Devorah held out a hand and, when Rune took it, gave a firm shake. “Nice to meet you, Rune. Astra hasn’t told me much about you other than you’re in dire need of Claudia’s services.”
“Uh, oh. Well, I’m a writer,” he said, wondering if Devorah was ever going to release his hand.
“How long have you lived here?” Claudia asked, crowding her wife to the side.
“A while. Long enough that I’m ashamed I haven’t made any changes.”
Claudia smiled and gave her wife’s arm a light smack so that she released him. Then, Claudia took his now-free hand. “That’s okay. I’ll help you.”
Unlike her wife, Claudia gave his hand a good shake and released him. She turned, taking in the living room and dining area and breathed, “Oh, my.”
Feeling a little desperate, Rune grabbed Astra’s waist and pulled her closer to kiss her cheek. “Protect me,” he whispered.
“I heard that,” Claudia said. “I’m not that scary. I leave intimidating people to my wife.”
Astra laughed and patted his cheek. “You’ll be fine. They don’t bite, I promise.”
“Well, I don’t promise,” Devorah said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’d like to know more about the man who has my little sister smiling all the time and walking around like she has little hearts circling her head.”
“Really?” he asked, looking from Devorah to Astra. “You smile all the time?”
Astra glowered at her sister. “I might smile a little more lately.”
He hugged her. “Good. I’m glad I make you smile.”
Devorah frowned harder until her wife smacked her shoulder. “Stop glaring at him. You should be glad he makes your sister happy.”
“I am glad. I just want to make sure he keeps it up. And that he can handle it if we give him a hard time. He hasn’t met Mom and Dad yet, so he needs to know what he’s in for.”
Before Rune could ask for clarification, Astra interrupted.
“Why don’t Rune and I go to lunch and let the two of you bicker in his house?” Astra asked, her tone arch.
Claudia flushed and Devorah rolled her eyes.
“Sorry, Astra,” Claudia said. “I’m just trying to make your sister less of a pessimist.”
“I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist,” Devorah said.
Claudia opened her mouth to say something, then shut it. Finally, she said, “You know what, we’ll continue this discussion later.”
Rune bit back a laugh at the flash of worry in Devorah’s eyes. Apparently, her wife could be intimidating as well.
“Now, why don’t you give me a tour of your house?” Claudia said. “And give me an idea of your budget and what you’d like.”
“Um, well, as far as what I’d like, I want it to be comfortable. Nothing too fancy, but nice enough that I won’t be ashamed to invite people over.” He paused. He hadn’t given it too much thought, but now that he was, there was something else. “I really don’t want any major renovations either. I like the layout of my house the way it is. The kitchen is just right and so are the bathrooms. At least for me, anyway. As far as budget, I have some flexibility so I’d like to hear what you think should be done and then we can compromise.”
Claudia nodded, pulled out her phone, and started tapping away. “I’m just taking a few notes. All this sounds reasonable. Let’s go through and talk about changes that I’d suggest and what you like. If we don’t do any major reno, your budget shouldn’t be outrageous. Unless you want designer furniture.”
“No, thanks. I want a couch that is easy to clean and that isn’t so expensive I want to cry if I spill something on it.”
Claudia nodded. “Let’s start in the kitchen. If you don’t want to change the layout or cabinets, what about paint and tile?”
Rune followed her, leaving Astra and Devorah behind. Even as he spoke with Claudia, he kept one ear cocked. He didn’t want to offend her sister, but if she gave Astra a hard time, he’d figure out a distraction.
As he and Claudia talked about paint and tile colors and if he was willing to change the flooring in the kitchen, he heard Devorah say, “He seems…nice.”
There was a pause and he was careful to keep his back to them, but he wondered what expression was on Astra’s face because Devorah continued, “Don’t look at me like that.”
