“Liz? Are you in here? You have your eleven o’clock here for you,” a male voice calls in the background.
“Ah bollocks, I forgot Mr. Newton was on the books for today. I hate to run, but what if we celebrate later tonight? Dinner is on me since the commission is your doing.”
“It’s a date!”
When I finish with Liz,I finally have a chance to open Sam’s text from this morning.
Sam
Fashion Guru, I’m thinking about you. Wishing you the best of luck. Not that you need it. Ring me anytime.
My insides warm like an ooey gooey piece of caramel chocolate. I pull up Sam’s name from the Favorites tab in my contacts and wait for his face to appear on the screen.
“Min! Good morning—er, afternoon.” He scratches his head. It’s dark and hard to see his face. “Give me just a second.” I hear the sound of curtains being drawn. Light floods the room.
“Hey, Sam I Am. I’m sorry. I should’ve texted you. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“It’s fine. I need to be up anyway. I only meant to have a twenty-minute power nap. I need to grab lunch and get ready for a meeting with Yates at half one.” He rubs his eyes. “Is it official?”
I bob my head up and down. “Indeed it is. You wouldn’t believe how crazy my morning was.” I give him the shortened version of being late thanks to the power cut on the train. “I was so nervous, but the ladies couldn’t have been any kinder.”
“It’s all karma, Min. You do one good deed and your act of kindness is returned tenfold.”
I study Sam. His eyes are red-rimmed and tired. His normally clean-cut face is coated with a layer of stubble. I doubt he’s shaved today. “How are you’re boots coming along?”
“They’re nearly done. Another two hours should do the trick.”
“Will you be able to get any sleep tonight?”
“Probably not much. I need to work on my horse’s tack for the regular weekly inspection tomorrow morning before we leave for HG. Yates expects me to steadily start moving up the points board. She wants to see me in that horse box as much as you do.”
I wrinkle my nose. I’ve forgotten he has inspections in between getting ready for the Princess Alice Cup. “I’ll bring you some chocolate-covered coffee beans as a treat tomorrow.”
“Oh, I’d like that.”
“Do you want a pack of Aero mint bars and Hot Tamales too?”
“I’m grateful for anything you bring me. Just know there is a good chance the other guys will mooch off me.”
“Got it.” I make a note to buy an extra bag or two. “I’ll text you later. Have a great rest of your day, Sam I Am.”
“You too, Fashion Guru.”
When I arrive home laterand approach my flat, I notice there are a lot of boxes piled near the entry door. They’re sealed with brown packing tape. The sides are labeled with scribbled, unreadable writing. I wonder which one of my neighbors is moving out.
“Min, brilliant timing!” I take a half step back as Naomi, a twenty-year-old with bright red glasses and flaming red hair, yanks her door open. “Can I interest you in taking my Freddy Red Head?”
“Naomi.” My hand flies to my chest, and it takes me a moment to catch my breath. I place my shopping bags down. “What’s a Freddy Red Head?”
She shoves a barrel cactus with red needles in my face. “My cactus.”
“Oh, you can’t take him with you?”
“No.” She leans against the door frame. “My new flat istinyand there aren’t any windows. Poor Freddy needs as much sunlight as he can get.”
“That’s, um, a shame about the windows.” I glance at my flat. She knows I have a couple plants inside. I suppose adding one more won’t be any additional trouble, especially if it’s a cactus. “Sure. I guess I’ll take it.”
“Brilliant. Here.” She settles the three-inch-tall spiky plant in my hands before I can take my words back. “I try and talk to him every night so he doesn’t get lonely.”
