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“My business is different. I offer a service. I have to purchase and store the items to rent.”
She rested her head back. “That’s true.”
I wanted her to have whatever she wanted. I looked back at Wren, whose ears were still covered, and then said, “In the beginning, I said I wanted you to get something from our arrangement. Right now, you’re helping me, and I’m not giving you anything in return.”
“I’m living with you.”
“You’re still paying for your apartment. I’ll support you if it’s what you want to do. If you find you can’t afford the apartment, then let the lease lapse and move in officially.”
“That wasn’t the plan.”
I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Plans change. Let me do this for you. No matter what happens, you have a place with me.”
Everly slowly let out a breath. “Yeah, okay.”
“Does that help with your concerns?” I looked over at her, needing to know if she was okay with my suggestion. I wanted to take care of her.
“Like I said, I mean, my car is paid for, so it’s just the apartment and insurance.”
I reached over, interlacing my fingers with hers. “Let me help. Just until you’re on your feet.”
She looked away.
“What are you thinking?”
She bit her lip. “I want to do it. I kind of hate my job. I don’t have a mean boss, and everyone’s nice, but I’m not happy.”
It was what I’d suspected for a while. “You’re not using your creative brain at work.”
Everly chuckled. “To be fair, I sketch designs in my spare time.”
“But you want to be doing more.”
“Quitting will allow me to take on more clients and have more space to create. It’s the perfect solution. I can’t believe I’m really going to do this.” Her face filled with excitement.
I squeezed her hand. “I’ve got you, Everly. I want you to do this.”
She smiled at me. “Thank you. I don’t think I would have felt safe enough to take this leap without you.”
“That’s what friends are for, right?” The words felt like ash on my tongue. Why had I said that? Come to think of it, during this conversation, I’d mentioned our arrangement being temporary and the fact that we’re friends. I was screwing everything up. I was supposed to be convincing her we could be more, not reminding her of what we weren’t.
Hopefully, I hadn’t blown everything. Maybe she was so fixated on her business that she hadn’t noticed the slip.
I could feel her gaze on the side of my face before she looked away. She probably thought the worst of me. That I could have sex with her and compartmentalize everything. So that when this was done, I could walk away. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
“Have you thought about what your ideal day would look like?” I’d listened to a billion business podcasts when I was starting out, and this one always stuck out to me. I wanted to be there for Wren if she was sick at school. My work gave me the freedom I needed, and I wanted the same for Everly.
She smiled, resting her head on the seat. “Hmm. Wake up like we did on Monday morning, make breakfast, and then maybe go for a walk or work out, come back, shower, and start work. Gosh, there’s so much more time when you don’t have to commute to work.”
“Or get dressed up.”
Everly snorted. “Like it’s so hard to throw on a button-down and slacks? You don’t have to worry about your hair or makeup.”
I smoothed the hand that had been holding hers over my hair. “Hey, I worry about my hair.”
She laughed. “I’m sure you do. Vain much?”
“What? It’s okay for a woman but not a man?”
