in the soundproofing before I could have the blessed silence Miles had promised.
But in reality, avoiding downstairs—and Miles—became a non-issue by Tuesday evening when I returned home after work and found a fancy cream envelope tucked into my doorframe with my name on it, and an identical one tucked into my neighbor’s doorframe across the hall.
I plucked mine out and let myself into my apartment as I studied it. It had been hand-delivered, no address on the outside.
I was pulling the card from the envelope when Chloe walked out of her room with a suitcase. “You’re taking it, right?”
I blinked at her. “Taking what?”
“That.” She nodded at the envelope. “It’s from Miles. He’s offering to put us up at a hotel or an Airbnb for the entire week or as long as it takes to get the soundproofing in.”
“Wow.” I was impressed. It wasn’t something I had negotiated for in the lease.
“Yeah, well, you can thank me for it. I left a nasty note on his car yesterday complaining about the noise, and this is how he decided to solve it.”
“Chloe!”
“I did not sign up to live over a construction zone, and I figured you’d like it better if I complained to him, even if you are my actual landlord.”
“I can’t decide if I prefer it that way or not.”
“Trust me, you do,” she said, pulling out the rolling handle of her suitcase with a sharp click. “It was a mean note. I don’t like being woken up by sledgehammers. Not when I can’t run down and get some of Miss Mary’s coffee to ease me into the land of the living.”
“I see,” I said. “Why do I suspect that your note was less about the construction noise and more about missing Miss Mary?”
“It was definitely about the construction noise.”
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“But missing Miss Mary made it sound cranky. Anyway, you have two choices. Fancy hotel,” she said, holding her hands out like scales and letting one drop slightly with the weight of that option. “Or an awesome Airbnb. Which, by the way, is the right option.” She let that hand drop almost all the way to her knees.
“I don’t know. Getting spoiled at a four-star hotel sounds pretty great.”
“Yeah, but you’re still going to feel like a guest. If we go to the Airbnb, it’s huge, it’s in the Marigny, and we can cook our own food and stretch out instead of being in a cramped hotel room.”
“That’s true.”
“Did I mention he threw in a gift card for a food delivery service that should cover us for two weeks no matter which way we decide?”
“It doesn’t make up for losing Miss Mary.” I opened the card and found the voucher she was talking about along with the hotel and Airbnb information. “But it is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.”
“So you’ll do the Airbnb with me?”
“You mean instead of staying in a hotel with a bunch of tourists?” I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know how I’ll ever decide.”
“You were always going to pick the Airbnb, weren’t you? Why play with my feelings like that?”
I grinned at her. “A girl likes to feel wanted. I’ll pack and meet you over there. How about you order dinner for us tonight and I’ll order tomorrow?”
“You got it.”
I checked the card to see if he’d included anything else. Like, Almost kissing you was amazing. He had added a note, but only to let me know that if I would give him permission, he would have some window guys come out to replace all our residential windows at his cost with triple-paned glass for even better sound protection.
He wasn’t required to do that as part of his lease, but this was business, and it was too good of a deal to turn down just to be polite. He was a multi-platinum millionaire. It wasn’t like upgraded windows were a sacrifice. I texted him to approve the plan, then packed enough clothes for the week and drove over to join Chloe and discover that Miles had hooked us up with a house that I couldn’t afford on even triple my salary. It was gorgeous, and even if it didn’t feel like home, it was fun to come back to at the end of every workday. I was almost sorry when I got a text on Friday afternoon from Miles.
Hey. Demo finished two days ahead of schedule. All clear for a quiet return if you want. Or