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Mr. Moreno lets out a groan that I’m pretty sure matches my own. Partying is not exactly on the top of my priority list. Sure, I want to have fun and experience all that college has to offer but my shyness and anxiety usually keeps me from most social activities. I can’t seem to relax around strangers. But just like her dad, I have a feeling that Bianca isn’t going to take no for an answer.
“Can you two not party the first night you’re here? And if you do, don’t talk about it in the presence of your old man.”
“You’re not old.” The words slip out of my mouth before I even fully form the thought and I immediately slam my mouth shut, sure that I’m turning the color of bright-red embarrassment.
Great. Just great, Violet. Now he’s going to think you have a crush on him. Which you totally donot.
Bianca just lets out a laugh and links her arm through my own like we’ve been best friends for years, not that we just met ten minutes ago. “Well, he’s got seventeen years on us.” She shoots a saucy look back at her father. “Don’t worry Dad, we won’t do anything you didn’t do at our age.”
He lets out another groan and shakes his head before his eyes settle on me. “Come on, kid, let’s go get your stuff.”
Him calling me a kid makes me frown a little but I shake it off and dutifully follow him out into the hallway and down to the parking lot, just grateful that I have someone that cares enough to help me at all.
Two Years Ago . . .
“Whose is this?”
I jerk my head up from where I’m setting the dining room table. Dante is standing across the small room holding up a copy ofThe Count of Monte Cristo. My copy.
“That’s mine, actually, you can move it if it’s in the way.”
“Not at all, I was just curious. Are you enjoying it?”
“Yeah,” I answer, continuing to lay the silverware around the small table, my eyes dutifully fixed to the task at hand. “It’s actually the third time I’ve read it. This time it’s for one of my classes.”
“It’s a great story.”
I bring my eyes up to his oversized frame that’s leaning against the sideboard. “You’ve read it?” I ask.
“What? You think just because I’m in construction that I don’t read?” His face is stony as he looks at me, and I start internally freaking out. That’s not at all what I meant. First, I would never judge who reads and who doesn’t based on occupation. I’ve just never seen him with a book or heard him mention anything that he’s read before. Second, I think he’s playing down owning his own growing construction company plus the fact that he owns a dozen rental properties in the Seattle area. Including this one.
“No!” I practically shout in my panic to correct his misconception. “Not at all! I would never think that. I—”
He lets out a laugh, cutting off my desperate apology. “Relax, Violet, I’m just messing with you. I’ve got to keep you on your toes.” He shoots me a wink that makes the butterflies that have taken up residence in my stomach flutter. I silently tell them to get it together. The butterflies and I are supposed to be working on getting rid of our teeny, tiny crush on Dante Moreno, not melting into a pile of goo at his feet.
“That wasn’t very nice of you,” I say, shooting him a glare that I’m sure I don’t pull off.
“Sorry,” he says while still chuckling, which certainly takes away from his apology. “I enjoy reading in my downtime, I find it relaxing to not have to think about work all the time.The Count of Monte Cristohas actually been one of my favorites since I was a kid, but I’m surprised you don’t have an eReader,” he says before joining me at the table. He grabs the remaining silverware out of my hand, his fingers brushing across mine, and I try to suppress the shiver that wants to run through my body. How am I supposed to move on from this stupid crush I’ve had for the past two years if when he touches me my body reacts that way?
“Oh, I do. I love my eReader. It’s perfect for something like the latest thriller or romance but, I don’t know, there’s just something about the classics. I like being able to hold them in my hands and turn the pages. It’s silly,” I say, slightly embarrassed.
He shoots a smile my way as he finishes setting the table. “It’s not silly. I get it. There’s something about reading the classics as an actual book. It’s how they were meant to be read.”
Before I can respond, Bianca comes into the room carrying an enormous bowl of spaghetti and meatballs while Hollie follows behind her with a platter of garlic bread and a bowl of salad.
After we’re all settled into our seats, plates piled high with carbs, Bianca taps her spoon against her glass, bringing us all to attention.
“Since this is our first night in our new house, I think it’s only appropriate that we have a toast.” We all raise our glasses, dutifully following her lead. “To the three of us, for kicking college’s ass. We’ve made it halfway through ladies and I couldn’t have found a better group of friends to join me on this journey.” She bequeaths us all with a wide smile that’s filled with warmth, and I can’t help but think of how lucky I was to be matched with her as my roommate that first day. I don’t know how school would have played out for me, but without a doubt, it would have only been a shadow of what I’ve experienced without her and Hollie at my side. “And to my dad. I can’t thank you enough. Not only for letting us stay in this beautiful house while we finish up school but for all the love and support you’ve given me over the years. So many people in my art classes complain about their parents pushing them to change their majors and how jealous they are when I tell them how you’ve always supported me and how you’re convinced that I’ll be a success.”
“I’m going to buy your first piece, it’ll be priceless someday,” Dante interrupts, and I wonder, not for the first time, what it would be like to have someone that supportive in my life.
“To us!” Bianca finishes her toast with a flourish and we all clink glasses with a chorus ofhere heresandlove yous.
We’re just starting to dig into our meals when Hollie pipes in with, “This place is amazing, Mr. Moreno. And I really do appreciate you letting us move in here but I don’t feel right not paying some kind of rent. You could make a mint on renting out this house in this neighborhood. I wish you would let me pay something for letting me stay here.”
I’m not surprised she’s brought this up, it’s been a point of contention for her since Bianca suggested we move in with her. Bianca and I met Hollie our second day at Branson, she was assigned to the room two doors down from our own and helped us figure out the washer and dryer. It was embarrassing being an eighteen-year-old that couldn’t wash her own clothes but we always had housekeepers to do that sort of thing at home. However, Hollie didn’t make me feel bad about it, just matter-of-factly showed me how it worked, and since that day, the three of us have been inseparable.
Since day one, it’s been obvious that Hollie doesn’t like to take anything she perceives as a handout. She works hard in her classes and at her variety of part-time jobs to support herself. I’ve offered her money repeatedly but she’s always refused.
