Page 52 of Love Is Brewing

17

NEVER SHIED AWAY

Elias followed Phoebe to her place after dinner.

He’d been right about where she lived. It wasn’t as if there were a lot of apartment complexes in the area.

He parked next to her and they went into her apartment.

“I’m surprised you could get in here,” he said.

“We had this in the works for a bit and I put my name in. I thought for sure I’d have to be further away, but at the last minute this came up and I grabbed it. Not as big as I would have liked, but it’s only temporary.”

Not the first time he’d been reminded of that.

“Meaning you’ll buy a place to stay or move back to Charlotte?” he asked. Not sure why he cared, but he sort of did.

Did he want to get involved with someone only to have them leave?

Or was this more of a companionship thing in her mind?

And since it’d been a few weeks, he wasn’t going to be the idiot to broach it first and sound like a fool.

“Meaning that I have no plan,” she said. “I haven’t been here long enough. But I knew I was staying for a year or two. Inthe few weeks my practice has been open, I’ve got no problem staying.”

He turned to look at her face.“Yourpractice?”

He liked she was thinking of it that way.

“To me it is,” she said. “I know it’s a family practice, but I’m running this location.”

He laughed. “I think you like being in charge.”

“Oh yeah,” she said, smiling. He could stare at her all night but forced his gaze away. “Don’t you? Coffee or wine?”

“Coffee,” he said. “I’m not much of a wine drinker.”

“I didn’t think so,” she said, moving to her kitchen.

They’d both hung their jackets up and taken their shoes off at the door.

He’d been in the habit of doing that his whole life.

“It’s nice in here,” he said.

“Small,” she said. “But it’s fine. Open enough for me. I’ve got a spare bedroom that is my office.”

The kitchen was more galley-like with an island that looked into the living room. She had a small high table with four chairs between the island and the living area. It wasn’t tight, but not a ton of room either.

He knew what it was like living in a cramped space with lots of people.

Might be why he had such a big house now.

“West had this massive house built for my mother. It was the first thing he did when he hit it big. We all had living areas and wings in the house. There is an apartment in the basement and I was one of the first that got to live there. Everyone moved there at some point. Talia is there now.”

He often wondered what his mother was going to do when Talia moved out. That house was too big for her alone, but she’d said she’d never leave it so that family had a place to stay when they visited.

People stayed there less now though. At least those with significant others. He never did. Being an hour away, there was no reason for it. Foster always came back with him too.

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