“Excuse me,” I say, pressing a hand to my chest. “I am a sensitive soul,” I tell her. “I’m here for the people, if you will.” I wink at her. “Always ready to lend a helping hand.”
She gives me a flat stare, and I can’t help but chuckle. She’s so damned grumpy.
“Fine, fine,” I relent. “Still. I’m sorry things are shit right now.”
She rubs the space between her eyes. “They said it could be two months before my apartment is ready to be lived in again. They’re comping the rent for the months I’m not there, but still. I hate the idea of living off Ian’s charity.” She blinks again, looking taken aback by her own words. “Jesus. I can’t seem to stop running my mouth today. Maybe Iamtired.”
I grin back at her. “Told you so.”
“Yeah, well. It is what it is.”
An idea pops into my head, one that’s probably unwise and unwarranted, but sitting here letting her snipe at me…I’mrealizing that it’s the first time in weeks I haven’t thought about my injury or what’s to become of my career. It’s…refreshing, not having to think about it, even if only for a little while.
Maybe that’s why I open my mouth and let something stupid fall out of it.
“You know…Ian’s old room is open. You could always stay there.”
Her nose wrinkles. “What?”
“I’m just saying, it’s empty. No reason you couldn’t stay there until they fix your place.”
“That sounds like the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” she says with zero hesitation.
I can’t help it; I laugh again. “I mean…probably, but it’s got to be better than sleeping on my sister’s couch and listening to her bone your brother every night.”
I shudder, because the thought still sends a chill down my spine.
For a brief moment, I think she might be considering it; her eyes round, a sort of curious gleam in them as the idea no doubt settles in her mind. But in mere seconds, she’s shaking her head again, snatching her visor from the top of the table and roughly shoving it back on her head.
“My break is up,” she says. “And that’s still a terrible idea.”
I shrug. “Can’t force you, but the offer is there.”
“Is it.” She looks at me with that same curious expression. “Why do you even care, huh?”
My lips curl, and I give another light shrug as I say, “Just a good person, I guess.”
She actually snorts, but there’s a twitch of her mouth when she does it, like Ialmostgot a smile out of her.
“Right,” she says with a scoff. “Of course you are. I gotta get back to work.”
“Just think about it, yeah?” I call after her.
She throws a hand over her shoulder, waving me off, and I find myself smiling the entire time I watch her return to the counter, that perma-scowl on her mouth and that ever-present wrinkle between her eyes as she is no doubt still thinking about it.
I mean, if I were having to listen to Ian and Delilah bone every night, I’d probably move to Antigua or something.
I sip at my coffee, a smile lingering at my mouth as I watch Abby work quietly, not bothering her with a goodbye when I finally finish and head toward the door. I spare her one last glance before I walk through it, catching her staring at me with that bewildered look, like she still can’t believe I would offer such a thing. Truthfully, I don’t know why I did either. It’s not like she’ll ever take me up on it.
My arm twinges, and I rub it idly as I leave the shop.
Still, oddly enough, I find that I really meant it.
Five
Abby
I try to do my homeworkon Ian and Lila’s coffee table, but my neck is starting to hurt from being hunched over. I turned in my paper last week, at least, and I think it was decent, so that’s one less thing to worry about.