Chapter 11
Brie
Ibarely slept. I kept waking up at the slightest sound and then gave up on sleep altogether and made an extra large pot of coffee and sat in the living room and waited for her to get up. When she wasn’t awake by ten I panicked and peeked in on her, thinking she might not be there. Maybe she’d run away in the middle of the night. But she was in my guest room, sprawled across the bed, snoring. It hit me that she probably hadn’t had a decent bed—or any bed—to sleep in lately and so she was taking advantage.
I relaxed and headed back into the living room where I laid out on the couch and turned on HGTV and fell asleep sometime during a ridiculous episode about a family of four with two huskies that want to move into a three-hundred-square-foot tiny home. I wake up to the smell of bacon and the sound of knocking on the front door. I have no idea what’s happening or even where I am for a second and then reality slams me in the face. I rush to the kitchen and find Mackenzie cooking. She looks up at me, still clad in the extra pair of pajamas I gave her last night that are swimming on her, and gives me a guarded smile. “You said I could eat anything.”
“I did,” I say with a nod. “Throw enough on there for me, okay?”
“Sure.”
Another knock on the door. I hesitate for some reason, not wanting to leave her, but I force myself to make my way to the front door. I glance through the peephole and find Alex’s rugged face staring back at me. I unlock the door and swing it open, smoothing what must be epic bed-head from my couch nap. Our eyes meet and he smiles. It’s soft and even a little shy—nothing like the brash, oversexed guy I’ve come to know.
“Sorry to bother you at home. I know you probably didn’t expect unannounced visits just because I shared an Uber with you guys last night,” he starts, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm. “I have a three-day road trip and I just wanted to make sure everything is good. You know, with Mac and everything.”
I nod. “It’s good so far. She’s cooking breakfast.”
“Cool.” Alex’s eyes move from my face to his own feet. His shoulders are hunched and he’s emoting this vibe—sadness or something else I can’t define—but it makes me want to sooth him somehow. “So you’re going to get her into Daphne’s House?”
“That’s the plan Laurie is working on,” I reply. Without even thinking about it I add, “Do you have time to come in for coffee? Food?”
“What? Really?” He’s as shocked I asked as I am. I nod. He hesitates. “Yeah. I’ve got some time.”
I step out of the way so he can step into my home. As I close the door behind him I self-consciously tug at the shirt I’m wearing. I’m still in my pajamas. A faded old Tinker Bell shirt that’s too small and barely hits my waist, and a pair of pajama bottoms with white and black sheep all over them. Not exactly professional, but after last night I think Alex and I are past that part of our relationship. Now I’m more than just a boss at a place he volunteers. It feels like we’re kind of almost friends.
He follows me through the living room and dining room into the kitchen. “Alex stopped by to say hey.”
She turns around and sees him and she smiles brighter than I’ve seen yet. Not actually very bright at all, but for her, it’s bright. “Hey.”
“Hey back. How’s the arm?”
“Okay.”
She reaches for the eggs in the carton on the counter as I head to the coffeepot and pour him some, handing him the mug. “Black, right?” I question and he nods, a little surprised. “I remember from Starbucks.”
That shy smile comes back. “I really would prefer if you forgot that whole encounter.”
I laugh. Mackenzie is watching us curiously. “Are you two a thing?”
“What?” I sound horrified. I know it and I regret it but I can’t change it.
Alex’s eyes dart to me and then to Mackenzie. “We don’t even really know each other, Mac.”
“Oh.” She seems genuinely startled by that truth. She turns back to the pan, scrambling the eggs with her spatula.
“I’m going out of town for a few days and I just wanted to swing by and say good-bye,” he explains.
“You’re leaving?” Her normally confident voice is soft, feeble, scared.
My eyes fly to Alex’s face in time to see his jaw clench at the sound of it. He clears his throat and his voice is calm. “You’re in a safe place. Keep it that way, okay?”
She looks at me. She still doesn’t fully trust me, clearly, but I get it and I won’t push her, I’ll just prove to her she can let me in. I give her a little nod, as if to back up his statement. She shrugs. “I don’t make promises, but I’ll probably be here when you get back.”
“I guess I’ll have to take that,” Alex says and I motion for him to follow me back into the living room.
I sit down on one end of the couch. He stands awkwardly and looks around. I feel like he’s judging me as his eyes survey the room. I start to feel defensive. He finally sits down on the edge of the chaise longue across from the couch. “Nice place.”
“My grandmother left it to me,” I explain. “She owned a lot of real estate, which was divided up between her grandchildren when she died. I got this place and the building where Daphne’s House is located.”
