An icy wave of realization slams the joy right out of her. “Oh,” she says, her mind reeling. There’s a catch. Of coursethere’s a fucking catch, and it’s a doozy. The day shift is for the good press of saving Nolan. And that press is only good because apparently she’s his girlfriend. Lying to his family is one thing—one horrible, awful, express-lane-straight-to-hell thing—but lying on the news? That’s a whole other beast. Someone is going to figure it out. His real girlfriend, or someone he banged the other night, or a friend of his; someone is going to bust this story right open. And not only will Alice then be well and truly fired, but the Altmans will never forgive her.
Van will never forgive her.
“Uh, Mr., um, Brown, was it?” Van is stepping forward now, reaching out and clasping onto Alice’s elbow like she could tell how quickly Alice was spiraling. “Of course I want Alice to be recognized for what she did in saving my brother’s life. But the family would prefer that his name not be used. To protect our privacy in this difficult time. You understand.”
Oh god. Alice sags into Van, letting Van’s grip hold her up.
She absolutely does not deserve this woman, with her quick brain and steady stare, the way she’s wearing Brown down in a second. The way she’s leaping to Alice’s defense when Alice most certainly doesn’t deserve it. Van probably does want privacy for her family, but she also likely saw the color drain from Alice’s face, the way Alice started to sway on her feet, and there she went. Doing that butch superhero thing again.
“Of course,” Brown says, obsequious and deferential. Alice is pretty sure he doesn’t know that Van and the rest of the Altmans aren’t nearly as rich and powerful as Nolan is, and she’s certainly not going to tell him. The longer he’s afraid of them, the longer she has a job. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Great,” Van says. “I’ll look forward to seeing thecoverage.” She looks at Alice then, her hand still tight around Alice’s arm. “Drive you home?”
Alice nods, her throat still tight.
They say goodbye to Brown and walk out of the lobby, neither daring to say anything until they’re back in the station wagon, the doors shut behind them.
“Holy shit,” Alice says, blinking quickly. “Did that just happen?”
“Hmm.” Van turns the car on, buckles her seatbelt, and then pulls out into the street. “Did you really just get promoted off the night shift and told you’re going to be locally famous? Yes.”
Alice doesn’t say the other part:Did you just save my ass from public ridicule?
“Let’s celebrate,” Van says, looking over at Alice. “Or, well. I’d say I’ll buy you a drink, but I need to go home and let Frank out.”
Alice should sayokay,should say,It’s all right, you can take me home.She should sayraincheck.But instead she says, “Do you have drinks at your house?”
Van looks over at her with surprise and something that might be happiness. “I sure do.”
She drives farther north than Alice ever goes, eventually pulling into the driveway of a two-story duplex a few blocks away from a park. Alice gets out, savoring the quiet street until she shuts the car door behind her and she hears a few excited barks from inside the house.
“Hey, Franko,” Van calls as she and Alice walk up the front steps. “I brought you a friend, buddy!”
She unlocks the door but turns to look at Alice before she opens it. “He’s usually good, but he’s been alone for a while today so he might jump up on you.”
“That’s fine,” Alice says quickly. She could definitely use some full-body contact—it’s been years—and if it has to come from a dog again, so be it.
Van opens the door, and indeed a blur of wriggly white fur, whipping tail, and pink tongue launches itself at her and then at Alice. Alice can’t help but laugh as Van tries to pull Frank off her, but Van can’t get a hand on his collar because he’s so excited about seeing them. It’s not until he puts both gigantic paws on Alice’s chest and enthusiastically licks her neck that Van grabs him and hauls him backward.
“Get off, Frank. Down. Sit. Frank, sit!”
“Damn,” Alice says, laughing. “He’s so tall.”
Something in Van’s eyes seems to darken and turn predatory as she watches Alice wipe off her throat. It’s a few beats too long before she manages to say, her voice sounding oddly tight, “Yeah, he’s ridiculous.”
After a significant amount of time petting and complimenting Frank, they finally get him to back up enough for them to walk inside. It’s small and a little cluttered, and it feels like the inside of the station wagon. Lived in, well used, loved. Completely and utterly Van. Alice follows Frank into the living room, taking in the big brown couch, the TV mounted over the fireplace, what looks like a handmade wooden coffee table, and an enormous dog bed. The blue area rug is scattered with chew toys and there’s a big exercise ball in the corner. She can see out a window to what looks like a sizable, wet, green backyard. Nothing matches, but it all works perfectly together.
Alice never wants to leave.
“Sorry it’s messy,” Van says, her voice shy.
Alice shakes her head, flopping down on the couch. “This is, like, the best place I’ve ever been.” Frank hops up next to her and immediately sticks his tongue deep into her ear.
Van scoffs, heading into the small kitchen that’s separated from the living room by a half-wall, like they used to be separate rooms but Van HGTV’d it to create a sightline. “You need to go to some better places.”
Alice gets off the couch with a grunt, walking over and placing her hands flat on the countertop dividing the two spaces, staring hard at the back of Van’s head as she rummages in the fridge. “Van,” she says softly. Van takes a second to respond, freezing for a beat at something in Alice’s tone, or maybe how close she is. She finally turns, and it’s only when she’s looking right at Alice that Alice says it. “This is a great place.” She’s careful to speak slowly, to make sure her words have weight to them. “If I were imagining my dream house, it would look a lot like this.”
Van breaks eye contact, staring down at the can of beer in her hand. “It’s, um…I only live in the downstairs. I rent out the upstairs.”
