“You’re not gonna get anything to eat?” she asked with her mouth full. Tracy waved from a corner booth, a piled-high Styrofoam container of tahini-covered chicken kabobs and rice already planted in front of her.

The smell of cumin and dried mint saturated the air inside of the Middle Eastern fast food restaurant. I had taken today off to meet with my grandmother’s attorney. We taught together at a local charter school in Providence. See you in ten.” Tracy was a fairly new friend, so she knew little about my childhood or teen years. We’ll have an early dinner and talk about whatever is going on.” “Okay. Uh…where are you again?” “Meet me at the falafel place on Thayer Street. Tracy’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I’d avoided him for so long, but I was really going to have to face him now. Why?” “Can you meet up? I really need to talk to someone.” “Are you okay?” My mind went blank before slowly filling again with fragmented thoughts of Justin. When she picked up, I let out a sigh of relief. I picked up my phone and scrolled down to Tracy’s name. He wasn’t even related to us, but she’d always thought of him as her grandson. What the hell was Nana thinking? I’d always known she cared deeply about him, but there was no way I could have predicted the extent of her generosity. Whether we liked it or not, though, the beach house in Newport was ours now. Well, it was probably more like there wasn’t a chance in hell that Justin Banks was going to agree to share a house with me. Living with Justin Banks was not an option, even if just for the summer. I was never supposed to face him again, let alone own a house with him. Flashes of him invaded my mind: his dark blond hair, his laughter, the strum of his guitar, the deep sadness and disappointment in his gorgeous eyes the last time I saw him nine years ago. All these years, I’d tried so hard not to think about him. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 PART TWO: Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Epilogue More from Penelope Ward Acknowledgements About the AuthorĬHAPTER 1 A car nearly hit me as I practically floated across the street in a daze after leaving the attorney’s office.

Interior Formatting by Elaine York Allusion Graphics, LLC/Publishing & Book Formatting Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced nor used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for use of brief quotations in a book review. First Edition, February 2016 Copyright © 2016 by Penelope Ward All rights reserved.

Roomhate by penelope ward