Penny loved Van City, but she’d been itching to get out. Ever since her older brother Lucas . . . She shivered and rubbed her arms. The city hadn’t felt the same since he’d passed. Her family hadn’t felt the same. Like a dark cloud had been hovering over them the past three years.
Danny had been a cloudless blue sky and moving to Alberta a fresh spring breeze. She hadn’t known then how hard the wind would blow on this side of the Rockies.
Penny rounded the island. “You might have to get used to the idea of not playing next season, even if we do extra PT.”
“Not an option.”
Penny blew out a breath. She wasn’t going to argue with a guy she’d just met. He wasn’t family, her boyfriend, or even her friend, and she didn’t owe him anything. If he wanted to ruin his knee, so be it. "Can I see the bedroom?" Her cheeks flushed. “I mean mine. My bedroom. The room that would be—”
"Just down the hall on the right. Mine is the room at the very end of the hall. Tyler left his bed frame and mattress, so you can use that or replace it with your own stuff."
She didn't have her own stuff.So stupid.Danny’s apartment was already furnished, so all she’d brought with her was her PT equipment, clothing, and personal items. Thankfully, she’d purchased her equipment before getting together with Danny, so he couldn’t claim that in their split. Not that he could force her to give anything up since they weren’t married . . . yet somehow she’d still left her gourmet coffee maker and favourite bowls.
Penny opened the door and looked in.Nice. Clean.Still smelled a little like male aftershave, but she didn't mind. Most of her childhood had smelled like that growing up with older brothers and her adult life? Up until three weeks ago, she'd been with Danny for nearly three years. Before that, she’d been with her yoga instructor for a year and a half, and before that, her college boyfriend, Jeremy, for four. Penny didn’t do short-term relationships. Or being single.
It had taken her eighteen months to call things off with Jeremy because she couldn’t bear the thought of his puppy dog eyes when she told him she was done. Even his lack of a job and refusal to contribute to their bills each month wasn’t enough to make her pull the plug.It had taken his more than friendly interest in their neighbour Monica to do that.
She wanted to make people happy. Even when she wasn’t. That was the perfect logline for her life from age twenty-three to thirty-one.
Penny took a peek into the bathroom, which also looked put together, then walked back out into the living room. “It’s great.” She searched for something to follow up with, but her thoughts jumbled into a knot. What else was she supposed to say? ‘I’m leaning toward servicing you for free rent?’ She almost snorted.Therapy. She would agree to administer therapy.
"Yeah. It's a good place." Brett ran his hand over his knee brace.
She should’ve brought Kelty with her. At least they knew each other and could shoot the breeze or something.Did she even remember how to shoot the breeze with someone?Brett didn't seem overly talkative, and she couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing. On the one hand, he probably wouldn't be in her way as a roommate. On the other, would every day feel like this? Standing there staring at each other awkwardly?
“I get up early to work out at the gym. Right now, I can’t do much, mostly upper body. Then I’m working from home since I can’t drive.” Brett tapped his knee.
“Still painful?”
He nodded. “Another week or so, and I’ll trust it.”
“How do you get to the gym?” Penny asked. Brett pointed to a crutch against the wall by the door. “You walk?”
“It’s only a few blocks. Part of this community. So if you wanted to go—”
“I don’t work out at the gym,” Penny scoffed. She hated everything about those places. The clinical machines. The smell of rubber and sweat. The guys who bent over next to you and kept making aggressive eye contact.
“You’re one ofthosepeople?” Brett smirked.
Penny shot him a look.Smart aleck.“I didn’t mean it like that. I think it’s great if people go to the gym, I just prefer to get my exercise other ways. And I get up early, too, so that shouldn’t be a problem.” Brett nodded but didn’t ask any follow-up questions. Penny was glad not to elaborate. “So, three PT sessions a week.”
“Right.”
Penny pursed her lips. “Only for the summer. Maybe not the full summer, honestly. My parents have a thing at the end of July. I still haven’t decided what I’ll do after that.” She’d considered bailing immediately and heading back home after leaving Danny, but what would she do there? She didn’t have a place or a job in Vancouver either, and her parents had tried to convince her not to move here in the first place. She wasn’t quite ready to limp home with her tail between her legs.
Brett nodded, and her heart thrummed in her chest.This would be fine, wouldn’t it?It was only a couple of months, and Kelty and Sean had known Brett for years. He was a stranger to her but not to them.
Saying yes to this meant she could save money all summer. Get her feet under her. Then, if things still weren’t looking up, she could do the drive of shame over the Rockies at that point. “Okay, then. I can write up a contract.”
ChapterTwo
Brett closedthe door and clomped into the kitchen.Cameras in the bedroom?Why the hell had he said that? He’d been spending too much time with the boys if he thought that was a charming opening line.
Not that he wanted to be charming.Amiable. Normal.That was the goal, even though these days he felt anything but. His knee still ached at night, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a full night's sleep.
Brett’s phone vibrated on the counter. He exhaled and flipped it over. Tony. Impeccable timing, as usual. He seemed to have a sixth sense for when Brett was at his lowest. “Hey, buddy.”
“Lovely afternoon, eh?” Tony's voice sounded like it was being dragged by a pickup truck down a gravel road. Courtesy of twenty-plus years of smoking.
