Page 15 of His Hot Mess

My stomach plunged. The photo was familiar because I’d pinned it there ages ago.

“You have a real range of… interests,” he said, pulling the phone back. Then he tapped on it, clearly swiping through boards.

Oh my god, not the—I swung for his phone, trying to grab it before he could get to…

Too late.

Jerking Chris’s phone from his hand, I looked at the board I should have made private years ago:Mancandy.

The image up top was a photo of a half-naked blond who, coincidentally and mortifyingly, bore a striking resemblance to him.

I growled, shoving his phone at his chest. “How the hell did you get my Pinterest handle?”

“Your sister sent yourShopboard to Gray.”

“Who then sent it to you?” I could throttle Lucy. Then my mind followed what he was saying.

“Wait, why did she send the board to Graydon?”

Chris sighed, leaning back against the counter. “Before Mr. Fancy-suit informed us he only wanted Grayscale to do the work downstairs, Gray advised me if you got the lease we’d prioritize helping you with improvements.”

“Aren’t you guys like… super busy?”

“Helps that he’s marrying your sister.”

My heart inflated as I thought about Lucy’s finance. Gray really was the best. And so was she, for arranging this. I reminded myself to give her my profuse thanks later. Begging Lucy to ask Graydon to get Grayscale to do the work on the shop was something I hadn’t been looking forward to, on top of the money.

The money. In all my daydreaming, I hadn’t thought about what all this would cost. Now, with Chris, an actual contractor, holding a photo of my absolute dream shop, my stomach nosedived with the reality of this situation.

I’d gotten a few hundred dollars from my security deposit on my apartment in New York. And a few hundred more saved from waitressing tips. But it was all I had to pay my rent and buy groceries with. And it was fast running out. On top of that, I had a fair amount of credit card debt.

Chris must have seen the look on my face, because he said, “Luckily, the store won’t need major renos to get to what’s in the picture.” He stood next to me and held his phone out so I could see as he scrolled back to his notepad app. Even as I mentally bit my nails waiting for him to continue, I couldn’t help but shiver from the tingling that ran up my side as our arms nearly touched.

“Even without major structural renovations,” he said, “I’d estimate it’ll be ballpark… fifteen grand.”

My heart sank. Even if I cobbled together all the limited scraps of credit left on my cards, there was no way I could afford that. I could ask Lucy for money, but the thought made me feel sick. The last thing I wanted was to be on the hook to her for one more thing. Getting Lucy to bail me out was not New Sadie behavior.

Besides, what if the shop failed and I couldn’t pay her back?

I could just give up and try to get a job. Maybe Aubrey would hire me. But as much as I already loved Aubrey’s, the idea of going back to waitressing when I’d promised myself I was turning over a new leaf also made my insides churn in protest. Being a server was easy because it was familiar. I didn’t want to just do the easy things anymore.

I couldn’t.

I knew, then, that I needed to try to get what I wanted here. If I was going to be the new Sadie, the Sadie who didn’t beg her big sister for help and who didn’t take shitty jobs because I thought they were all I could get (even though Aubrey’s would probably be the farthest thing from shitty), I was going to need to fight for what I wanted. I had to prove to myself I could do this. I needed to prove to Charles I’d be an awesome tenant. That he’d be proud to have Sadie’s Vintage in his unit.

Then I realized the answer was right there—Charles. He’d probably be thrilled to have his space looking like the one in the picture. He’d said he was happy with whatever cosmetic improvements his tenant wanted to make, within reason. He’d gone a bit less enthusiastic after Chris had pointed out the leak, but I was sure he’d be back to pleased again once he learned there were no major building issues.

Before I could lose my nerve, I ran and got my phone. Stopping just outside the bathroom, I found the photo of the London store, and with a few quick taps on the screen, texted it to the number on Charles’s card. Then I dialed his number.

I looked up at Chris while the phone rang. He was watching me with a quizzical expression, but didn’t say anything.

I let out a breath when Charles picked up. “Charles here.”

“Charles—Sadie Fulham.”

“Sadie, everything okay?”

“Yes. Great, in fact. Chris hasn’t found anything else to be concerned about here.” I looked over at Chris, who folded his arms and leaned his ass—his very nice-looking ass, I noted with a glance in the mirror, on my bathroom counter.

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