Justine snickered. “That’s funny. My sisters are so the opposite. My oldest sister is the son my father never had. She’s smart, pretty, and vicious. Basically, his mini-me. She married his protégée, a financial guru with the personality of burnt toast.” She paused. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this. I sound like a horrible person.”
The coffee machine beeped, and Xavier got up to refill their cups, then helped himself to creamer from the fridge. “Sorry, Rosie used to make me serve her when I visited. I haven’t yet broken the habit.” He brought her creamer and a bowl of sweetener packets from the counter.
“Thanks. No worries.”
As Justine fixed her coffee, Xavier continued, “Please don’t apologize for being honest. I love my sister and love being with her, but she’s a drama queen and knows it. So your older sister is a carbon copy of the old man. What about the other sister?”
“She’s the middle child; I’m the youngest. Mallory is the family pleaser. That sounds really mean, but it’s sadly true. She’ll do anything to earn my parents’ approval. It drives me nuts, but there’s not much I can do about it. I don’t like her fiancé much, but he’s approved by my parents so it’s a done deal.” Justine sighed. Just thinking about Ted made her ill.
“And you? The youngest, you said?”
“Yeah. I’m the only one who didn’t go into business. I’m a PR stooge with a graphic design background. I work at a marketing firm in town.” She didn’t like thinking about work on her off time. “But it’s the weekend, so let’s not go there. In any case, my dad still nags me to come work for him. He’s also constantly trying to fix me up with his employees, which is just embarrassing. My mom helps him by springing these poor guys on me, when I think I’m going over for some mother-daughter bonding and end up doing coffee with a stranger. I’ve stopped visiting.” And wasmorethan overdue for a family dinner.
“Whoa. That’s rough. But I think it’s a parent thing. You look...” He paused. “How old are you?”
“How old do I look?” She laughed, which was odd. Normally around a handsome guy, Justine felt like a bundle of nerves and typically said the wrong thing at the wrong time. But since she’d already put her foot in her mouth earlier, she felt surprisingly comfortable around Xavier. He hadn’t been eyeing her breasts or making moves. Just talking about family, making eye contact, andlistening.
It was...nice.
“What’s that look?” he asked.
“Oh, just thinking that this conversation is a lot better than the ones I had last night.” She grimaced. “And for the record, I’m twenty-nine.”
“Ah. Well, I was going to say that when you near thirty, a lot of parents seem hit some kind of switch that has them naggingabout marriage and grandkids. I’m thirty-two, and my mom has been all over me about finding the right girl and having children.”
“It’s not just me, then.”
“Nope.” He grimaced. “Last night, while you were having terrible conversations with people, I was watching bad reality TV and making my mom a boyfriend list with my sister. Because when Mom has a boyfriend, she leaves us alone. What can I say? I live a sad life.”
She laughed. “Wow. And I thought my night was bad.”
“What was so bad about it?”
“Katie, my best friend you met last night, keeps trying to set me up with her friends. And I’m just... I’m done dating for a while. My last breakup sucked. And frankly, I don’t have time to date just dealing with the day-to-day in a lousy job and dealing with my stressful family. Did I mention my middle sister is getting married next month, and I’m one of her bridesmaids? It’s a nightmare.”
Justine paused, suddenly embarrassed about confessing things to a stranger. And in her pajamas, no less! “I’m sorry. I’ve been sitting here in my PJs talking your ear off.”
“What? Oh.” He gave her shirt a brief glance and looked quickly back up at her face. “I hadn’t noticed, to be honest. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to talk to someone and not feel pressured to perform or impress.” He paused. “That sounds horrible. I just meant you’re easy to talk to.”
She gave him a shy smile. “You are too. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but this is nice. Like, I feel like I’ve made a new friend. One who understand difficult family and the need for quality coffee and donuts.”
He held up his cup. “To new friends.”
“To new friends.” She focused on how good it felt to share coffee with someone without pressure to be anyone but herself.
“And to no more fights on the second floor.”
She laughed. “We’ll keep them to the first and third floors only.”
“Exactly.”
“Now what can you tell me about the other tenants in this building? Because the super stares at me like he hates me, and I’ve been warned not to screw around or the cop in 1A will write me up in a heartbeat.”
“Oh boy. We might need something heavier than caffeine and sugar for that. But I’ll give you the abbreviated version.”
And that’s how Justine spent her Saturday morning, with coffee, donuts, and a smile on her face as she learned the best way to navigate life in the TCA with a new friend.
CHAPTER 4
