Joker in the Pack (Romantic Suspense, Completed, Watty Winner)

Chapter 6

"What the—"

He didn't have time to finish the sentence before she marched out again, and I wasn't about to stay and enlighten him either.

"One place left," Maddie said once we'd made it safely out to the pavement. "Keep your fingers crossed."

Another house share, and although I spotted a few weeds growing through the cracks in the front path, the maisonette itself looked tidy.

"I'm still not sure about living with a stranger," I muttered to Maddie.

"You never know, you might meet the man of your dreams."

The door swung open as I raised my hand to knock, and when I saw the person behind it, I almost fainted.

Holy cannoli! He could have been Mr. January. No, scratch that. He could have had his own calendar and been all the months.

"Ladies." His wide grin made my underwear melt. "Do you want to come in?"

Maddie's face bore the same glazed expression as it had two years ago when she won a thousand pounds on a lottery scratch card, so I took her hand and pulled her inside after me.

"Sven."

The hunk held out his hand, and mine sizzled in his firm grip. That zing—I'd never felt anything like it before.

"I'm Olivia, and this is Maddie."

Who was still gawping, mouth slightly open.

"Which of you is looking for the room?"

Maddie started to raise her hand, but I slapped it down. "Me. I'm looking for the room."

"We could share," Maddie hissed in my ear.

"The room or the man?" I whispered as Sven turned and headed along the hallway. "You've got a boyfriend."

"I know, but... Oh my gosh! Would you look at that?"

Look at it? I couldn't tear my eyes away. Sven's butt cheeks could have cracked walnuts. Edward had gone to the gym regularly, but Sven... Sven should have been a spokesmodel for StairMaster.

"So, Olivia, this is the room that's up for rent."

Up until then, I'd never found a Scandinavian accent sexy, but he could have spoken Klingon and made my heart skip.

"The carpet's new," he continued. "And with the double glazing, you can barely hear the road."

A bed. That was pretty much all I noticed, at least about the room. Believe me, I noticed plenty about the man standing in it. His twinkling blue eyes, his chiselled jaw, the way his blond hair fell over his tanned forehead.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I'm interested."

"Shall I show you the rest of the place?"

"Yes, please."

In reality, I only wanted to see one other room: his. I know I'd sworn off men, but when I made that decision, I hadn't envisaged Sven and his buns of sculpted marble. Perhaps I'd been a little hasty.

"This is the bathroom. Shared, but I promise not to leave my toenail clippings in the sink."

The sink? Who clipped their toenails in the sink? Maybe it was a Nordic thing? Ah well, at least he bothered with good foot hygiene. I lagged behind again to enjoy the view, smiling as he led us into... What was this? A jungle?

"Uh, you sure have a lot of plants."

"They're for my babies. I like them to feel right at home."