Page 60 of Single Girl in the City
Light-bulb moments
It had been three weeks since she’d moved into Owen’s apartment and a week since any kind of a near-miss kiss.
It had also been three weeks since her last nightmare—go figure. Even so, a ping of guilt ricocheted throughout her body every time she saw him. Taking him up on the offer to stay in his apartment had been about as responsible as it had been intelligent. Yet there she was, living off his generosity while harboring her secret.
Not that she was a freeloader. She paid him rent every Monday. Hhe’d refuse to take her check and she’d hide it in his mail. It had become a fun game. Then there was her plan, a good plan that took all sides into consideration. And while she wanted to blurt out the truth and get it over with, following through on her promise to make his life happier was more important.
It didn’t matter, her time there was winding down anyway. Nora was practically running things on her own, Owen’s professional life had been streamlined, and Abi was finally on good terms with her sister. Well, “good” might be stretching it. They’d talked the other day when Abi had shown up for fish duty. It wasn’t a long conversation, but no one had cried—progress.
Dotti had insisted that Abi move back in, but she’d semi-politely declined. Abi wasn’t about to ruin any forward progress they’d made.
“You can always crash with me,” Nora offered.
Abi and Nora were in the breakroom hanging a giant whiteboard that had lines and grids in permanent marker and people’s names in erasable marker. Nora was holding the board while Abi lined up the screws. “I don’t have a spare bed and my roommate smells like saltines and ramen, but I have a sleeping bag and super plush carpet.”
Which sounded worse than Dotti’s couch. “Thanks, but my contract is almost up.”
Abi looked at the calendar on the lunchroom wall and sighed.Next week!The days had flown by and it was nearly time to pack up, yet her heart said she wasn’t ready to go.
“You’re really going to leave?” Nora asked. Today, she was dressed as manager extraordinaire in a pair of black pants and a white button-down, and her hair was pulled back into a complicated knot at the base of her neck. Personal, professional and, with her nose ring, the perfect hint of edginess needed to run a gastropub.
“That’s usually what happens when one’s contract is up,” Abi defended.
“No, what they do when they’re as good as you is, they negotiate. Ask for a permanent gig. Demand a raise.”
While part of Abi, that part that loved being around Owen, wanted to re-up her contract and maybe ask for something permanent, the sane part of her, who knew how this would play out, warned her that Owen didn’t do permanent—at least not in his personal life. And especially not with someone keeping such a huge secret from him.
It didn’t take long to uncover that Owen valued loyalty and honesty, two things that shouldn’t be all that hard to maintain, but she’d dug herself into a hole and wasn’t sure how to dig herself out—at least not without full repelling ropes and a winch. She knew this going in, had made her bed so to speak, and yet her heart sank at the idea of things ending. Because once their week was up, so was the gig.
He’d promised her they’d remain friends and, while she wouldn’t blame him if he reneged, she was banking on that promise.
“When it’s up, I’ll be moving on.”
Nora looked at her as if she had something to say, then shook her head. “Everyone was hoping you’d stay on longer. And I meaneveryone.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Has Owen mentioned anything?” Nora said casually.
“No, he hasn’t.”
And she didn’t think he would. They’d made an agreement and, as long as her work was finished and his life was noticeably simpler, she was going to stick to it.
“You don’t need me, you are so ready to do this on your own,” she told Nora.
“I know.” Nora was about as short on confidence as she was on tattoos. “Doesn’t mean we want you to leave. Things have been going so smoothly since you arrived. You’ve been here, what, a month?”
“Six weeks.” Six nerve-racking, unexpected, sexually frustrating, and wonderful weeks.
“The employees are happy, morale is up, it feels like a family again. And bonus, Owen isn’t his standard-issue grumpy self.”
“He’s not grumpy,” she argued, and Nora lifted a brow. “I can see how he comes off as grumpy, but he’s just stressed. Wouldn’t you be? Running a place like this all on your own, knowing that your family was counting on you to make it work?”
“All I’m saying is that he’s different when you’re around.”
Abi nearly dropped the drill. “Different how?”
“Come on, you have to see it. I mean, it’s pretty clear he’s you know, getting some.”
