Page 18 of Tattle Tail
Chapter 6
Joseph
Did you bring wine to a not-date? Arriving empty-handed went against what he knew about being a good guest, but Peaceable hadn’t asked for anything.
Wine. Everyone liked wine. Even if they didn’t, the gesture counted. Intentions matter, as his mother said.
“Locally sourced and ethical,” he said when Peaceable opened the door. “But it should be chilled.”
She accepted the bottle with thanks.
Joseph scanned the apartment. It was cozier than he expected. Tucked into the top floor of an older building, the ceiling slanted dramatically. Skylights gave the space an airy feel, despite the sloped ceiling. The walls were a crisp white. A thick rug covered the floor. Clocks and plants lined the far wall, which held a small balcony. City lights twinkled beyond the balcony doors.
Most surprising, and he wasn’t sure why it surprised him, were the books. Piles balanced precariously on the floor leaned against chairs and the sofa. Every surface had a book, open and face-down, holding Peaceable’s place. It was chaotic and disorganized, which clashed with what he thought he understood about Peaceable.
A wuap pranced into the room, then froze once it saw Joseph.
“Hello there,” he said, crouching down. He held out his hand for the animal to get a sniff.
“That is Nettle. Do not be offended if she dislikes you. She dislikes everyone.”
“Even you?”
“I bribe her with treats.”
“I’m not above bribery. Let’s make that happen,” he said. Peaceable handed him a small container.
Nettle mewed and twined between them at the rattle of the treats. She sniffed the treat in his hand, then snatched it away with an alarming display of teeth. The wuap dashed across the room, jumped onto a pillow, and crunched into the treat.
He liked the creature.
“Let me chill this and we can eat,” Peaceable said, hustling to the eat-in kitchen.
“Nice place,” he said.
“It is close to work. Do you live nearby?”
“I rent an apartment not far from here. I moved there a year ago. Before, I was in a cottage on Winter’s estate,” he said, even though Peaceable knew that. She had been to Winter’s house several times, worked in the shop on the property, and had access to his personnel file. They were awkwardly making conversation like this was a date, which was silly.
This wasn’t a date, and Peaceable wasn’t his friend.
Enough.
“Are we going to talk about the fiancé thing?” he asked.
Standing at the counter, Peaceable’s posture went rigid. “Yes,” she said, sounding reluctant, “let us do that.”
He took a breath to organize his thoughts. What came out was, “What the hell?”
“I know.” She turned to face him, her eyes down and her ears pressed flat, looking utterly miserable.
“Do you? Because what the hell, Peaceable? Seriously. I’ve been thinking all day about this, and nothing makes sense. Why? What did you think would happen? I know this isn’t some long con to trick me into a relationship because I’m too nice to break it off. I’ve got news for you, darling: I’m not nice. I’ve got plenty of exes who will line up to tell you what a rat bastard I am.”
“You are nice!”
The shout rang in the small apartment. Their gaze connected, and fire blazed in her eyes. Then, as quickly as it came, the fire extinguished itself. She muffled herself, he realized, and it made his chest hurt.
“I’m not that nice,” he said, his voice softer.
