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ChapterTwo
“You ready for this, old man?” Tony taunted as they stepped out of the building, both of them instantly assaulted by air so cold it cut like a knife.
“Take it easy with that ‘old man’ shit,” Rhys replied. “I’ve only got three years on you.”
“Yeah, but while you’re knocking on the door to forty, I’m still residing in my mid-thirties. Young, virile, and about to kick your ass on this run.”
Rhys chuckled even as he shook his head. He and Tony Moretti had been roommates for two years, though their association had been much longer than that.
For the last eight years, the two of them had shared office space in this building, Rhys occupying the first floor with his medical practice, while Tony and his brothers ran Moretti Brothers Restorations from the office suites on the second floor. When their landlord told them he was planning to sell the building, both he and Tony had wanted to buy it.
What could have evolved into a nasty battle for real estate instead turned into one of the best business—and personal—decisions Rhys had ever made. The two of them had decided to invest in the large building together, renovating the top two floors into a living space.
After fifteen years of living alone, Rhys certainly hadn’t intended to suddenly move in with a roommate, and it hadn’t been hisorTony’s plan to live where they worked.
When Tony first proposed they renovate the top two floors, the idea had been for them to create an upscale apartment that they would rent out, increasing the value of their purchase, while giving them some income to lower their monthly mortgage payment.
Then Tony and his brothers had built the most gorgeous living space Rhys had ever seen—and he’d realized he wanted the apartment to be his home. At the time, he’d owned a house in the suburbs of Philadelphia, but because he worked long hours, he was rarely there. He’d never made any connections to his neighbors, and the large, cookie-cutter house had never felt like a home, but instead more like a hotel suite. The king of takeout, he hadn’t used the kitchen to do much more than make toast for breakfast. It had basically been a place to store his stuff and sleep at night.
However, just like with their shared desire to own the building, Tony had come to the same conclusion about the apartment, anxious to get out of the too-small apartment he’d been sharing with his brother Joey across town.
And once again…they’d found that middle ground, agreeing that the apartment was large enough—actually, too large—for the two of them. The transition to roommates had been smooth, and Rhys had no regrets. His commute to the office had shrunk from a twenty-five-minute drive to two flights of stairs.
“Fuck,” Tony muttered, stopping mid-stretch. “It’s cold as shit out here. What do you say we do the three-mile route today and the five-mile one tomorrow?”
Rhys was tempted to accept the suggestion, but he knew putting off the longer trek wouldn’t work out to their benefit in the long run. “I checked the weather,” Rhys said. “Tomorrow is going to be even colder.”
“Fuck,” Tony repeated. “Philadelphia winters suck.”
They walked down the three steps that led to the sidewalk, did a couple more quick stretches, then turned north, ready to begin one of the three routes they’d established when they first started running together.
“Let’s get this over with,” Tony muttered, and Rhys began with a slow jog.
He’d only taken a few strides when something unusual caught his eye, and he paused, looking toward the street. He noticed Tony hadn’t even started to run—his attention already drawn to the same vehicle parked by the curb, just outside their building.
“What the hell?” Tony mused, stepping toward the vehicle. The windows of the ancient Honda were slightly frosted, but still clear enough that they could make out a person sitting in the driver’s side. The car wasn’t running, and given the low temperatures, it seemed odd that someone would choose to remain in an unheated car.
He and Tony moved slowly, using caution as they approached the vehicle.
“It’s a woman,” Tony said.
Rhys had noticed the same. Though her features were obscured by the frost on the windshield, he was able to see the slight form of a dozing female, violently shivering. Because her eyes were closed, her head tilted awkwardly in an attempt to use the headrest as a pillow, she hadn’t noticed them yet.
True to his take-charge nature, Tony crossed around the car to the driver’s-side door and tapped on the window. The woman inside jerked in surprise as Rhys remained on the sidewalk, observing. Her face was now turned away from him, so all he could see was the back of her winter hat and dark hair beneath, curling over her shoulders.
“Jess?” he heard Tony say.
His curiosity piqued, Rhys walked around the car as he asked, “Jess who?”
“The waitress from the diner.”
Rhys confirmed it was indeed the woman who typically waited on their table every Wednesday, when he and Tony met up with several other friends for lunch at Paulie’s Diner.
It was a tradition the two of them had started long before they’d ever moved in together, and one that stuck afterwards. Once a week, without fail, a large table of Moretti brothers, cousins, and their friends claimed a big table at Paulie’s to indulge in whatever the special of the day was.
Tony knocked on the window, bellowing at her as only a Moretti man could do. While Rhys was known for his gentle bedside-manner tone, Tony was brasher, more demanding, more…Italian. “What the hell are you doing out here? It’s freezing! Open the door.”
Rhys’s doctor instincts took over. “You’re going to scare the hell out of her, Tony. Move over.” He gave the waitress a smile. “It’s Rhys and Tony, from the diner, Jess,” he said. “I can see you’re cold.” She was shivering violently and hypothermia was a real concern. “We live in that building right there. Why don’t you open the car door and come inside for a few minutes? You can warm up.” They needed to get her inside sooner rather than later.
