“You know your neighbor that’s been out of town for the last few weeks?”
A bad feeling came over Nova and she turned to stare at Addie. “I’m not going to like what you’re about to say, am I?”
Addie lifted her hands. “Maybe.”
Suddenly, Nova knew exactly what she was going to say. “It’s Torin, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Something about Addie’s expression told Nova that there was more she needed to know.
“What else?” Nova asked. “Just tell me quickly and get it over with.”
“He’s also your landlord.”
Nova’s stomach rolled over and she wondered if it was going to drop all the way to her knees. “Please tell me that you’re playing a prank on me,” she muttered.
Addie winced. “Um, no, I’m not.”
Nova folded her hands on the hostess stand and dropped her head onto the back of them. Then, she banged her head against her knuckles a couple of times.
“Why me?” she whispered. “Why me?”
“Look, it’s cool,” Addie said. “He’s almost never home and he doesn’t take his landlord role all that seriously. He hired the rental agency to handle tenants and any issues that arise. Outside of the restaurant, you’ll never see him. It’ll be fine.”
“And does Torin know that I’m his tenant?” Nova asked, lifting her head to stare at Addie.
“Um, he does now?” she said, more of a question than a statement.
“Great.”
Nova took a deep breath and separated the information she learned today into separate compartments. It would help her deal.
In the negative compartments, she was working for Torinandhe was her landlord and neighbor.
On the positive side, she loved her job. She still had her job. And she’d discovered that Torin actually had a sense of humor, even if he usually kept it hidden beneath a thick layer of Type-A personality.
And he might not have smiled yet, but Nova had a feeling he would eventually. Just as soon as she figured out how to make him to do it.
Wait. No. Bad Nova. Torin was her grumpy, anal boss. She had no business trying to make him smile.
“You okay?” Addie asked.
“Yeah,” Nova answered, feeling her shoulders relax. “I’m good.”
Addie studied her. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” she repeated. “Torin and I are both adults. We’ll deal with it.”
The other woman nodded. “I’m sure you’re right.”
Something about her tone caught Nova’s attention. “Why do you say it like that?”
“No reason,” Addie said. “You’re right. You’re both adults and Torin is really good at behaving like a responsible human being, so I doubt you’ll have any problems at all.”
“You sound like you mean the exact opposite,” Nova retorted, her eyes narrowing.
Before Addie could say anything else, Torin appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. “Are you two done in here?”
“Yep, boss,” Addie answered.
