I just hope the changes I suggested help her business instead of making me the target of her anger if they don’t.
I unlock the outside door and head up the stairs to the second floor. I hesitate outside Avery’s flat, wanting to say something about how great the shop already looks, but I decide against it.
Instead, I unlock the door to the flat I’ll be staying in. The squeak of the hinges echoes throughout the room since there’s nothing to absorb the sound. It took Talia a bit to find the door, but she got it put back up, which gives me some security. I still think Avery is crazy for leaving her door unlocked, but that’s just me coming from New York and having to lock everything.
I’ve stayed in a lot of different places before, but this is definitely the first unfinished flat I’ve lived in.
At least there’s power, so I can pump up the mattress and charge my phone. Although, it’s kind of nice not depending on it as much as I used to. It almost feels like I’m recovering from a phone addiction.
Honestly, I’m okay with that.
My nervous system is finally getting a break from theconstant barrage of phone calls, texts, and emails. But that won’t last forever. I got a text from Aiden earlier that my father called again. I’m going to have to call him soon.
I’ve just gotten the mattress blown up when I hear a knock on the door.
I look up to see Avery standing there with worry in her eyes. She’s carrying a stack of blankets and a large pillow, and while I’d resigned myself to making do with the throw pillow, I can’t help but sigh with relief at the sight of a real one.
“Are you really sure you want to stay here?” Avery asks, glancing around the room.
“I’ll be fine,” I say, waving a hand around me.
“Are you sure you’ll be fine?” she asks. “If anyone tries to break in, you won’t have anything to throw at them.”
I don’t know why that comment makes me laugh, but I chuckle anyway. As hard as Avery tries to keep a straight face, she finally cracks and laughs along with me.
“Says the woman who leaves her flat unlocked.”
She laughs, tipping her head back slightly. “True. I don’t usually worry about it, but you have been suspected of having a criminal background.”
“I think Lila needs a little less true crime and a little more unicorns and rainbows in her life.” My cheeks hurt from laughing.
“I can just see the look she’d give you now if she heard you,” Avery says, grinning. It brings such a brightness to her eyes and her expression. And I want her to look at me like that always.
It would be easy to get caught up in this, to live a different life. But would that only be a dream I’d constantly wake up from? I can’t hide from my family forever, even though it’s peaceful without the constant demands.
I gesture toward the blankets, trying to ground the emotions that are spinning away from me. “Are these for me?”
I step closer, leaving only a few feet between us. She walks forward and hands them over.
“You know, you can come sleep on our couch. We have a nice pull-out. It’s even got a decent mattress.”
“That sounds like it’s coming from someone with a lot of experience.”
She gives me a small smile. “My sister is in town, so I usually sleep on the pull-out.”
“There’s not enough room for you in the flat?” I ask.
She smiles. “Sweet Lila takes the other room. It was just easier to give everyone space. And since my sister travels so much, it works out well.”
“Not on the weeks when you have to stay on the pull-out couch. Where do you store your clothes and personal belongings?”
“In the hall closet and then the dresser in the main suite.”
“You need a three-bedroom apartment with a walk-in closet.” I’ll have to find a way to get her into one of the newer ones so we can fix the one she’s in right now.
“That will be for another time in our lives. Right now, with my sister traveling so much, and me barely getting started with the coffee shop, this is the best we can do. We’re keeping costs low while still being mostly comfortable. And I can’t complain about my commute to work.”
She grins, and I laugh again. “Yeah, that’s for sure. There are times I wish I didn’t have to travel so much to get to my office.”
