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“Yeah, that’s probably it.” Chanti rolled her eyes as she stood. “I’m going up. I’ll take a look at the data. How about you stop by my door when you get back from the picnic?” She picked up the two bags. “And I’m going to look at your dress, and I may even try it on. It’s got to be like a thousand bucks, don’t you think?”
“I think the guy coming up the street is Wade. I’ll do this for Vivian and see you later. Thanks, Chanti.”
Chapter Fifteen
Piper
“Wade?” Piper asked, standing.
“That’s me.” He smiled. It was a nice smile. He was an average kind of guy, wearing average clothes—jeans and a button-down shirt, with loafers, no socks.
It looked first-date casual, intentionally chill and understated.
Piper should probably have checked in with Vivian about the goal of this picnic. She heard: new guy in your neighborhood looking for friends and pizza recommendations.
And normally, Piper would have watched for the read-between-the-lines tone of a setup, but she was distracted.
“Welcome to the neighborhood.” Piper brushed her backside in case her butt was covered in dirt. “Where did you move to?”
He turned and looked down the road, then flung a hand out as if that explained everything. He turned to her apartment and leaned back, looking up the four stories. “Have you lived here long?”
“I was born here. Well, not here, here. I was born in a hospital. But my parents bought the apartment when they moved to Virginia and used the rent money to pay the mortgage. Pretty clever, I think.”
He brought his gaze down. “So you own the place? Like outright?”
“I do.”
Wade whistled. “That’s pretty unusual for people our age. It must be nice to pocket the rent on top of your salary at the lab.”
“No. I—” Piper wondered where Wade came from. Talking this frankly might be a cultural thing. He dove right into the very personal. But she’d give him some grace. “After the property taxes and insurance, I invest any money back in the place so we can all live more comfortably.”
He’d arrived at the walk in front of Piper but his eyes were on the front door. “Give me an example?”
“Last year I put up enough solar panels that we can meet our electrical needs. I was able to pay for them outright.” She looked over her shoulder at her building with satisfaction. “One of my renters depends on medical devices. So now, we’re not worried about her when the electricity goes out. Bonus, the money my residents save on electricity gives everyone a little cushion.” She stuck a hand out. “Past tense, gave. Nowadays, the prices at the grocery store are gobbling up that savings.”
Wade was now focused on her. “You don’t charge them for the electricity?” Incredulity laced his words.
Though he was probably three or four inches taller than Piper, she was standing on a stair, looking down at him. “It’s free.”
“But you had to buy the panels.”
“With the rent money.”
“But that money should have gone into your pocket.”
Piper scowled at the lost look on the guy’s face. “But I don’t need it.”
“Everyone needs more money.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” He looked up the street again, and again, flung out his hand as if that were an answer, but added, “So you can do things. And have things.”
“I prefer people to things. Things are just more work, and right now I’m busy with my research. That’s how Vivian and I know each other.” She pivoted him away from her financial decisions back to shared ground.
And he didn’t take the hint. “A workaholic, then.”
“I consider myself driven because we’re so close to protecting families from going through what mine has.”
