shit. She didn’t actually think I brought flowers when I went to check on the cat, did she? She had to know that ridiculous arrangement, which must have cost a bundle, did not come from me. Right?
Oh shit. Maybe she did think they were from me.
Abbott’s beautiful face blanches. “Oh.”
Yeah, oh.
Fuck. Now I feel doubly terrible, though I did nothing wrong—except break Nan’s confidence by telling Abbott her grandmother let herself into the apartment.
“Did you know your nan has a key?”
“Yes, of course. Everyone has a key.” She rolls those blue eyes. “Though Nan is the only one who lets herself in unannounced. She thinks I don’t know—as if I wouldn’t notice a stocked refrigerator, or new decorative pillows on my bed.” A delicate snort escapes her nose. “She tries so hard to be sneaky, and I pretend not to notice.”
“Why is she always stopping by? You’re a grown-ass woman.”
“True. I think she just wants to feel relevant. Needed? Her children are all grown and she has all these big, empty houses. I don’t think her friendships are… They’re the society type. Fake. Botoxed.” My neighbor leans forward to retrieve her cottage cheese and spoons a mouthful. Chews.
Swallows.
“It’s not just me. Nan’s best friend has a granddaughter, who’s also in the city, and Nan breaks into her pad, too.” Her back presses against the couch cushions and she props her feet up, barely sparing me a glance. “Basically she steals keys, gets copies made, and breaks into our places. My brother has a house in the burbs and she does the same shit to him, too. We all just look the other way. It’s cute. I’ve never had her bust in on anyone, though. What did she do?”
“She was going to crack my skull open with your vase.”
“Tiny Nan?”
“Tiny Nan would have clocked me good—I could see it in her beady eyes.” I put my feet up too, the charade of being clean and tidy and proper long gone out the window. “But she was holding the cat under her arm, so if I had seriously been robbing your place, she wouldn’t have stood a chance with the one-armed vase toss.”
“She was holding the cat?”
“Yeah—protecting it or whatever.”
Abbott covers her mouth with a hand. “Holy Hannah, that is so cute.”
“That cat is not cute.”
“I’m not talking about the cat—I’m talking about the fact that my grandma was protecting the cat from a robber. If that were me, I would be all, ‘Every man for himself! Deuces, Fluffy.’” Her hand rises and makes a peace sign.
“Seriously? You’d abandon your beloved cat?”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
Pampered Desi McTerrorPuss, left to fend for herself?
“My cat would have been fine. I’ve seen her fly into defense mode. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced Desi would hide in a closet. Either way, she would have been safe.”
She talks about that cat like it’s a human being, but what I really want to nag her about is her grandmother. “Enough about the cat. Don’t you think someone in your family oughta have a talk with her about safety?”
Abbott chuckles. “Don’t be so naïve. My grandmother knew exactly who she was going to find when she snuck into my apartment.”
“Who did she think she was going to find?”
Abbott levels me with a stare. “You.”
10
Brooks
“Mr. Bennett! Mr. Bennett!” My name is being called as I march through the lobby of my building and pass by the security guard at the front desk.
I hesitate, unsure. Mr. Bennett? Surely he isn’t speaking to me. My office is in a high-rise, located in the heart of the city, eighteen stories up—I’ve never met the doorman, the security officer, or anyone who works on the ground floor. The fact that one of them is calling my name gives me pause, and I spin on my heel, questioning.
“Me?” I point to my chest like a goddamn imbecile.
The man is dressed in a navy officer uniform, security patches emblazoned on his chest and biceps, his hat dipping low over his heavy brow.
Portly, sweating, and gesturing me over with a few meaty fingers.
“Good morning, sir.”
“Good morning?” I wish he’d get to the point before my heart rate accelerates to an even more rapid pace.
“Are you Brooks Bennett, sir?”
Every time he calls me sir, my posture straightens and my chest puffs up with a bit more importance. I shift the weight of the blueprint I’m squishing under my armpit and stick it under the opposite arm.