Free Landlady: A New Adult Romance (Northbridge Nights Book 1) by Jackie Wang Page A

who ran a booming bar business. The fact
that he was easy on the eyes and spoke with an accent helped too.
    Mike pulled into the ferry terminal with twelve minutes to spare. We
drove straight into the parking lot situated in the bowels of the
ferry, purchased a parking pass and then headed up to join Cameron
and his date. Apparently, they’d been half an hour early. Eager
beavers.
    “Have any of you guys met Cam's date?” I asked.
    Everyone shook their head.
    “I think he met her at the bar,” Mike said.
    “Doesn't he always?” Jeremy added.
    “Probably another gold-digger looking for a free weekend getaway,”
I said. They were a dime a dozen and I was used to seeing them flit
around Cam like mosquitoes. Bloodsuckers.
    We all turned and saw Cam in the distance, waving at us. Standing
beside him was a lithe, toned blonde...
    Jeremy whistled. “Wowza.”
    Rose pinched him hard in the arm. Jeremy batted his eyelashes and
kissed her on the cheek. “You're way hotter, though, babe.”
    Mike was speechless as well, but smart enough not to comment.
    I squinted harder and nearly walked into a pole.
    We were coming up closer now, and I'd recognize those fawn eyes
anywhere. Wide as saucers. Staring straight at me.
    “Sierra?” I cried.
    She was stunned and stood paralyzed, her eyes unblinking.
    “Do you know each other?” Mike asked.
    “Obviously,” Terri pointed out. “Look at Asher's face.”
    I swallowed hard. “I live with her.”
    Everyone shot me a 'WTF' look.
    “She's my landlady. She lives downstairs,” I explained,
neglecting to mention the fact I was infatuated with her.
    “Wow, what are the chances?” Terri said.
    We were close now. Cam gave me a confused look. “Do you know
Sierra?”
    “Yeah, she's my landlady. We live in the same house,” I repeated.
I didn't want to look at her. I really didn't. I felt betrayed even
though I had no right to feel this way. It wasn't as if there was
anything going on between us. But the sharp stabbing feeling still
struck hard in my chest. Sierra and my best friend.
    Seriously, God?
    “Asher...” Sierra said, her voice trailing off. I didn't know if
her tone was surprised, guilty, annoyed, or despondent.
    “How do you know Cameron?” I asked her.
    Sierra looked at Cam and then back at me. “My friend Callista and I
go to Mahoney's all the time. I can't believe—This is such a weird
coincidence.”
    I felt more than saw the tension in Cam's shoulders. He was probably
just as uncomfortable as I was. I needed to show my friend that I
wasn't a threat. After all, Sierra made her choice clear. She’d
decided to spend the weekend as Cam's date and not mine.
    So that's what she meant by “plans this weekend”.
    Fuck me.
    Cameron pointed to Mike, Terri, Jeremy, and Rose, introducing them
each in turn. They all exchanged some pleasantries. Meanwhile, I was
going crazy trying to keep my cool. Doing everything I could to not
fan the flames in my stomach.
    “Let's go grab some breakfast,” Terri said to Mike. She dragged
him by the arm and the two soon disappeared inside.
    Rose and Jeremy wanted to check out the gift shop.
    Which left me with Sierra and Cam.
    An awkward, unwanted third wheel.
    “We have about half an hour to kill. What do you want to do?” Cam
asked Sierra, ignoring me.
    Was he trying to shut me out?
    Sierra shrugged. “I'm not really hungry. I guess we can check out
the view from the bow. It's a nice day.”
    “Sure, sounds good,” Cam said. He didn't touch her, but it looked
like he wanted to put his arms around her shoulder just to claim her
as his.
    Fuck that shit. I had dibs on her first. He just didn't know that.
    Unless...
    How long had Sierra known Cam? What exactly was going on between
them? It couldn't be that serious if she'd sent me all those flirty
texts and kissed me. But knowing that she was dating Cam at the same
time suddenly made her seem cheap. After all, she could've at least
mentioned she was playing the field.
    Cam did not