She walked back for the three men to pass her as they carried the huge piece of used furniture into her little living room. Her father checked the shiny hardwood floor already coated with boxes. "Where do you want this, honey?"
"Um… I'm not sure yet." She replied.
"Well, hurry up and decide before I get a hernia."
"Sorry, Dad. Just put it down where you are. I'll figure it out later." She answered.
Her landlord put to a full six feet tall. "I can be of help her in moving things around once she realizes where she wants them to be."
And then he winked at her. Be still my heart! So there her couch stayed in the middle of the living room.
Immediately, her brother stuck his hand out to the stranger. "It's really great to meet you, Charlie. Can I call you Charlie? My dad and I are big fans. I hear you can throw a 97 mile an hour fastball. And man, your curveball and changeup? Incredible! Do you think I can get an autograph?"
Charlie chuckled. "Thanks… uh, sure."
He sounded anything but sure as he heeded the taped boxes around the room. "Do you got a pen and paper handy?"
"Leave him alone, Mike. He is obviously on the clock," Shirley muttered, not caring if her fan-boy brother collected his autograph or not.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, man. Hey, some other time…"
"Absolutely," Charlie said.
He smiled broadly and to her relief, Shirley thought he sounded genuine. Fine, then the pipsqueak would not hound her to obtain Charlie's DNA. The DNA that gave him those cute dimples…
"Well, I will leave you to get settled," her father said.
"Come on, Mike, we had better get going."
He thrust his hand toward Charlie and said, "Thanks for your help. I'll sleep better knowing my little girl is in good company."
How many ways can my family embarrass me? Shirley rolled her eyes. "I'm twenty-five, dad. Not exactly a little girl anymore."
Her father dropped Charlie's hand and strolled over to where she stood. "You will always be my little girl."
Then he smooched her on the forehead and said, "give me a call tomorrow, okay?"
Could she be any more embarrassed in front of an awesomely cute guy? So much for creating her image as a hip, complicated city dweller now that she had finally announced her freedom.
She sighed. "Okay, worrywart."
Her father pointed at her. "I mean it."
"I know, I know." She answered.
Just as they were out of the way, she schemed to rejoice in her freedom, kick up her heels, and have so much needed fun! Whether they loved it or not.
Charlie watched the close-knit family say their goodbyes and Shirley's father and brother reluctantly leave. Suddenly he missed his mother. She had tried to create family closeness, but the competition his father had instilled in his sons didn't make for warm relationships.
Not to mention the other "little problem" that paralyzed his family's hopes for a normal anything. As he watched his stunning new tenant wave goodbye to her family, he congratulated himself on offering to stay and help her arrange the large pieces of furniture. Hot didn't begin to describe her. Now he could steal some time alone with her.
She looked so different from the rest of her family. Her father had a Scottish look, as you had expected in an Ericson. He was strongly made and his graying hair looked as if it could have been reddish-blond at one time. He and his sandy-haired son maintained ruddy but fair skin and blue eyes.
According to her paperwork, his new tenant's name was Shirley Ericson, but she could not look less like a Scot. Her dark hair, brown bedroom eyes, and full lips, plus her perfectly smooth, gleaming dark skin gave her an exotic Mediterranean air. Or maybe Brazilian. God, she made his jeans tight!
"So, where do you want this huge sofa?" He asked.
She chuckled. "It is kind of a monstrosity, isn't it?"
"No, I didn't mean…" He replied.
"That's okay. It's only temporary stuff. I took some castoffs from our family room and hit a few yard sales, but as soon as I can, I will replace it with smaller furniture."
"No… I, uh…"
Why am I suddenly a knucklehead around her? He had been trained for the limelight for years, so why should he suddenly fall apart in the presence of a pretty girl? Tons of women threw themselves at him regularly. Maybe that's why he reacted to this one differently. He wasn't Charlie Baker—star pitcher and reluctant celebrity. He was just Charlie, a single landlord with a hard-on for his new tenant.
"Look, I didn't mean to insult your furniture, honestly. I like it better than mine. I just had some hoity-toity designer decorate my place and it looks like it belongs in a magazine, not someplace where people actually live. This looks comfortable."
He illustrated his point by soaring over the arm of the couch and landing on his back on the squishy cushions. He couldn't help the "Ahhh…" that escaped his mouth. He had not been able to lounge comfortably for days.
She just grinned at him and didn't say anything. You are an idiot, Baker. A babbling, bumbling idiot. Slowly, he rose from his comfortable position and said, "Let's start over."
He held out his hand and said, "Hi. I'm Charlie Baker, your new landlord. And you must be…"
"Shirley Ericson," she said, shaking his hand.
"What a charming name." She shook her eyes.
"It would not have been my choice. I share my name with a hobbit." He chuckled.
"Do you got a nickname you had preferred?"
"No. Just Shirley. One of my professors tried to call me Eric once, but it didn't stick. Thank God for that, because everyone calls my father eric."
"Well, at least I know what to call him if I see him again. I should have introduced myself. I don't know where my head is at today."
He did know what his little head was thinking ever since he had laid eyes on the gorgeous brunette with the cutest, open white smile he'd ever seen.
"No." Shirley shook her head.
"I should have introduced them and myself since everyone apparently knew who you were. Well, everyone but me. Sorry about that." She added.
He gave her an earnest smile. "Don't be sorry. It's a relief not to be recognized."
Sort of. Now, what can I do to impress her?
"In that case, I apologize for my fan-boy brother. It's weird, but even though he has Attention Deficit Disorder, he can remember all kinds of trivia about things that interest him, like sports."