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I glance at the navy blue suit he’s wearing. He’s paired it with a crisp white button-down shirt and a light blue tie. “That cuts it?”
His left hand skims a path over his chest. “It does.”
“I hate suits,” I confess. “But you already know that.”
Chuckling, he points toward the left. “Let’s get this over with then. We’ll hit up Berdine, get your work wardrobe in tiptop shape, and then grab a steak and beer.”
My plan was to head back to my grandmother’s penthouse for dinner. Even though Sinclair wants nothing to do with me, I want to see her. I need to know that she’s all right after our heated discussion last night.
Kalon pats my cheek with his palm. “Stop daydreaming about your roommate, James.”
I shake my head. “I’m not.”
He studies my face as people stream past us on the crowded sidewalk. “You can’t bullshit me.”
I’ve got no response to that, so I let out a heavy exhale since I’m busted.
“Did you talk to Sinclair about whatever the fuck went down between you two?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I admit. “It didn’t go well.”
“You knew it wouldn’t,” he shoots back. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Eventually, you two will find common ground.”
I glance in the direction we need to head. “You sound so sure of yourself.”
“I am,” he says with confidence. “You’re stuck living together now, so eventually, you’ll iron out your differences. Why the fuck do you think your grandmother structured her living trust the way she did?”
“To torture me?” I deadpan.
“That’s part of it, but she wanted you and Sinclair to get past whatever tore you two apart.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
He shakes his head. “It’s obvious. She forced you to live with Sinclair, just like she forced you to work with Holden. Denia wanted you to mend all the broken fences you left behind, so do that for her.”
“That’s easier said than done.” I gesture toward the subway stop half a block away. “We’re heading to Berdine now.”
“All right,” he says, exasperation edging his tone. “Check your ego, and make nice with Sin and Holden. All right?”
“Sure,” I say, not convinced that I can do either for more than a few hours at a time. “Less talking, Kalon, and more moving. You promised me a steak and a beer after this, remember?”
He perks both eyebrows. “Did I say I was buying?”
“Of course, you’re buying.” I pat his shoulder. “You’re a goddamn Beaumont.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Sinclair
“This is a beautiful apartment.” Arietta Voss, one of my closest friends, spins in a circle in the main living room. “I guess, technically, it’s a penthouse, right?”
“Right,” I affirm with a nod of my head. “It’s big.”
“Very.” She sighs, her gray eyes searching mine. “How are you doing?”
The concern in her tone comes from a genuine place. Arietta was my roommate before she moved in with her fiancé, Dominick Calvetti. He’s one of the many grandchildren of the woman who runs the Italian restaurant that makes the best pasta in New York City.
I was lucky enough to witness Arietta and Dominick’s love story as it unfolded. It made me long for a love just like they have, although I’m beginning to doubt whether every single person on this earth is destined for a happy ending.
“I’m all right,” I tell her honestly. “I’d much rather be at my apartment, but I have to stay here for the next twenty nine days.”
“That’s not long,” she says with a smile. “I know it probably feels like an eternity right now.”
Arietta only knows bits and pieces of my history with Jameson. She asked about him after flipping through my senior yearbook when she visited me a couple of months ago. She spotted a photo of the two of us wearing our caps and gowns at graduation. She wanted to know what our story was, but I explained that we were best friends and nothing more. I told her the truth when she asked why she had never met him. I said we had an argument that tore our friendship apart. She let it go after that because we sat down to eat.
She came over with a pizza that night, but I knew her true motivation was seeing Dudley. She has her own Yorkie now, but Duds still holds a special place in her heart.
That’s obvious since she’s cradling him in her arms. He’s happily chewing on the end of the red ribbon tied in a bow at the neckline of Arietta’s blue dress.
“It does feel that way,” I whisper. “I’m going to try and take it one day at a time.”
She bows her head to plant a kiss on Dudley’s nose. “That’s all you can do. Although…”
“Although?” I question since her voice trailed into silence. “Although what?”
“Although I have two ears, and I am a great listener.” She smiles, her eyes shining brightly behind her dark-rimmed glasses. “If you need to vent about the argument you had with Jameson, I have time to stick around.”
