Page 45 of The Huckleberry Bookshop

Oh boy. What had he said now?

“I’ve taken on a lot lately. I basically have three jobs and I’m crazy busy—like you. It’s a bad time to start a relationship. I might let someone down, you know? Leave them hanging.”

He grumbled to himself. Her argument against dating him was the same one he’d used against her going out with Glenn.

“Fine. How about this? We are now officially friends.” His tone was firm, and he hoped she wouldn’t fight him.

She paused for an uncomfortable length of time. Probably only a second, but long enough for his heart to drop. “I guess.”

He pressed on, despite her lack of enthusiasm. “And because you’re busier than a sparrow making its spring nest—”

“I’m not nesting,” she said hotly.

“—I’ll surprise you one night by bringing you supper at the store.”

“That sounds an awful lot like a date.”

“Friends do nice things for each other,” he explained. “I’ll bring enough for your sister. So technically, it’s just us being friends.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You want to have supper with my sister?”

“She’s part of the Tina package. Besides, I love how she gives you a hard time.”

“She can be such a little brat.”

He nodded, suddenly missing his own sister. The jokes. The endless agony of being a sibling, but also the unparalleled joy of having someone who’d always forgive you, always take your side when it mattered.

“Fine,” he said, after clearing his throat. “We’ll excuse her, and you’ll squeeze out a half-hour break with me.”

“So, you’re making it a date?”

“I don’t care what you call it or if we’re eating on top of boxes of books or sitting on the floor,” he declared. He hoped his take-charge tone wouldn’t make her dig in even further. “You need a break, and so we’re doing this. It’s for your own good.”

She was fighting a smile, clearly charmed.

Truthfully, he didn’t really want to sit on the floor eating out of take-out containers. But if that’s what it took to get Athena on a semblance of a date with him, so he could prove he was in fact a gentleman, then he was all in.

Athena hovered in the doorway of Chad’s penthouse, having turned down the offer of a drink when she’d dropped him off. She had asked to use his washroom, though, curious to see his home.

She’d imagined dark, masculine colors and showy décor lacking in personality or homey touches. A man cave built around the blatant masculinity he projected. Basically, an architectural version of Chad’s fancy cars and alpha reputation.

“You coming in?” he asked, his usually healthy glow having pretty much returned during the drive.

She crossed the threshold, clinging to the purse strap hanging over her shoulder as she looked around. Beneath her feet was a well-worn area rug covering polished black stone streaked with white. The entry was huge, bigger than her own apartment’s living room.

Chad’s penthouse, a jutting square at the top of a downtown building, had twelve-foot-high ceilings, giving it a very grand feel. From where she stood she could see through to the living room, airy and spacious and overlooking the city. Streetlights, building lights and cars below winked at her through tall windows as the January evening settled in.

This apartment in the sky, from what she could tell, had a million and one upgrades, and screamed money. And yet as she glanced around, she noticed the personal touches and gentle wear that made it a real home.

“Powder room’s there,” Chad said, pointing toward a door to her right.

She held back a smirk at hearing a man so large and in charge, covered in rings and a big tattoo, calling the bathroom by such a dainty name.

Covering part of the wall outside the bathroom were framed candid shots. Beneath, a long table was covered in a jumble of unopened mail and shipping boxes, gum wrappers and car keys.

She took in the photos, her gaze dancing over them before settling on one. There was a much younger Chad, a handsome boy without the rings or tattoos, but clearly him. His arm was around a girl in an electric wheelchair and they were grinning at the camera with that same perfect row of front teeth. Happiness.

“Who’s this?” she asked, pointing to the photo.

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