He froze in the act of slipping his jeans back on.
“Nothing too serious, just a couple of questions,” she said.
“Okay,” he drawled, zipping up his jeans. “I’ll answer honestly, I guess.”
Astra shook her head. “Just get my bag. My keys are on the kitchen counter.”
As he went into the kitchen to get her keys and then out to her car, Rune wondered what she would want to talk about. The woman was full of surprises, so it could be just about anything.
He found her bag in the trunk and hauled it inside, surprised at how heavy it was considering its small size.
Astra was standing in the kitchen, draining a glass of water, when he came back into the house. He carried the bag into his bedroom and returned to the kitchen to find her boxing up the leftovers they’d left on the table earlier.
His stomach growled and she smirked at him.
“Worked up an appetite, huh?” she asked.
His response was to take the container of dumplings out of her hand and pop one in his mouth.
She went to the bar and hopped up to sit on top of it, completely ignoring the barstools on the other side. Then, she held out a hand for the container and he gave it to her.
“What did you want to talk about?” he asked, going to the cabinets next to the sink to get his own glass and some water.
“You said you’ve been living here for a while, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you a huge Raiders fan or something?”
He glanced over his shoulder at her and she gestured to the helmets at the end of the bar. “Oh, those. Yeah, I like the Raiders. They’re supposed to be for my game room, but I never got around to fixing it up, so I leave them in here. Why?”
Astra cocked her head and stared at him as though she were trying to figure him out.
“What?” he asked.
“I’m trying to decide how blunt I need to be with you.”
“Be blunt,” he said. “I can cry in the bathroom later.”
Astra grinned at him. “Okay, I think I know why none of your dates ever stayed for dinner when they came over.” She popped another dumpling in her mouth.
“Oh, really?” he asked, propping his lower back against the opposite countertop and crossing his arms over his chest. “Why’s that?”
“Your house looks like a shrine to the Raiders. Black, grey, and white everywhere. It’s a little intimidating and not very stylish. Some more…shallow women would run for the hills.” She paused, studying his face before she continued, “I think it’s time for a change.”
He winced, but answered, “I’m horrible with this stuff. That’s why the house still looks like this. I didn’t really see anything wrong with it, so I left it as it was.” Not to mention that he hadn’t had the money to make any changes when he’d bought the place.
He could afford it now, but he still didn’t know what he was doing.
“I know a good decorator,” Astra said. “And considering she’s married to my sister, I bet I could get you the friends and family discount.”
Rune looked around and had to laugh. “I guess I’m willing to put myself in her hands.” He turned back toward Astra. “But my office is off-limits. I’m on a deadline and I can’t be locked out of it while she’s doing whatever she’s going to do.”
“Claudia is level-headed and no-nonsense. I think she’ll understand and adhere to any reasonable guidelines you lay out.”
“Are there unreasonable guidelines she’s encountered before?”
“Nothing white. At all. Not even a speck on a fabric or the walls. No overhead lighting. Decorating an entire room based on a single piece of artwork in neon colors. I have a whole list of weird stuff people have required. That’s just what I can think of off the top of my head.”
