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She giggles. “You’d be entertained.”
I raise a brow. “Would I?”
“My roommate and her partner are…” she rolls her eyes, “… loud.”
Placing my glass on the table, I lean closer to Penny so no one overhears our conversation. “This is a problem for you?”
She shrugs again.
And I have my answer.
“I’m used to it, but I don’t expect anyone else not to get a good night’s sleep.”
I wait a moment before asking more questions. I take a mouthful of whiskey and another. “Why do you stay?”
Penny sips her wine and casually places it on the table. “Cheaper rent for a good location. We stay out of one another’s lives, and I prefer it that way.”
“If you found a better place for the same rent, would you take it?”
She eyes me curiously. “You are aware there is a housing deficit?”
“You forget my brother works in real estate.”
She nods slowly. “Right.”
“If it’s fine with you, then I can ask him to keep an eye out for any vacancies?”
Penny tilts her head as a slow smile creeps across her lips. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
My shoulders relax. “Are you happy to stay and eat, or do you still want to leave?”
The waiter appears at the table. “Excuse me, sir, are you ready to order?”
I place the menu aside. “It is up to the beautiful lady to decide.”
“I don’t suppose you have takeout?” Penny says playfully.
Aidan frowns. He is confused, considering I own the restaurant and am aware there is not a takeout option.
At first, he stammers, and I eyeball him. “If you prefer to take the food with you, I can speak with the chef,” he says.
“Penny?”
She looks embarrassed for me. “We’ll just order now and eat in.”
I tilt my head at Aidan. “The lady would like to stay. What do you recommend?”
Aidan reads out the chef’s special meals, asking her what she prefers and if there is anything she would like to add to her meal.
With Penny more relaxed, we finish our meals and the bottle of wine.
The conversation flows onto the renovation. “You didn’t answer my email,” I say. “I was waiting for a response, so I assumed you were happy with the contract terms.”
“I didn’t get it. Did you accept my excessive hourly rate?” She grins at me as though her proposal is excessive, and when we last spoke, she said we could negotiate the terms. “When did you send it?”
“When I landed in New York.” I pluck my cell from my pocket and scroll through the sent mail. “For fuck’s sake.” I shake my head. “It stayed in draft mode.” Now, she doesn’t know how much she means to me since I multiplied her terms fivefold.
She giggles. God, I love the sound of her happiness. “Sent,” I say and smile at her, hoping when she reads the terms, she’ll know how appreciated she is. “You’re not to read this until we’re home. No more business tonight.”
