thoughtfully, and when she opened the door to her condo, he let out a long, low whistle. “This is totally cool. I like all the open space and the windows.”
“Even with boxes stacked everywhere?” Blythe said, thrilled that so many of her orders had been delivered, including a couch she’d bought as a floor sample from one of the contemporary furniture stores.
“Not bad. You’ve got a couch, and I think I see a bed in one of the rooms. All this other stuff won’t be too hard to deal with.”
Blythe emitted a sigh of happiness. She loved the idea of having her own place, with her own personal touches.
“Want help unpacking?” Logan said. “I see how anxious you are to get started.”
“Really? You’d do that for me?”
He checked his watch. “It’s too early for dinner. Why don’t we work here for a while? Then we can go have drinks and dinner.”
Blythe beamed at him. “That would be wonderful! Just wonderful!”
He returned her smile. “Okay, tell me what you want me to do.”
“First of all, let’s sort through the boxes and move some furniture around. I want the couch facing the fireplace. Then all the boxes from Ikea need to be placed in the kitchen. Most of the things I bought from them belong there.”
Blythe set aside her purse, happy now that she’d changed into something casual for the flight back to Boston. One by one, she opened the boxes and peered inside. As she’d suspected, most went right into the kitchen. A couple contained things for the bathrooms and bedrooms. A few contained furniture that she would need to assemble. She’d need her father’s tools for those.
Before she’d left to return to Ithaca for graduation, she and Liz had made sure to stock the condo with basic food and cleaning supplies. They’d even worked together to wipe down kitchen shelves and counters. Logan proved to be a godsend, unwrapping and stacking things like glasses, plates, and silverware on the counter where Blythe could check them and place them in the dishwasher.
The few pots and pans she’d purchased were already washed, dried, and tucked away in cabinets.
Excitement kept Blythe moving quickly. While she prepared her kitchen, Logan folded up empty boxes and stored packing materials in another.
He was able to put together a lamp by just twisting the parts together.
Standing in the kitchen, looking at the living room, she observed how nice it would be. When Logan unrolled a rug and laid it out on the bare wooden floor, she exhaled a long, deep breath at how well the gray-fabric couch and patterned rug went together. It happened by pure chance because both were bargains that she’d picked up separately.
“It’s looking good,” said Logan as she approached for a closer look. “How about going out now? You ready?”
“Yes.” She gave him a quick hug. “Thanks so much for your help. You made a huge difference.”
He grinned. “Glad to do it. I figure if we’re going to be neighbors, I might be seeing a lot of this condo in the future.”
“I hope so,” said Blythe. “It’ll be fun to have you close by.”
“I’ll have to see how the job interview goes. It’ll be my second one there.”
“Anyone would be lucky to have you working for them,” Blythe said. He was smart, personable, and, as she’d seen first-hand, willing to work.
“I’ll drink to that. C’mon. I’m thirsty and hungry.”
###
It was a quick walk from her condo into Chinatown. As she considered the various restaurants, Blythe’s mouth watered. One of the advantages of city living was the abundance of restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues.
She and Logan entered a cute little restaurant and were greeted by the enticing aromas of ginger and other spices she didn’t recognize.
They sat in a booth facing one another. When a waitress approached with menus, they ordered beers to sip while perusing their choices.
“Thanks once again for all your help,” Blythe said. “I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. After grad school, I traveled around a lot, and I get how important it is to feel settled.”
The conversation was interesting and revealing to Blythe as Logan talked about the countries he’d visited and how he’d wanted to have that experience before deciding on a job. He was fortunate that companies were interested enough to tell him when he was ready to come to see them again.
“So, you think Boston is going to be the place where you want to live?”
He shrugged. “Sitting here with you about to have some of my favorite