Chapter 10: Move-Out Day

When they arrived at her apartment building, Alex pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to her landlord. Mr. Canaday choked. Amelia would bet he'd never seen that much cash in one place.

"I don't know if I can accept cash."

"We want to move out today," Alex said. "You can head to the bank right away."

"The cops need to be here to watch over Miss Cooper's move-out," Mr. Canady said.

Alex gave the man a warmer smile than Amelia thought her former landlord deserved. "Mr. Canady. I'm sure we can work something out. I don't think we need the police. Do I look like I want to steal the appliances?"

He looked like he could lift the appliances. She'd seen those muscles up close and personal. She could vouch for the fact that they were large. Not just gym muscles, which had made her wonder what else he did to keep in shape.

For some reason, standing in this tiny office, Alex seemed even larger than he'd seemed at the conference. He'd been on top of her more than once, but maybe he'd been careful out of deference to her size.

Or maybe he was just making himself larger to intimidate her landlord. She'd have to ask him about that, but right now she wanted to get her stuff and get away from this place. She'd probably be back with her baby, but who knew what the future would bring.

Mr. Canady looked Alex over then grimaced. "Okay. I will be up to check on you after I put this in a safe place.

"I knew we'd be able to come to an agreement. Now I need the key," Alex said.

Mr. Canady handed it to him as if he was happy to have Amelia and Alex out of his office.

"Let's grab some boxes from the truck and get started," Alex said.

"You don't have to help me."

Alex pulled himself to his full height. Amelia refused to be intimidated.

"I'm helping. Let's not argue about everything."

"I'm not arguing. Maybe I just don't want you pawing through my stuff."

"I'll work on the kitchen while you do your bedroom," Alex said.

Her kitchen was much more impersonal. The man had touched every part of her body, but she didn't want him touching her underwear. She knew it didn't make sense, but she needed to keep some sense of control. This was her life and it was spiraling out of her grasp.

Alex was helping, but he didn't know her or how to approach her. That wasn't his fault, but she didn't need to like it.

"Fine."

When they reached her doorway, Alex paused. "You want to rip that sign off?"

She studied him. Maybe he did understand more than she thought he did. He moved out of the way and she stepped up to tear the sign off of her door. "Thanks."

He squeezed her shoulder and then unlocked the door. He paused just inside the doorway. Amelia felt as if he were judging her, but she kept the place clean so her rational side told her that she had nothing to worry about. She wouldn't come up lacking.

"It's different than I expected it to be," Alex said putting boxes down.

"How so?"

"I expected it to be more colorful," he said. "Like your personality."

No one had ever called her colorful. She looked around at the neutral colors she'd picked for decorations and shrugged. "Most of it was from garage sales."

"The furniture isn't yours?"

"Only the computer desk in the second bedroom."

"Do we need tools to break it down?" Alex asked.

Amelia shook her head. "I put it together, I can take it down."

"You don't have to do it all yourself," Alex said.

He didn't understand that she did. She grabbed a few boxes and left him by the front door. As she put her clothing in boxes, she heard him working in the kitchen. He hummed a tune as he packed up her life.

When her bedroom was done, she walked into the office. Alex appeared behind her. "I can help if you tell me what to do. I've never put together my own computer."

She looked back at him. "Never? You own a game company."

"But I didn't come at it from the usual place. I didn't hole up in my room gaming. It was always a hobby, not what I wanted to do with my life. It was for the off-season when I wasn't at the rink."

She nodded. Computers had been her life from an early age. She couldn't remember the first computer she built it had been long enough ago. "I need zip ties."

"There were some rubber bands in the kitchen," Alex said.

He returned with his one fist full of them. "Where do I begin."

She handed him a marker and some blue tape. "Once you put the rubber band around them, put tape on it and I'll tell you what to label it."

"Can I sit?" he said.

"Sure. Make yourself at home."

He toed off his shoes and then rolled up his sleeves. He settled onto her chair which looked tiny with him in it. She unplugged each cord one by one and handed them to Alex making sure he labeled them properly.

"We should get food on the way home," he said.

"You don't have a personal chef?" she asked then regretted the question.

Alex was being nice and she shouldn't be snarky. He laughed instead of taking offense. "I do, but sometimes I want some junk food."

She looked him over but bit her tongue. He didn't look as if he had an ounce of fat on him. She handed him the last cord. "Monitor cord number two."

He nodded and dropped them all in a box. This was going faster than she thought it would. She actually appreciated that Alex was here.

She shouldn't get used to it.