Her Big City Neighbor - Jackie Lau Page 0,4
in the narrow house with steep staircases, but they managed. Sierra did have lots of stuff, but luckily, Amy had a decent-sized house. She’d been planning to turn the second-floor room facing the street into a reading room of sorts. It had a bay window, and she’d always imagined curling up by a bay window and reading. Sierra had furniture for the room, which was awesome.
While Sierra unpacked her things, Amy made a quick trip to the coffee bar to get some treats. There were so many exciting places to try that it seemed silly to return to the place she’d been yesterday, but she knew their food was good.
“Hey,” Amy said to Lucy, who was working again today. “I’ll have the dark chocolate raspberry and yuzu ginger roll cakes. To go this time, please.”
When she got back to the house, she made a pot of coffee and a pot of tea, not knowing which Sierra would prefer, then invited her new roommate down.
Sierra chose the coffee; Amy went for the tea so it wouldn’t go to waste.
“Which would you like?” Amy gestured to the roll cakes.
“Oh my God, are those from Harbord Coffee Bar?”
“They are.”
“The yuzu ginger is my favorite, but...”
Amy must have looked slightly disappointed, even though she’d tried not to show it. She’d been curious about that cake.
“We’ll split them both,” Sierra declared.
Amy got a knife and cut them in half.
“So, I have to ask you,” Sierra said. “This is your house, correct?”
“Yep.”
“You own a house, and you’re a student. I don’t mean to pry, but—”
“My eighty-five-year-old great aunt died and left it to me.”
Aunt Frances had never married and had no children of her own. She’d left a small amount of money to Amy’s brothers and cousins, but Amy had gotten the house. There had been a note saying it was to thank Amy for looking after her grandmother, Frances’s older sister, in the last years of her life.
“You inherited a whole-ass house?” Sierra asked. “I mean, I’m sorry for your loss.”
Heh. She talked a little like the fictional Sierra Wu.
“It’s okay. I didn’t know her well. But she gave me the perfect opportunity to move to Toronto.”
“Where did you live before?”
“Silver River. It’s a small town north of Sudbury.”
Sierra chocked on her yuzu ginger cake. “North of Sudbury? How long of a drive is it?”
“About four and a half hours.”
“How many people live there?”
“Two thousand.”
Sierra looked horrified. She didn’t say this, of course, and she quickly schooled her expression to something neutral.
“It’s fine,” Amy said. “I’m not insulted. I lived there my whole life, except when I was away at school, but I was itching to get out.”
“I called Kingston a small town when I was at university.”
“Kingston? It’s a proper city. Over a hundred thousand people.”
“Yeah, my friend Charlotte laughed at me. She’s from a small town, too. But living in a place smaller than Kingston? I can’t imagine it. Where did you eat?”
“There’s a Tim Hortons, a pizza place, and a diner. You have to go into Sudbury if you want more than that. But last night, I saw three sushi restaurants in a block!”
“There’s a stretch on Queen with four ramen restaurants in half a block.”
“Ooh, I’ve never had ramen before. Other than the instant stuff.”
“You want to go tonight?” Sierra asked. “I closed the store for the day because of the move, and I want to enjoy my day off. Unpacking?” She made a dismissive gesture. “That can wait.”
Amy tried not to show her excitement. She was becoming friends with her roommate, and someone else was making plans for once. How cool was that?
The ramen restaurant was pretty great. She got something called black tonkotsu ramen, which had black garlic oil, and the broth was so rich and tasty. She also got karaage because it was only two bucks if you ordered ramen. The small pieces of fried chicken were delicious.
“I have a question for you,” she said when they were halfway done their ramen.
“Yes?” Sierra seemed slightly wary now.
“Did you know that you have the same name as...” Amy trailed off when Sierra rolled her eyes.
Oh, no! Had she offended her new roommate?
“The urban fantasy series by Megan Chen. Yes, I’m aware. It’s hard to miss. Every other person who meets me mentions it. Are you a big fan? Is that why you wanted to live with me?”
“I am a big fan. I own all the books. But you were the first one to reply.” Amy shrugged. She didn’t want