There had been a couple of residents, like Louise, who had been more welcoming and receptive to conversation. I hoped to keep building on those connections, and ultimately, talking more openly about the building and what residents envisioned for the space.
Yes, I had my ideas and a few proposals in mind, but none of that mattered if it didn’t match up with what the residents wanted. I needed to build up the rapport and then see if they’d be willing to hear out my ideas.
I finished refilling the cats’ bowls with dry food and started to pet Sugar Plum. The gray cat from my first day was quickly wiggling her way into my heart. I wasn’t sure how Lily worked here and didn’t adopt every cat.
After giving Sugar Plum and the other cats lots of head scratches, I stood. I wanted to check in with Lily before I pulled out my computer for the day. Earlier, she’d said she wouldn’t need much help since it was a prep day and customers weren’t coming in until later.
The café was quiet, which meant the Christmas music cut through the silence like nails on a chalkboard. When I stepped into the café area, I saw Lily cleaning the various machines. As expected, she was rocking her hips side to side in rhythm, her blonde hair—which was pulled into a ponytail—swaying with her.
I approached the counter slowly, her presence annoyingly hypnotizing, and cleared my throat before saying, “Cats are all taken care of. Do you want me to help with that so you can start on prep?” I asked, tipping my chin toward the espresso maker she was cleaning.
“Oh, uh, yeah, that’d be great.” Her voice was hesitant, like she wasn’t sure if she could believe me—or trust me.
She shouldn’t.
“Would you be able to wipe the counters down, too, when you’re done? And then after that, I think you can head out for the day.”
I took the dish towel from her and nodded. “Yeah, I can do that, but I don’t mind sticking around for the afternoon. I might need to make a couple of calls, but I’ll step outside for those.”
“Okay, thanks.” She chewed on her bottom lip, rocking on the heels of her feet. “If you need a quieter place, you can head up to my apartment. It’s on the second floor of this building. Let me know, and I can grab you the key if you have calls or meetings when it’s too loud in here.”
I stilled, surprised by her offer. I found myself wondering what her apartment looked like. Would it be as festive as the café? Did she have photos of her friends and family? Was it neat and tidy? Messy? My apartment in Milwaukee was practical, but I had to believe Lily’s had warmth and felt like a home.
I quickly shook my head. “There’s no need for that.” I didn’t want to know Lily or where she lived. That wasn’t why I was here.
I removed a few items from the espresso machine, bringing them over to the sink and rinsing them with warm water. I’d watched Lily do it on Monday and felt like I had the hang of it. I thought she’d gone back to the kitchen already, so her voice took me by surprise. And so did her question.
“Do you prefer to go by Gabe or Gabriel?” she asked, breaking the silence between us.
My brows furrowed. Oddly enough, no one had asked me that, besides Liam. They just assumed, which I’d never minded, but it felt…nice to have someone ask.
I held back the comment that, in a way, my parents had ruined my name for me. But hearing my name come from Lily’s lips? That was a whole other story. Probably better if she refrained from using my name altogether.
“Uh, I guess I don’t mind too much either way, but Gabe is typically what I prefer with people I know. It’s a little less formal.” I glanced over my shoulder and saw her nod.
“Okay, yeah, I’ll call you Gabe, then. Sorry I’ve been calling you Gabriel.”
I shrugged, dismissing her apology. “Nothing to be sorry about. It’s still my name.”
“Gabe,” she said my name carefully, like she was testing it out. An unfamiliar rush coursed through my body, sending a jolt of electricity throughout my veins. What was that feeling? “I guess we dosort ofknow each other. Not very well, though.”
“No, not very well at all,” I agreed with a sigh. It was better if we didn’t know each other and kept this distance between us.
Lily leaned her hip against the counter, tilting her head to the side as she watched me. I tried to ignore her, focusing on my hands, on the warm water, on literally anything but her.
“Do you enjoy working with your dad? Hal mentioned you want to be working on other projects.”
My spine stiffened at the unexpected question and the fact that she’d caught that during our meeting. In the few days we’d known each other, we hadn’t broachedrealtopics. This wasn’t what we talked about. We talked about the building and how neither of us wanted to be in this situation—safe conversations.
I wiped my hands on the dish towel before turning toward her. There was something in her blue eyes that made me want to trust her, to tell her everything. But I couldn’t.
This was business. Just business. It had to stay that way. We shouldn’t get to know each other.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice coming out more frustrated than I would’ve liked.
“I was—” she started, and I quickly shook my head.
“Let’s not pretend we want to get to know each other. You don’t care about the answer, and we don’t need to waste time making conversation.”
