“Shit,” Quinn mutters. “It’s too good to be true.”
He chuckles again. “Sometimes something good can be true too, love.”
He called her love. I so want to giggle.
“We’ll take it,” Quinn says suddenly. “How soon can we move in?”
“Well now, you’ll need to fill out an application. I’ve got others interested.”
“See?” Quinn sounds pissed. “I knew there was a catch.”
“No catch.” He leans a little closer. “You’re my favorite by far, girly. I’m rootin’ for ya.”
With a laugh, Quinn says, “Vic, we need a place to live. Tayler’s boyfriend cheated on her, so she’s got to move out. I was living in a basement with a spider the size of my fist.” She holds up her fist for reference. “This is the best place we’ve seen. We need an answer now.”
“My goodness, you do remind me of my beloved Mary.”
“Your wife?”
“Pitbull. She’s the love of my life.”
I can’t take it. I move in and repeat, “We’ll take it.”
Quinn starts to laugh, and I can tell she’s not going to stop for a bit.
“Tell you what,” he says, scratching his scruffy face. “If everything checks out on your applications, it’s yours. It’ll take me a day or so. Then I’ve got to paint and clean.”
“We’ll do that.”
Quinn jumps at the chance, and I’m glad because I nod, adding, “Yeah. We’ll paint and clean.”
“Interesting.” Vic scratches his chin again. “I’ll let you know tomorrow. Is that good enough?”
“Yes!” we say at the same time.
We follow Vic back downstairs to his gorgeous apartment. It’s even nicer than the one upstairs. Hell, he’s even got granite counters. While we wait, Quinn whispers, “Can you believe this place?”
I shake my head. I can’t. I really can’t. I see movement out of the corner of my eye. A giant dog has stepped out from one of the back rooms. I instantly freeze up. I’m scared shitless of dogs. I reach out for Quinn to pull her back when the dog trots right over to her, sits down, and wags its tail in front of her.
“You must be Mary,” she says, petting the dog’s head. She coos at the animal, telling her how pretty she is. I’m shocked she’s not at least a little scared of the large beast. “… I think I love you too.”
“You’re in.” Vic’s voice sounds sort of scratchy. “She’s n-never done that before.” He clears his throat. “She’s a rescue. Abused somethin’ terrible. She’s scared of everyone.” He sniffles, and it sort of makes my eyes water.
That dog must have been through something horrendous to get that reaction from the crotchety old fool.
“But not you, spitfire. She loves you. And in my book, dogs read people way better than humans. You’re in. I’ll have the paint and supplies up there for you tomorrow. First and last month’s rent before I give you a key. You can move in tomorrow.”
I’m staring at Vic while Quinn pets Mary. “Did you hear that, girl? We’re going to be neighbors.” Mary barks, and Quinn laughs. She stands up and reaches out to shake the man’s hand. “Thanks, Vic.”
Who the hell is that girl? She’s not the best friend I remember. The one scared of everything. That girl is gone. Long gone.
“My pleasure, spitfire.”
When we get to the car, I turn to Quinn. “Who are you?”
“What do you mean? I’m me.”
“You’re much more than that.”
