AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I didn’t.”
“I have to agree,” I said, scooping the leftovers into the containers.
“Nobody asked you either,” Pepper said.
How could she not have dated in twelve years? It sounded as if it was by her own choice, but I didn’t understand.
She was beautiful in a simple, understated way. Minimal makeup. Dark hair piled in a high ponytail on top of her head. Jeans and a sweatshirt that appeared well-worn.
Gray eyes that turned a smoky shade when she got mad. Lips that were impossible not to notice, especially when they turned up.
And she had a sharp wit. When she’d asked me if I wanted Muffy to rinse off the rest of the tire, it had taken all my composure not to laugh. But I’d been irritated by a message from my father. She and Muffy had received the brunt of it.
She scrubbed a serving dish. When she was finished, I took it and rinsed before I set it on the towel laid out to dry it.
“I bet you don’t have too many dates with a license plate like yours.” There was fire behind her words, but I understood. Nobody liked to be ribbed even when it came from a good place. Miss Adeline wanted her to be happy. That much was obvious.
And I was used to taking shit for my truck tag. I was well past the point of being upset about it.
“Women dig sensitive men.”
She paused mid-wipe. “Dig?”
“Yeah. Dig.”
“Are you going to the concert that’s coming up?” Miss Adeline asked.
Pepper blushed. Sounded like somebody had been talking about me.
“Nah. Tickets are hard to come by.”Not that I’d tried.
“I know a guy.” She shrugged.
“Somehow, I don’t doubt that.”
Chapter Seven
Pepper
“How did I miss this balcony?”
Mr. October stood frozen in the doorway that led outside. Miss Adeline’s apartment was massive by most New York standards at nearly two thousand square feet. It spanned the top floor of the three-story Grey Paws building, and at times it felt even larger because of the twenty-foot ceilings.
“I told my Hastings I wanted a balcony.” Miss Adeline brushed some snow off her rocking chair and sat down.
“How’d you find one in this city?”
I pressed the starter on the gas heater situated between our two usual chairs, but it didn’t ignite.
Mr. October reached around me and got it going with one try.
“Thanks,” I said as I sat.
He settled in the chair beside me.
“We built it,” Miss Adeline said. She pulled her toboggan lower over her ears.
“I beg your pardon.”
