Page 61 of Atlas
Charles was pouring something on top of a turkey-sized bird but looked up. “Oh, hello. I’m trying to get the skin crisp. Give me a minute, and then I’ll come and shake your hand.”
Atlas had told me that Charles had tics, but I only saw him twitch his nose a little. “No rush. Is there anything I can help with?”
Liv smiled at me. “Oh, that’s sweet of you, but I’ve got it.” While Kit and Damian sat down on chairs by the kitchen counter, Liv put on an apron that said, “Sexy Chef #2.”
“I like the aprons,” I told them.
“Oh, thank you. I gave them to Charles a few years back as a joke. Atlas, dinner is almost ready, but you have time to bring in your suitcases and show Jolene where she’s sleeping tonight.”
“I’ll show her,” Nathan offered. “You’re in River’s room. She won’t get here until tomorrow, but then you’ll have to bunk with her. You’ll love River; she’s a lot of fun.”
“It’s okay, Nathan. I can show Jolene myself,” Atlas said. “Just let me get the suitcases first.”
“Come on, give the woman a chance. No one wants to hang around their boss. Besides, she came for me, not you.”
“She didn’t come for you. She came to interview River, Lumi, Maximum,andyou.”
“Exactly. You’re not on the list, so let me take care of our guest.”
Atlas squeezed Saffron a little. “I guess that gives me time to hear all about how my little princess is doing.”
Liv, who was chopping a salad, pointed the carrot she held in her hand at Atlas. “We talked about that. Don’t call her a princess.”
“Oops, sorry.” He looked at Saffron. “Can I call you a troll?”
She giggled when he tickled her, but I never heard her answer since I was following Nathan upstairs.
“So, Atlas told me on the way here that you’re a serious athlete and that you own a sports store.”
“Yes, I started it two years ago. Lumi, Atlas, and our parents are investors. For now, it’s just one store, but we’re planning to expand and create a chain.”
“Atlas said that you travel a lot for your sports. Who takes care of the store then?”
“My staff. I’ve hired some good people.” He was a few steps higher than me on the staircase and turned his face to me. “Did Atlas tell you that I did an ultra-race in Iceland last week?”
“No. What’s an ultra-race?”
“It varies. This one was a fifty-five-kilometer run through the wilderness.” Nathan took a turn to the right, down a long corridor with doors on each side.
“The rooms here aren’t big, but that’s Ireland for you. Everything here is quaint because a hundred years ago, when they built this house, small bedrooms meant less money to heat them. Liv and Charles talked about combining some of the rooms to make them bigger, but I doubt they’ll do it. The few times a year that we’re all together, it’s nice that we each have a room.” He pushed open the door to a room with one bed. Everything in there was white, from the walls, curtains, lamps to the bedcover and dresser. The only spots of color were a few decorative pillows in yellow and a picture on the wall.
“This is River’s room?”
“Yes. She likes white.”
“I can tell.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t both be sleeping in that small bed. The drawer underneath is a pull-out bed.” Nathan walked into the room. “River and I used to share a room before we moved here. She never liked sleeping alone, which meant that most nights, she bribed, begged, or charmed either Lumi, Maximum, or me to sleep in here.”
“She won’t mind sharing her room with a stranger?”
Nathan smiled and raised his brow. “Trust me; she’ll be thrilled. River is over-the-top social.”
“Okay, now I feel better. I was a bit worried that she would feel that I was intruding on her space.”
“If she minds, you can always sleep in my room.” He winked at me.
His flirtatious energy had me smiling. “Good to know.”
