Page 7 of Finding Romance
I open the door to find four women standing there. Two are holding bottles of wine, one has a fruit salad, and another has a plate of cookies.
“Hello,” I say, recognizing some of them from around the building, but not all of them. I step back as they file inside.
“Girls, this is my niece, Piper,” Aunt Cornelia says as Margie brings in the cheese platter and sets it at arm’s length of her.
Margie points out each woman. “This is Carly. She lives across from Brayden and has an adorable little girl, Ava. This is Cam. She works at the café across the street and makes the best baked goods. But, you girls met already, yes?” We both nod. “This is Roxy. Roxy owns the bookstore downstairs. And this is Jocelyn. She works at the bookstore. We are down one tonight. Jessa is meeting an old friend for dinner. But you know her.”
I nod. Jessa and Troy have lived here longer than my aunt and Margie. Cam wanders into the kitchen and comes back out with wineglasses for everyone. And before I know it, all the women are settled on seats and chatting about all the juicy neighborhood gossip. I can see why my aunt loves this place.
“So, Gray is taking me away next weekend, but I have no idea where. Did he tell any of you?” Roxy asks.
I purse my lips. “Gray, the composer who lives downstairs?” I ask, confirming because it’s been a hot minute since I’ve seen him.
She nods. “That’d be the one.”
“Nope. You know he wouldn’t trust us with that information, right?” Carly says with a giggle.
“Did anyone ever get the scoop on where Kasen’s been?” Jocelyn asks. My ears perk up at the name of the mysterious, grumpy man across the hall.
“Sort of, but just what he told everyone at happy hour,” Roxy says.
“I just feel like, there has to be more to that story,” Jocelyn laments with a sigh before taking a long sip of a merlot.
Cam shrugs. “Who knows? That man could be James Bond for all we know.”
“True,” Carly says as she reaches for the chardonnay.
“Who’s watching Ava tonight?” Margie asks.
“Bray for the first part and Kasen for the second part,” she says.
“Huh?” I ask, confused.
“Oh, Bray has to work tonight, but he promised Ava that they would finish this puzzle they’ve been working on. Kasen volunteered to get her to bed.” Carly snorts a little as she laughs and the others join in, including me, because the thought of Kasen tucking in a small child is pretty funny.
“What, no Hutch?” Cam asks while grabbing a piece of cheese. I reach for some myself because I’ve flat-out forgotten to eat tonight. I definitely chose correctly when I went to art school and not nursing school. Taking care of someone is hard work.
“Nah, he promised his brother that they’d play some video game tonight,” Carly explains.
“Everyone here is, like, really close, huh?” I ask because I’m truly curious. I remember my aunt taking me up to some happy hour thing on the rooftop once as a teenager. And they are always talking about their neighbors, but I never realized just how tight-knit the building is.
“Yep,” Roxy says with a grin.
Cam throws a cracker at her and rolls her eyes. Roxy laughs. “Some of us are closer than others,” Cam states dryly.
“Hey, don’t be a jealous beotch!” Roxy retorts.
Cam groans. “Anyhow, do you have a significant other?” Everyone looks at me.
“Oh, uh, no,” I stumble over the words too quickly. I feel my cheeks heat a little. Every woman my age seems way more experienced with men than me. While most girls were dating in high school, I was flip-flopping between my parents’ homes and then spending time with my grandmother, my aunt, or an art camp. And now, I’m a twenty-three-year-old virgin. Talk about feeling inadequate. I wouldn’t know the first thing about doing anything but kissing a boy and that’s only happened a few times. I can literally count the number of dates I’ve been on with my two hands. I had one college roommate who tried to get me out on dates with guys she knew, but none of them worked out. The guys were terrible kissers and just wanted in my pants immediately, or they were super jerks and we never even got to the kissing part of the date. By junior year, I just put dating on the back burner, figuring it would happen after college, but here I am nearly six months out of college, and I still haven’t dated anyone.
“Well, you’re young. No rush, right?” Cam offers.
I nod a little and take a sip of wine so I can keep from talking. Carly’s phone pings, and she smiles and walks to the front window.
“May I?” she asks my aunt and Margie. They nod and everyone grins. I’m confused until she opens the window, pokes her head out, and looks up.
“Goodnight, Mommy!” Ava yells. I smile.
