Cricket smiled, then seemed to catch herself. “Don’t tell Ellis or I’ll kill you.”
James promptly zipped his mouth shut.
“Did you get his name?” Anne asked. She hated being nosy, but she also couldn’t help it.
“Oh, I’m so bad at names,” Cricket replied, her eyebrows pinched together like she was concentrating hard. “I do remember that it’s sexy, though. Super old-fashioned. Freddie… something? It sounded like one of those guys who returns from sea after years away and—”
Bev groaned. “I knew you were watchingPoldarkagain. I can hear it through the walls.”
“Captain Freddie,” James whispered, low and seductively.
Cricket laughed as Anne’s heart stuttered. Obviously, it wasn’therFreddie. Statistically, that would be almost impossible. The last time she had googled him a few months ago, it looked like he was living in Los Angeles. Still, the name triggered her pulse, sending it careening through every vein so quickly that all she could do was stare at the bottle of pinot noir still in her hand.
“Well, that was very unfair of you, Cricks,” James chided her as he leaned over and grabbed an olive from a nearby bowl. “Anne should have had first dibs, since he’s technically taking her apartment. Give her an opportunity to move back in.”
“If she leaves at all,” Bev said, turning a pointed glare at Anne. “Squatters have rights in New York, you know.”
Anne let out a nervous laugh, expecting the others to join her, but everyone else in the kitchen looked like they were weighing it as a viable option, too.
“I’m not going to squat,” Anne said to the group.
“Of course not, sweetie,” James said, his tone placating as he patted her hand.
An uncomfortable silence fell on the kitchen.
“So… where are you going?” Cricket finally asked.
“I sent out a few emails this morning,” Anne said with a tight smile, avoiding their gazes as she smoothed down the side of her neat ponytail. “There was one listing out on Staten Island that looked promising, so hopefully they get back to me.”
James blanched. “Oh, Anne. Not Staten Island.”
She was about to defend the city’s most maligned borough when Cricket let out a squeal. “Wait! I have an idea!”
Bev shot her a glare. “Oh God. What is it?”
“Chloe got mono!” Cricket replied, practically bouncing in her seat.
It took a moment for Anne to remember who Cricket was talking about, and even then, she wasn’t sure she could recall a face to go with the name. All she knew was that Cricket had a friend who had moved into her spare room over the summer. It only occurred to Anne at that moment that she hadn’t seen the woman in weeks.
“Remember?” Cricket continued. “She wouldn’t get out of bed for ages and she thought she had seasonal affective disorder, but it turns out she has mono! She ended up moving back home for a few months so she could focus on getting better andcatching up onLove Island. You can have her bedroom until she comes back!”
“Actually, this is kind of brilliant,” James said, looking at Cricket like he was impressed.
“It’s also illegal,” Bev murmured. “You can’t sublet a rent-controlled apartment.”
Cricket laughed as if Bev were joking. “It’s not an illegalsublet. It’s a real estate opportunity!”
Bev snorted, then took another deep sip of her wine.
Anne opened her mouth, not even sure what she was going to say. Her first instinct was to politely decline, assure all of them that she had this covered, but the reality was, she wasn’t so sure. Then the kitchen door opened again, and Ellis’s head popped in, his expression pained.
“Why does it feel like there are more people in here than at the actual board meeting?” he asked. “I’m out there fighting for my life against Wendy and Glen.”
“Sweetie, how do you feel about sublets in the building?” James asked.
Ellis paused, his eyes darting to Cricket, already suspicious. “Why?”
Cricket squealed again. “Because Anne is moving in with me! We get to keep her!”
