Page 21 of Blame It on the Bikini
"Two weeks. Maybe that's why I'm suddenly obsessed with laundry. I'm probably nesting."
"I know nothing about pregnancy, so whatever you say, I'll believe."
Her grin broadened. "You're nicer than I thought you would be… I thought you were the Big Bad Wolf who wants to blow our house down."
He did not know what to say to that, except to tell the truth. "I am here to determine whether the building should be sold. If that makes me the Big Bad Wolf, then that's what I am."
"Fair enough. Thanks again for the help."
"If you need assistance carrying this basket upstairs, let me know. I should be around, and I assume you know which apartment is mine."
"Everyone does," she said with a laugh. "But Brad or my sister should be back soon, so I won't need to bother you."
As he left the laundry room, he saw Lexie entering the courtyard, juggling a half dozen or so helium balloons in shades of pink and lavender, with a paper bag wedged under her arm, and a spool of curling ribbon tucked beneath her chin. The wind caught one balloon and nearly yanked it free. As she wrestled with it, the spool of ribbon fell to the ground, and he moved forward to grab it before it rolled into the pool.
"Thanks," she said as he put it on the table.
"Can I take the bag?"
"Would you?"
He slid it out from under her arm, and once she didn't have to worry about that, she was able to tie the balloons around the arm of a chair.
"Looks like you're having a party," he said.
"Yes. A surprise birthday party for a seven-year-old," she returned.
"That explains the seven balloons. Is this for the kid who pushed me into the pool?"
"No, it's for his best friend, a little girl named Olivia, who lives upstairs with her mother, Bree. They've had a rough few years. Olivia's father was in the military and died in a helicopter crash."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It was very sad. I didn't know him, but he flew with another one of our tenants, Hunter Kane. Hunter had moved in here to recover from the accident, and Bree needed a lot of help, so she dropped Olivia off one day and turned Hunter into a temporary dad. He managed to rise to the occasion with a little help from one of our other tenants, Emmalyn McGuire. Eventually, Bree came back and decided to stay here with Olivia, who was thriving with a new school, new friends, and a support system here in the building."
He smiled. "You never miss an opportunity to show off the community, do you?"
"Hey, you asked me what I was doing," she said with a shrug. "Since you're here, how about giving me a hand?"
"What about the rest of your community?" he asked dryly.
"Kaia was supposed to help, but she got called into work. Hunter and Emmalyn are keeping Bree and Olivia out of the way so we can surprise both of them. Paige and Henry are picking up the pizza, and Ava is getting the cake. I have helpers; they're just not here. But there is you…" She gave him a hopeful look.
How could he resist that? "Sure. What do you want me to do?"
"String the happy birthday sign along the fence," she said as she pulled a string of letters out of the bag. "Then I want to spread out the balloons, tie them to various chairs so that the whole area looks festive."
He took the banner. "I'll start with this."
"Great."
He smiled to himself as he took the sign over to the fence. Every time he left his apartment, he seemed to get caught up in something he hadn't expected, like working on Frank's Mustang, and now helping set up a kid's birthday party.
It took him a few moments to get the banner attached. By then, the whirlwind that was Lexie had already spread out the balloons, and covered the tables with birthday placemats, paper plates, napkins, and forks.
Serena came back into the courtyard with two presents, and they were soon joined by Margaret and Josie, who brought presents as well.
With more people to help, he was about to make his escape when Lexie called him over. "One last thing," she said. "Can you help me carry a present from my apartment out here? It's pretty heavy."
