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He ordered for us and while he raised an eyebrow at my request for a cranberry club soda, he didn’t say anything. We toasted to the freaking weekend and made small talk for twenty minutes. Mostly revolving around the office, co-workers, his recent trip to New York and the differences between LA and New York City.
Eventually, he changed the conversation around to something that hit a little closer to home. “How’s the rental treating you?” He’d been renting me a quaint beach house since I decided that living out of a suitcase in a hotel room wasn’t a long-term strategy. It was a beautiful house and he charged me far less than the house was worth.
I finished my sip and nodded. “I actually wanted to talk to you about that.”
He winced. “Don’t tell me the pipes are acting crazy again?”
“No. Not at all. The place is perfect.” I sipped my drink. “But it looks like my stay is going to be a little shorter than I expected and I don’t want to leave you in the lurch.”
Noah tilted his head and swirled the amber contents of his rocks glass. “You and your ex getting back together?”
For whatever reason, my eyes flew to my left hand and the familiar pit in my stomach clenched at the sight of the tan lines around my finger. “No,” I replied, shaking my head. “But I guess you could say I got the house in the breakup.”
“Aha.” Noah nodded and from the look on his handsome face, I wondered if he regretted asking. It wasn’t like him to pry. “Well, if you want my two cents, he’s an idiot for letting you get away.”
Blood rushed to my cheeks and I ducked my chin. “That’s sweet.”
Noah brushed his hand over mine, resting on the bar. I glanced up at him and met his intense stare. I hadn’t quite figured out how to read him. He smiled and the warmth returned to his expression. “You just let me know what you need, Holly. Don’t worry about the house. It’s yours as long as you need it and when you’re ready to leave, give me a call and I’ll have a crew over to help you pack up if you need.”
I returned his easy smile. “Thank you, Noah.”
“Anything for you.”
The pit in my stomach loosened slightly and a flutter of something new replaced it as I glanced down and saw Noah’s hand still resting on mine.
Saturday morning I woke up early, snapped Hunter’s leash on, and headed over to the house I’d purchased with Jack all those months ago. It was time to move on. Each small step was necessary for me to regain control of my life.
Hunter whined in the front seat when we got closer, his tail swishing over the center console as he stared out the passenger window. My heart sank at his reaction. He thought we were going to see Jack and Princess. Tears welled in my eyes and I reached over to pat him on the head. “You’re stuck with me, pal.”
He glanced over but then went right back to staring expectantly out the window.
By the time I put the car in park, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I killed the engine and laid my head back, exhaling.
Hunter pawed at the door and I heaved myself from the car, leaving the door open so he could follow me out, and then we went up the front steps. I opened the door and he darted ahead of me, nearly taking my legs out from underneath me on the way. He raced around only to circle back to me with a puzzled look on his face.
“I’m sorry,” I said, sinking down into a deep squat. I wrapped my arms around his thick neck and held him close as fresh tears slid down my cheeks.
Hunter seemed to understand. He relaxed into me and let me hold him without whining for what felt like forever.
When I finally found the strength, I pushed up to my feet and continued through the house. It was all exactly as I’d left it. Jack hadn’t moved a single thing out of place. There wasn’t even a speck of dust on the tables and when I made it to the kitchen, I discovered why. A stack of papers from the cleaning company were laid out, describing the tasks completed. I cringed. I’d forgotten to cancel the once monthly cleaning service.
“A CPA who doesn’t even monitor her own credit card accounts,” I mumbled to myself as I leafed through the pages. I pushed them aside and went further into the kitchen. The fridge was empty except for a couple of water bottles. The cupboards held the dishes and even a few unopened boxes of cereal and crackers. Everything was just as it was before I left.
