“You look amazing,” I said to myself. She did not argue.
Outside, the air carried that early-morning chill. The suffocating humidity had not taken hold yet. I crossed the street to Bread Zeppelin and ordered the cheapest coffee again.
“Day off?” Otto asked.
“Technically,” I said. “Emotionally? Unclear.”
He laughed like I was joking.
I took my cup to the small patio table and wrapped both hands around it. Steam curled up into the cool air.
A free day. No houses scheduled. No coffee shop shifts. No immediate task screaming for attention. Days off were rare for me. I had multiple places I picked up shifts. Although the coffee shop across town that serves as a bookstore cafe combo was where I worked a few shifts every week when I wasn’t cleaning houses.
A full day off meant my brain filled the silence, which wasn't always great.
I could visit Dad. The thought rose automatically. I loved visiting with him, but then I pictured the invoice sitting in my email. Step-up care increased rate seemed impossible when the current payment was already past due. My stomach tightened. Every visit felt like a promise I might not be able to keep. I hated that the math crept into the tenderness. He deserved better than a daughter who calculated minutes in pennies.
I sipped my coffee and stared at the sidewalk.
“Don’t spiral before eight a.m.,” I muttered.
I pulled out my phone, opened my banking app, and closed it immediately. No. Absolutely not. I did not need that level of violence before breakfast.
My mind drifted, unhelpfully, to Raphael Renault. There was something about that man. He was big in a way that I knew he was strong, but not defined to the level that made him feel like a gym bro. And he had the perfect amount of salt and pepper in his beard. As attractive as I found him, he was intense. I completely understood why people called him the beast.
And yet, he had followed Geoffrey. Inserting himself in the tour was odd. I couldn’t quite figure him out.
Evaluated or escorted. His jaw had tightened when I asked. He’d said he didn’t tolerate distraction, which was funny because he had been the only one distracted. I rolled myshoulders, shaking it off. He was a client. Even if he was a brooding one with architectural cheekbones and unsettling focus. That was all.
And tomorrow, I would clean his study and not think about how his eyes had tracked me like I was a variable he couldn’t categorize.
I checked the time.
Too early to drop by Long Creek without feeling like I was hovering.
Too much brain noise to sit alone.
Which left one option.
I pulled up Eleanor’s contact. Eleanor and her precious haunting daughter had moved to Briar Glenn early this year, and we’d become fast friends. Since then, she had gotten together with my teammate’s partner’s ex-husband. It sounds way more confusing than it is. They lived next to each other and had this co-parenting, perfect little pod. I could use a little bit of her kind consistency this morning.
She answered on the second ring.
“Please tell me you’re coming over,” she said immediately.
I smiled.
“How did you know?”
“Your ‘I’m fine’ voice yesterday was unconvincing.”
“Rude,” I said.
“Accurate,” was her only response.
“Is Ava awake?” I asked.
“Unfortunately. She’s been up since six alphabetizing my vinyl collection.”
