Ivy didn’t look up from the drawer she was digging in. “Hey, Nate. This is Elle. She’s new to town and renting a space upstairs from me. Elle, this is Nate. He works at the library and has to dig through my deliveries to find the books he needs because that’s where my life is right now. Poor guy, he probably got hives from looking at the chaos of the backroom. Ah, got them!” She looked up with an expression of triumph on her face. “Here you go, Elle.”
I willed my body to move toward Ivy to grab the keys before fainting at Nate’s feet or throwing myself at him. Either would probably be a bad look.
Nate glanced my way as he adjusted the box in his arms. “Welcome to Highland Falls, Elle.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, my face heating up because all of a sudden I was nervous and thirteen years old. And his forearms were doing things to me. What the heck? Forearms?
Ivy looked at a cell that was on the counter in front of her as it lit up. “Shoot. Emma’s texting that I need to call her. Um, Nate, you know the apartments upstairs, right? Could you show Elle how to get up there? She’s in number 2.”
“Sure. I’ll be back for the box, okay?” he asked as he placed the box in his arms on the counter.
“Yep. Flip the sign toClosedon your way out, but I won’t lock up till you come back down. Elle, come in tomorrow. Hopefully, my life will have calmed down, and we can have tea and get to know each other.” Ivy gave me a harried smile.
“Sounds good.”
Nate gestured for me to go ahead of him, and I headed out the door.
He stepped out onto the street behind me. “Where’s your car?”
I pointed at my Subaru.
“Want to take a load up as we go?”
Calm, Elle, calm. I cleared my throat and was thrilled when my voice didn’t come out too creaky. “Sure. Ivy said the place is furnished, so I don’t really have a lot.”
Nate and I each grabbed a duffel bag, he got a box, and I grabbed a suitcase.
He led me to the exterior door that I assumed accessed the apartments, just between Pages and the store next door. There weren’t a ton of stairs, but the staircase was sure steep. I wondered if going up and down it each day could count as a workout. Probably not, but they were no joke. My ass might thank me after a week or so. Or maybe not.
At the top on the small landing, Nate pointed toward the door with a two on it, and I let us in. We entered into the dining space with a round table. It was adjacent to a small sitting area with a love seat, chair, and coffee table. The kitchen was open with a pass-through to the dining area. There appeared to be a short hall with two doors. One had to be the bathroom and one the bedroom.
It was currently a blank canvas beyond the utilitarian furniture, but it was perfect.
I eased my load onto the table. Looking over to Nate, I gathered the courage to speak. “Thanks so much. You can leave that all here.”
Nate put down his box, then looked around. “Good space. Is this bigger or smaller than where you were?”
I laughed without meaning to. “I was in downtown Chicago in a studio, so this is looking like I’m living large.”
Nate nodded. “Well, I should let you go so you can get settled.” He paused before opening the door. With a look back to me, he asked, “Do you need advice on restaurants for dinner? I’m guessing you don’t have groceries yet.”
“I have some staples in the boxes in my car.” I glanced at my phone to see Ava had just replied that she was en route to help me unpack. “My sister is on her way to help. I’m guessing we’ll order pizza.”
“Giuseppe’s,” Nate said. “Best pizza in town.” He looked unsure for a minute. “Not sure what you do or how much you like reading, but if you don’t want to buy all your books, come to the Ryan Library. That’s where I work, and it’s a pretty special space.”
“Yeah?” I asked. “What makes it special?” I patted myself on the back for continuing the conversation.
“Well, it’s in an old house. Cool little nooks and stuff. And not to brag, but the people who work there are pretty nice too.” He smoothed down his shirt, seemingly a little nervous.
My heart sped up a little bit.Talk, Elle.
“I work from home, so if you all don’t mind people loitering, I might have to take you up on that.”
Nate’s eyes locked on mine. “Sounds like my favorite kind of people. Hope to see you there soon.” His voice had a gravelly quality that I felt travel through my core.
Holy moly.
Looked like I’d be working from the library tomorrow.
