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Davis
Archer texted in the middle of the night asking if I could show one of our properties in the morning to a potential renter. The asshole woke me up, so I sent the response bright and early at 5:30 when I woke up, to which he replied with a succinct, dick.
Archer and I own several buildings around town. Some with apartments that we rent out long term, and a few that are available to tourists for weekend getaways. We also have several commercial properties, including the one that houses Archer’s office and the one I’m heading to now.
The streets are quiet this morning as I reach the building with the available storefront space. It’s red brick and the bottom floor is a commercial space that can be used as a storefront, which is what this client is looking for.
Archer usually deals with the people side of things in our business while I manage more of the upkeep on the buildings. I’m not sure why he couldn’t show the place this morning until I round the corner.
Pulling the keys out of my pocket, I look up in time to see Miri heading my way. I groan internally. Yesterday, with her on my boat, had been a subtle form of torture. I liked seeing her there. Her magic calls out to me, but more than that, my skin itches to touch her. Still, if nothing else, our conversation on the boat was a reminder about how wrong things could go for her here on the island. Despite my winning personality, Miri doesn’t seem to be put off by me. It’s like she enjoys my gruff, surly nature.
She looks just as grumpy as Archer does in the morning, except with her I find it annoyingly cute. She’s wearing tight black jeans with rips in the knees and her leather jacket zipped up tight. One of those fancy scarves that can’t possibly protect against the cold coils around her neck and her chin is buried in it. Her hair sits in a messy knot on the top of her head, and her eyes are shielded from the sun with a pair of large, dark sunglasses.
There are two large cups of coffee in her hands from the Sidhe’s Cup down the street, and I almost grab one from her. Getting ready earlier, I cut it too close, and didn’t have time to have a cup before I left the house.
“Is one of those for me?” I ask when she slows to a stop in front of me.
“I usually buy two cups of coffee so I can walk around using them as hand warmers, but I suppose you can have one. Unless Archer is showing up? He told me either he or his partner would come show me the space. Are you his partner?”
“Only in the business sense.” I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. Normally I don’t speak more than a few passing words unless I’m with my friends. If I’m on my boat, then entire days can go by without speaking a single word. And I don’t mind. There’s something about Miri that loosens my tongue.
“Shoot. Not going to lie, imagining you two partnering in the biblical sense is kind of hot.”
I snort and take the coffee from her extended hand, her presence making me feel unexpectedly light. Is that... could I be happy?
“Archer should be so lucky.”
Miri laughs, looking at me sideways with a surprised lift of her brow. “Whoa, Davis. Are you feeling okay this morning?”
I grunt and she smiles. “That’s more like it. Sorry, it’s just black.” She tips her head to the coffee I’m holding.
“It’s good. Thanks. You ready to check out the place?”
“You lead and I’ll follow.”
I highly doubt Miri has followed anyone’s lead in her adult life. She’s far too headstrong to do anything but whatever she wants.
The storefront is a good size, with a large open floor plan. It’s already set up for retail with a check-out counter at the back, providing a panoramic view of the entire store.
“It was a clothing store previously,” I tell her as she walks around the space, her hand trailing over the exposed brick walls and tipping her head back to take in the tin ceiling.
“What’s the design?” Miri squints up at the tiles, turning her head left and right light she might be able to tell at a different angle.
“It symbolizes the four seasons. Original to the building.” There’s a sun, moon, leaf, and flower, each stamped individually onto tiles and scattered over the ceiling in an alternating pattern.
“Wow, that’s incredible.”
I hum low in agreement. It had taken some extremely long days to restore it too, but that was part of what Archer and I did. We buy up old buildings that have fallen into disrepair and bring them back into their full glory. “There are a lot of these types of symbols around the island if you keep an eye out for them.”
I’m not sure how she does it, but with her I can’t keep my mouth shut. No one would ever accuse me of talking too much, but when Miri’s around I want to tell her things. It’s irritating.
Her eyes alight with interest. “Really? Is it connected to the Fae folklore?”
“Some people say it’s the symbols of the four courts of Fairy.”
She chuckles. “Of course. Well, whatever it is, the craftsmanship is incredible.”
“Yeah, restoring it was a bitch.” I rub my neck, remembering the ache of staring up at the damn ceiling for days.
