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Her face falls and she brushes off her dress. I wish I could pull off that kind of style. The neckline looks like she stepped out of a Hollywood movie set in the ‘50s. Bombshell starlet. Matching shoes. Ruby red lipstick.
So this is his type? It makes sense, I guess. A woman would have to be sure of herself and filled to the brim with je ne sais quoi to keep up with him.
I’m trying to figure out why he didn’t tell me a woman lived with him when he introduces me to her. She’s going to be a little upset, I’m sure. Even if she does like dogs. Maybe sleeping in my car isn’t so bad after all.
The niggle of disappointment surprises me even more than the woman, though. Why had I assumed he was single? Why do I want him to be single? I don’t, do I?
“Stella, meet my business partner, Gertrude Finnegan.”
“Tru Stanhope,” I correct, holding out my hand.
She shakes it briskly and smiles so genuinely I feel warm all over. Which makes me feel even worse that I was even minutely attracted to her boyfriend. “Hi, Tru. Nash told me his silent partner was a little old woman in New York.”
“I’ve been told I’m mature for my age.”
“So you’re my landlady.”
“I...am I?”
Nash is watching my face closely. Too closely. Like he senses my near brush with jealousy. Which is impossible. “Stella rents the apartment across the hall from us.”
“Us?” Stella asks, clearly surprised. “There’s an us?” She points to me, then to Nash, then makes some gesture with her hands poking one finger into a hole she made with the other.
Nash grimaces and grabs her hands to stop the lewd gesture. “Just for that, I’m raising your rent.” She laughs, and he tries to regain his cool. “Tru is utilizing the guest room at my place while she learns a little more about the business. She won’t be staying long.”
God willing.
“Tru, can I meet your dog, please? I work for the vet down the block and run a foster program for rescue animals.”
Nash exhales loudly and sort of stomps away while I get Fifi out. She goes right to Stella like they are old friends. “Nash, your lunch is getting cold,” she yells at him across the bar, but he growls at her and does something to the dartboard to reset it.
“Actually, I already heard you were here. My dad called me at work after he left this morning and filled me in. I was just hoping to get more gossip.”
“Your dad...”
“The assless chaps one from the band. Nash’s dad just wore leather pants and spandex. Mine also had a perm. He taught me how to do eyeliner in the seventh grade because my mom is hopeless with makeup and my sister thinks eyeliner is trashy and wouldn’t help me.”
I’m at a loss for how to reply to that. Assless chaps? I was just going to ask her if her dad was the one Nash called Jake. “Your dad seemed pretty conservative this morning.”
“Oh, yeah. He only ever wears dad clothes these days. So how long are you staying upstairs?”
“I’m going to start business school this fall, so just long enough to learn the ins and outs. I thought it would be prudent to take a more hands-on approach with some of my investments.”
She worries her bottom lip and glances at Nash, nodding. “Well, we’re happy to have a city girl in town. You can give us some sorely needed cosmopolitan culture.”
I look down at my bland outfit, the way it makes me look boxy and sixty. “I think you probably have a better handle on that than I do. I really like your dress.”
She beams at me and kisses my dog’s head. “Thank you! It has pockets.”
Nash joins us at the bar, grumpily, but opens the bag. “Do you like grinders, Gertrude?”
“I don’t want to intrude on your lunch.”
“Sure you do,” Stella answers. “You can have half mine.”
I stammer and try to get out of it. But Nash suggests I pour us all an IPA and they divide their sandwiches among the three of us. Stella eats with Fifi on her lap and I can’t help but get caught up in their easy friendship. I’m a world away from Tavern on the Green and my ladies who lunch days, but I’m oddly at ease.
“Can I read your palm?” Stella asks holding out her hand for mine.
