Page 57 of Heat Exchange
“Nice building,” he said as he killed the ignition. “It looks old.”
“It is, but it was rehabbed inside about ten years ago, so it’s not too shabby.”
He slung the strap of his bag over his shoulder and grabbed her duffel before locking up his truck and following her inside. The apartment she shared with Shelly was half of the second floor, and he couldn’t help being curious as she unlocked the door to let them in.
He’d seen her at the bar and at Scotty’s and her dad’s. He hadn’t seen Lydia at Ashley’s place, but he’d been there a few times because of Danny and could picture her there. And, obviously, he’d seen her at his place, but he couldn’t remember ever seeing the inside of the house she’d shared with Todd. He’d waited in the vehicle a few times when Scotty stopped by for something quick, but had never gone inside.
So, even though she shared the apartment with a roommate, this would be the first time he got to see a space Lydia had made for herself.
“Everything you see pretty much belongs to Shelly,” she said, stepping aside to let him in. “She’s been here for years, but I’m her third roommate. So we split the rent, but it’s mostly her place, if you know what I mean.”
It was neat, without a lot of clutter. The furniture was on the feminine side, covered in floral fabrics, and there were lace doilies under the lamps. But there were some cool art prints on the walls, and he looked at them while she said hello to a tortoiseshell cat that sauntered out of a bedroom to see what they were up to.
“I have to text Shelly a selfie of Oscar and me, so she knows I’m here. She had to leave by noon to get to the airport and she was a nervous wreck about leaving before I got here.”
Aidan snorted. “Should I go buy a newspaper so you can make sure the date shows in the photo, like a proof of life?”
“She didn’t mention that, but probably only because she didn’t think of it.” He watched her pick up the cat and carry it to the couch. “We actually get along really well—me and Shelly, I mean—which is nice. She has a lot of anxiety about her cat, but I can live with that. Right, Oscar?”
Once she’d texted a photo of her and the cat to her roommate and had a brief text conversation, Lydia grabbed her bag. “Come on and I’ll show you my room.”
Unlike the rest of the apartment, her bedroom showed a little bit of Lydia’s personality. There were no floral fabrics or doilies in this room, but there were some family photos framed on the bureau and a Red Sox throw blanket tossed over a plain wooden chair in the corner. The bedding was a light blue, with darker blue throw pillows. Instead of art, there were sports posters hung on her walls, and when he peeked into the bathroom, he saw a lot of hair stuff and almost no makeup. Definitely Lydia’s bathroom.
“This is it,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Welcome to my very humble abode.”
“I like it,” he said, sitting next to her. He bounced a little on the mattress and then nudged her with his elbow. “Doesn’t squeak. I like that in a bed.”
“I likeyouin a bed,” she said, nudging him back, and that was all the invitation he needed to make himself at home.
* * *
LYDIASTRETCHED,THENfroze when her leg kicked something hard. Aidan’s shin, she realized when she opened her eyes. They were in Concord, far away from prying eyes and gossip, and she had the entire day—and Aidan—all to herself.
“Ow.”
“Good morning,” she said, rolling to face him. “What do you want to do today?”
He blinked because she’d forgotten to close the blinds last night and the sun burned through the thin, decorative curtains. “I’d say spend the day in bed with you, but these sheets are really abrasive.”
She laughed and tried to hit him in the shoulder, but he caught her hand and kissed her knuckles instead. “You’re a sheet snob.”
“Blame my mother. And this is your weekend. What doyouwant to do? Does it have to be something the cat can do with us?”
“No, Oscar won’t be joining us.”
“Are you sure? I feel kind of bad we locked the poor guy out of the bedroom last night.”
“You would have felt worse if we’d let him in and he’d buried his claws in some soft, vulnerable part of your body.” He winced. “And yes, I once had to hide in here and try not to laugh at a guest of Shelly’s swearing while she put first aid cream on the gouges Oscar left on his right ass cheek.”
“Ouch. That’s worse than scratchy sheets.”
“Keep it up and you can sleep with Oscar tonight.” She sighed and snuggled closer to his chest. He threw his arm over her and kissed her hair. “I want to go out today. I don’t even care where. I want to walk around holding your hand and you can kiss me in public and then we can go to a restaurant and have a nice dinner together.”
“Sounds like a perfect day.”
After they’d showered and made sure Oscar had enough food, water and affection to last him a few hours, they went to Lydia’s favorite breakfast restaurant. It was too far to walk, so she gave him a mini tour of the city after they’d eaten.
“And that’s the restaurant I worked at until Ashley called me and asked me to help her out,” she said, pointing to the building that was probably meant to look elegant, but looked stuffy and overblown to her.
