be addictive and it would destroy me if it ever evaporated.
“Kyle is responsible for everything. And thanks to Eloise for giving me a heads-up on your style.” She had told me Sydney wasn’t into retro or vintage items the way she was, but more minimal, streamlined. No clutter.
Sydney stood up and gave Kyle a thank-you and a handshake. She wasn’t a hugger, any more than I was.
“Do not ever let Dak come over here,” Eloise said. “I have filled his condo with cats and kitsch. He’ll be so jealous if he sees this.”
I hadn’t been to North’s place since Eloise moved in, but given the way she dressed, I had to admit I didn’t envy him. The clothing style was cute on Eloise, but translated into home decor it would be like living inside a candy jar. Though that would be a thousand times better than the way I’d grown up. As the child of a doily-lover, I couldn’t deal with that. Our tiny duplex in Chicago had always felt like I was being suffocated by lace and enormous brown furniture.
“My mother never met a dried floral arrangement she didn’t love. I have an aversion to anything that can collect dust,” I said. “This works for me.”
“It works for me, too,” Sydney said. “Did you do anything to the nursery?”
“I’m not an idiot,” I told her. “I left that for you and your girl gang and Kyle.” I had no idea what went into a nursery besides a crib. I don’t know why I assumed Sydney would either, but I figured she was smart enough to figure it out. She read baby books and blogs online with ferocious speed.
“Can we go over ideas now?” she asked Kyle. “Or do you need to head out?”
Kyle was no fool. He had ten minutes if it meant another commission. “Let’s take a peek. What is the vibe you’re thinking? Do we know gender?”
“No, we don’t know gender, but I don’t want to go a gender-specific route anyway. No sports themes or ballerinas.”
“Hey,” I said. “What’s wrong with sports?”
It was like she’d forgotten what was paying for this nursery. She looked startled. “Oh! Nothing. I just think we need something that will stand the test of time. Like eucalyptus leaves.”
“Are we having a koala?” I asked. I thought it was funny. She didn’t look amused. Apparently she was the only one who could make word jokes.
“I can’t tell if you’re being deliberately obtuse or not.”
“I try very hard to be deliberately obtuse on a regular basis.”
Sydney gave an exasperated sigh. “Ugh.”
That made me laugh. “Go plan your gender-neutral nursery that will stand the test of time. Let me know when I have to pay the bill. I’m going to go check out the rooftop deck.”
I didn’t care a ton what the nursery decor was, but I hoped it wasn’t too plain or mature. I thought a baby’s room should still look like a baby’s room, not a room at the Hilton.
Peeling myself off the wall, I made sure I had my phone and a key to access the roof. To my surprise, Sydney came over and went up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss. She smiled at me. “You’re the cutest,” she said.
No one had ever said anything remotely like that to me since I had passed the age of four. Embarrassed, I gave her a frown. Some might even call it a scowl. It was a look that intimidated just about everyone.
Not Sydney. She laughed and patted my cheeks.
It all made me fucking flustered and emotional and that was not okay.
Unable to tolerate any of that in front of other people, I took her hands and brought them down to my mouth. I gave them a kiss, then said, “Step aside, pipsqueak.”
For a second, I didn’t think she was going to obey, but she must have seen the growing discomfort in my eyes. Or sensed that I wanted to drag her off to our new bedroom. Because her eyes widened and she backed up.
“See you in a bit,” she said.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. A lot of feelings were crashing over me, from desire to something that might resemble love, and none of them were going to get dealt with.
On the rooftop, I did forty pushups and burpees until the feelings went away.
It worked every time.
“I just want my face wash,” Sydney said, pulling open every drawer in the bathroom at ten o’clock that night, our first night in