn’t let herself wander down a
dead-end road with a guy who would never commit to her and give her what she
needed.
    Chris was hot. No question about that. And he was funny and
smart and could be surprisingly kind. But he ran away when life get hard, and
that just didn’t work for her.
    She’d been needy tonight, so she’d kissed him, but she
absolutely couldn’t let it go any further than that.
    No more kissing. No more soft thoughts about him.
    They were roommates and business partners. And they could be
friendly.
    But absolutely nothing else.
    ***
    Heather didn’t sleep very well.
    After a couple of hours of tossing in bed, worrying about
everything, she finally took a couple of