Lovely Neighbor by Alexa Riley Page 0,31
bites her lip. “About that.”
There’s a sinking feeling in my stomach while I wait for what feels like bad news.
“I’ve got to fly back to my apartment tonight.” She looks to Betty, who is as surprised as I am. “If you don’t mind watching Moose for me. I can’t take him on the plane and it’s just going to be a quick trip.”
“Why do you have to go so fast?” I think about my cases and travel I have coming up and I know there’s not much time in my calendar, but I can make it. “If you give me until the weekend I can go with you.”
“That’s so sweet, I really appreciate that, Devin, but I called my landlord this morning and he said he could only do tomorrow.”
“I can watch Moose, sugar, but are you sure you don’t want one of us to go with you?”
The thought of her going back to the place that was broken into makes me uneasy.
“Yeah, I think it will be fine. I’m going to stay the night with my friend Jenna and come back the next day. I called a moving company too and they’re going to meet me there tomorrow so I can get out of there quickly.”
“It seems like you’ve got this handled by yourself.” I don’t mean for my words to come out harsh, but I can’t help it.
“I tried to make it so that no one would be inconvenienced.”
“Sugar, I would have been more than happy to go with you.”
“Why don’t I go?” I offer quickly, trying to insert myself in a situation that she didn’t ask me to be in. If this makes me pathetic, I don’t care.
“You just got finished telling us about your big case tomorrow.” Erin smiles softly at me like I don’t understand what’s going on.
“I can get Renee to cover for me.”
She shakes her head and squeezes my hand. “You guys, I will be fine. I’ve got this under control. I’m going with my friend to the apartment and I’m meeting my landlord and the movers there in the daylight. I’ll be back before you know I’m gone.”
“That’s not likely,” Betty says, and I grunt in agreement.
“The sooner I can get this finished, the sooner I can come back.” This time she’s looking at me with pleading eyes that are begging me to understand her.
“Fine,” I say, and she sits up hopefully. “But under one condition.”
“Anything,” she blurts out.
“Come with me to Milan when you get back.”
Her blank expression almost makes me laugh. I probably would if it wasn’t for being irritated about her going back to her old place.
“Are you serious?”
“If she doesn’t, I will,” Betty whispers, and I smile.
“Yes, I’ve got to go there for a couple of days for work. Come with me and keep me company. We can leave whenever you get back.”
“Yes!” She leans over to hug me, and I end up pulling her into my lap.
“Good. Now hurry up and get your place cleared out so we can make this real.”
“It feels like a dream,” she whispers, and I agree.
“I’ve got to go before those ladies start calling and asking where I am,” Betty says as she grabs her purse. “What time is your flight, sugar?”
“At ten tonight. Jenna is meeting me at the airport.”
“I’ll make sure Erin gets there safe. Are you sure you have to run off so soon?”
“You’ve obviously never met a group of old ladies low on alcohol.” She winks as she leans down and kisses Erin on the cheek. “Call me when you land. I love you.”
“I love you too.” She stands up and hugs her grandmother.
Just as Betty leaves, Renee comes into my office. She talks to Betty for a quick second before she comes in and says hello to Erin.
“Has my brother given you the grand tour of the place?” she asks, and Erin shakes her head. “Come on, I’ll show you my office. It's way nicer than this dump.”
Erin looks around my office and laughs as we follow Renee out into the hallway.
“We’ve got the whole floor up here and the one below it for human resources and marketing. Devin mentioned to me you’ve got a degree in graphic design. If you’re in need of a job we’ve got an opening.”
“Actually—”
“Renee,” I warn, cutting Erin off.
Renee shrugs as she keeps walking and Erin looks at me. It’s not that I don’t want Erin to work, and her working here might be amazing. I just don’t want her to