Dad snatched the sponge back. “I’ll finish this off while you do. We’re only missing a few spots.”
“We?” I muttered as I turned to fish my phone out of my bag.
Not a text, not a call, nothing.
I texted him again.
Where are you, Olly? I’m at Dad’s and it’s already 6PM. You said you would come.
Then, I invented an excuse for him with Dad, the man who had fought tooth and nail to keep us afloat while making us feel loved every single day, even when he couldn’t spend much time at home. “Olly might be on the train, maybe without reception?” I explained, hoping Dad bought the lie. “I’ll try again in a bit.”
Dad sighed. It was a quiet sound that most people would have overlooked, but I knew it well. It was the Olly sigh. Because Dad blamed himself for whatever was going on with my brother.
Almost as much as I did.
I was about to attempt to reassure him when a female voice entered the room. “How’s my favorite neighbor doing?”
I turned to find a woman with graying hair high in a bun, her eyes twinkling with warmth and humor.
“Ah, Nora. You’re here,” Dad answered, his whole face brightening. “I hope we didn’t bother you by moving the furniture around. Is your book club meeting over? Did you bring some of your delicious red velvet cake?”
Her book club meeting? Her delicious red velvet cake?
Dad lowered his voice. “I’ve been thinking about it all day.”
I blinked. Oh Lord, what was happening here?
Nora lifted a bag she’d been keeping behind her back. “I’m glad to hear that.” She smiled before turning to look at me. “I didn’t know you had company, Joseph. Is this your daughter?”
“I told you to call me Joe,” he corrected her with a wink. A wink that had me doing a double take. “And yes, this is her. Rosie is an engineer. Works at a fancy company in Manhattan, remember I was telling you about that yesterday?”
Guilt sliced through my chest at my dad’s words. “That’s me.” I swallowed. “Hi, Nora, it’s nice to meet you.”
She smiled at me over the bag. “Your dad is very proud of you, honey. He told me all about that well-deserved promotion.”
I felt my blood drain from my face, but I gave her a nod.
Nora’s gaze slid to my dad. “She has those beautiful green eyes of yours, Joseph.” She chuckled. “I sure hope she’s not as stubborn as you are, though. Because those are some genes you don’t want to pass on.”
“Joe,” Dad corrected her. And without turning to me, he added, “Did you hear that, Rosie? Beautiful eyes.”
I searched Dad’s face, then Nora’s. They were both grinning. Dad at her, and Nora at the bag that contained that delicious red velvet cake he had been thinking about all day.
My phone buzzed in my hands, snatching my attention from the flirtation-fest happening right in front of me.
Lucas: How’s the home project? Your dad’s hip okay?
I bit my lip just so I wouldn’t smile at the screen. At his name. At his words.
And just like that, memories of our first and only experimental date toppled down my mind, making me feel all kinds of breathless.
It had been goofy, fun, sweet, and cheesy in the best possible way. As much as I teased Lucas, the truth was that I loved cheesy, and he had surpassed any expectations I’d had for our experiment. Every single thing about it—about him—had been a romance writer’s dream come true. A woman’s dream come true. Even thinking of that rodent running around the apartment didn’t make my skin crawl anymore. Instead, I thought of my legs around Lucas’s hips as he carried me to safety. Of his solid and warm body under mine. Of the intensity burning in his brown eyes as he’d looked at me when we danced.
It all had been in the name of research. Experimental flirting. Experimental dancing. Experimental… wowing.
But this wasn’t. The care he took in checking up on me and Dad—as Lucas, my roommate and friend, not Lucas from Date Night—wasn’t experimental. It was real. And that… was hard to ignore.
Rosie: He’s okay. He’s busy flirting with his neighbor. In front of me.
Lucas: Go Mr. Graham!
Rosie: Don’t encourage this kind of behavior.
Lucas: Why not? Flirting is healthy for the soul.
Rosie: He’s my dad And they are watching each other with googly eyes right here.
Lucas: He still deserves to eat, you know.
Rosie: EW LUCAS. NO.
Lucas: Fine but you’re a romance writer. You should encourage this. Maybe even give him tips.