Finding Mr. Write (Business of Love #5) - Ali Parker Page 0,73
funny. It’s a good place to work. You’ll see.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I said.
I never pictured myself working at a place like Strut but maybe my friends were right. Maybe that was the best place for me here. I’d get a good discount on clothes. I could rebuild my closet while I rebuilt my life.
Didn’t every girl dream of doing that at least once?
I helped myself to more snacks. “I’m sorry I’m taking back the room. I hope you guys didn’t have anyone planning on moving in.”
“Nope,” Riley said, shaking her head. “We didn’t put it out there that we needed a new roommate.”
“We were kind of hoping you’d come back,” Madison said.
“We figured we might have to wait a bit longer than two weeks, but hey, it’s good we didn’t fill it, right? Now you can settle back in like nothing ever happened.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Like nothing ever happened.”
But things had happened.
Wonderful things happened.
I stayed alone in a less than mediocre motel. I fought throngs of strangers to find a job. I got hired. I made friends at work. I found a roommate I clicked with.
And I found a man I cared about.
How could I just dismiss all that? Sure, it had only been two weeks, but in that time, I’d truly felt like I’d built a solid foundation to build up from.
Had I made a mistake getting on that plane this morning and running away?
My stomach churned and I put my plate down, not interested in any more spring rolls or snacks.
Kraken came around the corner of the sofa with a chirping meow and wandered over to Madison, his proud tail sticking straight in the air. She ran her hand over his back and gave him a scratch behind the ears before the cat curled up in her lap.
He did not purr. He wasn’t the purring sort of cat. He just lay there and slow-blinked at me.
“Do you think maybe it’s time we finally paint the living room?” Riley asked, looking around. “Now that we’re all back together again, maybe we should have a painting party this weekend. We’ve always talked about it. Why not go for it?”
I wasn’t in the mood for a painting party.
“I’m game,” Madison said.
My friends looked expectantly at me.
“Sure,” I said, my voice sounding hollow in my own ears.
“Try not to sound so excited.” Madison chuckled.
The pair of them launched into a discussion about what color we should paint the living room while my mind wandered back to Wes.
I wondered what he was up to right then. I assumed he was probably at home, perhaps sitting on his sofa with a glass of wine contemplating how he was going to handle Kelly Green. Could he stop her from writing an article about him, I wondered?
I thought about how badly I wished I was back in his townhome with him standing in his kitchen cooking. I yearned to crawl into his bed and feel the warmth of his body against mine. I ached to feel him pull me against him, hold my face in his hands, and promise that he forgave me wholly and fully and he wanted nothing more than for us to just be us.
My throat tightened and I swallowed back emotions I didn’t dare let escape right now. As soon as the waterworks started, I’d never be able to get them to stop.
“What do you think, babe?” Riley asked, turning to me.
I blinked up at her. “I’m sorry. What did you ask me?”
Riley planted her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. “Are you even paying any attention?”
I cleared my throat. “I’m a little distracted.”
“Paint colors,” Riley said. “We’re talking about paint colors. I suggested navy on the fireplace wall which I think would look so good and crisp with the white baseboards. Madison thinks we should do a burnt-orange color. We could always do a wallpaper feature wall, too. What do you think?”
I don’t care. “Wallpaper is a lot of work,” I said.
“What about a forest green?” Madison asked excitedly as she got to her feet and stood beside Riley. The pair of them studied the fireplace wall like they were interior designers. Realistically, they had no idea what they were doing.
They went back and forth about colors and I watched them quietly.
Then someone knocked on the apartment door.
The girls fell silent and looked over their shoulders at the door.