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My anxiety ratchets up. “So?”
“I think you should go for it. See where it goes. Meet him in person,” Fiona proclaims. “Look, here—the messages from two weeks ago. You guys were bantering back and forth when you admitted you hadn’t made it to a third date in over a decade, and he joked that he felt almost sad to break your streak. That’s chemistry.”
“Chemistry?” I repeat, unconvinced. “More like pathetic.”
“Plus, if there isn’t physical chemistry, you don’t want to waste weeks or months on someone that you aren’t attracted to.” Simone purses her lips. “I agree. I think it’s better to meet in person as soon as possible.”
“You should answer right now.” Georgia pushes my phone across the table toward me. “We’ll help.”
My heart thumps. I’ve been on so few dates since I split with my ex-husband that the thought of meeting someone new makes my palms sweat. But I stare at the screen and type my middle name: Edith.
“It was my grandmother’s name,” I explain, then I type that too.
I hit send before I can reconsider.
Simone claps. “Yay! Okay, tell us when he answers. We’ll start a group chat and you can put screenshots in there. And any pictures of hot men in wet T-shirts you might happen to take.”
I most certainly willnotbe doing that.
Georgia grins. “Are you going to work now? We can walk over with you.”
I glance at the time and nod. “Yeah.”
“Well, pop by the café if you have a free minute.” Fiona smiles at me, then walks around to my side of the table to give me a hug. “We’re glad you’re okay.”
The four of us leave together, and I manage to avoid looking at the door across the hall for longer than a few seconds, thankful that my three friends don’t notice the lingering glance.
My barbershop is a tiny,two-hundred-square-foot space with checkered black-and-white tiles, red vinyl chairs, and a small reception desk I got off the side of the road and restored myself. The mirrors have big black frames around them, and my little espresso machine and refrigerator are tucked into the back corner. As I walk in, I take a deep breath and let my lips curl into a smile.
It ain’t much, but it’s all mine.
The shop is pristine, so the only thing I need to do to open up is grab my laptop from the safe and fire it up, warm up the espresso machine, and check that all my instruments are sanitized and ready to use.
Then I hear a noise from the back, behind the door leading to my apartment. Another, louder bang follows.
Frowning, I unlock the door and cross into my old living space. A short hallway leads straight to the kitchen, where Des is mopping up water from the floor and a portly plumber is wedged under the cabinets.
“I thought I’d cleaned everything last night,” I say, nodding to Desmond’s mop. “Did I miss some?”
He turns to face me, eyes sweeping from head to toe and back up again. “Mia.”
Everything inside me turns electric, then tension steals over me. I hate that every time I’m in the same room as Desmond, it feels like I’m losing control over my own body. But the ladies are right—he did put me up in a nice condominium. He provided coffee and the basics for breakfast. He’s been a good landlord, if I ignore the massive rent hike. I should really try to be civil, and that means ignoring this strange tension gripping my body and treating him as a tenant would treat a landlord.
I wave. “Hi. Did it leak overnight?”
“No, the floor was pristine when we came in. This is my doing.” He lifts the mop. “But it does explain why it took you so long to arrive last night.”
I frown. It was just over an hour between the time Desmond left and I showed up at the new condo. That’s hardly an eternity. Why does it sound like he was worried? Maybe he was just annoyed to be waiting.
The plumber removes his upper body from the cabinets and turns his head toward me. “Ma’am.”
(Side note: I hate being called that.)
I nod. “How’s it looking?”
“Completely fu—messed up.” He rests his hands on his thighs and lets out a breath. “Looks like it’s been leaking for months, if not longer. There’s water damage as far as I can see.”
Desmond frowns in my direction. “Did you not notice the leak before yesterday?”
