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Thank God.
“No more than usual. It was fine. I was only there a few hours. As soon as I can find the info for my insurance policy, I’ll see how much they cover for a hotel and get one booked.”
Then she wouldn’t have to deal with him again. If she was being honest, the naked part hadn’t been such a hardship, but then he’d opened his mouth.
“Actually, Loyal said he’d go to a hotel. He’s already booked and moved.”
She blinked in surprise. “Really?”
“Yep. So the apartment is all yours as long as you need it.”
He’d actually done something nice? Guess she really couldn’t say Loyal was always an ass anymore.
Or, more likely, he’d only moved to avoid having to see or talk to her again.
She ignored the discontent that thought spawned, because she knew damn well not seeing or talking to him again should make her happy, not sad.
“You know, Rox, I’ve been telling you all along you’re welcome to move in there, so there’s no reason to even go looking any further for a different place to stay. It’s furnished already, it’s above the shop, and it’s free.”
“And after the fire, no one will think you’re taking advantage of anything,” Honor added.
Roxanna swallowed hard. She’d never taken the offer for exactly that reason, but now… “Maybe.”
“I don’t want to hear maybe,” Asher said firmly. “I’ll charge you some rent if it makes you feel better, but you just need to move in. This way you don’t have so many things to replace all at once.”
That was a really good point.
“Did you go by your building yet this morning?” Honor asked. “We looked it up after talking to Loyal earlier. It’s amazing no one was hurt. It looked like the fire went through the whole building.”
“Yeah, I had to go get my Jeep earlier. It is bad. Doesn’t look like there’ll be much of anything left, but I won’t know for sure until they let us in to look around. If they even do. When I asked when that might be, the guy I talked to said they have to wait until the inspector gives the all clear that it’s structurally sound before anyone can go inside. That could take a couple of days, or up to a couple of weeks.”
And in the meantime, it was crazy how many things a person didn’t realize they took for granted until they weren’t there at hand. Simple little things. In the couple hours between picking up her Jeep and coming back to the shop, she’d reached for her purse a half-dozen times. For lip balm, her sunglasses, gum, one of her oils, a pen.
“If you need anything at all, please let us know, okay? I can transfer some money, or you can use anything from my house. Anything you need.”
“Also,” Honor chimed in, “there’s a spare key for my house in that birch basket on Asher’s counter. Help yourself to my closet if you want. Obviously, most of my pants will be too short, but maybe some of my tops will fit.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ve been able to find some stuff off my clearance rack in the shop. I might go over to do some laundry in a day or two, though.”
“Go for it,” Asher said. “Mi casa es su casa. Help yourself.”
“Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it. Now, enough about depressing stuff, tell me how your trip is going.” When they didn’t answer right away, she said, “Seriously, give me something positive to think about. Please.”
“It’s going great.” A happy smile brightened Honor’s voice. “I climbed a cliff with my bare hands and a rope yesterday. It was awesome.”
“She’s a natural,” Asher added. “And, I’m beginning to think, an adrenaline junkie.”
“If I am it’s because you made me one,” she argued. “We’re going again today.”
“Go figure. She doesn’t want to lay on the beach. Our secluded, private beach.”
“Tomorrow,” Honor promised.
Roxanna smiled at the two. She was very happy for them, even if it made her feel lonelier than ever. “I’m glad you’re having fun.”
“We are. But we’ll be home on Thursday to make sure we don’t miss the Halloween party on Saturday.”
The reminder brought a frown and took her right back to the fire. Her usual gypsy get-up for telling fortunes to raise money for the kids had probably gone up in smoke. “I’ll have to come up with a new costume.”
