“You have two showers?”Wow, that’s an oddly intimate question to ask.Except I was sort of wondering what showering with him might be like. “And what about Daphne?”
The skin around his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Quinton’s working the night shift at the hospital. He’s going to bring Daphne home. I’d drive to his place, but he lives outside of the city—to the north. He’s doing me yet another huge favor. But I brought back souvenirs for Melodie and Trevor—his kids. So that’ll balance out, I think.”
“Nice of you. Nice of, uh, Quinton.”
Zahir grinned as he pulled out his phone. A pair of reading glasses appeared out of nowhere and next thing I knew, he handed me the phone. “Pick what you like. Leftovers are the best, so we’ll stock up.”
“Uh, okay.” I did as he suggested and picked my favorites. Mom and I ate Chinese food once a year. A treat on New Year’s Eve. She likedthe idea of me trying new things. But I hadn’t kept that up after she passed. I stuck to the stuff I knew and trusted. Sometimes the other trainers from work would go out. I joined when I found the courage, but tended to stick to salad or soup.
Finally, I handed the phone back to Zahir.
He grinned. “Good choices. I’ll add a couple, give them a time and—”
The conveyor belt started moving.
“Perfect timing.” He tucked the phone back into his pocket. “We’ll have the food in no time.”
My stomach rumbled. The salmon was long forgotten by this point.
Once we retrieved our bags, we headed out into the heat. I yanked my jacket off and carried it as we headed toward a parking lot.
The lights on a silver SUV flashed.
I cocked my head. “This is nice.”
Zahir grinned as he opened the back hatch. “I’ll be honest and say the thing was Marty’s. I had a zippy little five-speed. Well, I still do. It’s just in the garage. This vehicle has better security and is easier with luggage.” Even as he said the words, he hauled his suitcase in. He gestured for me to do the same.
I did.
Then we rounded the SUV, and he unlocked the door.
A wave of heat hit me as I got in. “Holy crap.”
Zahir chuckled. “I’ll have the AC working in just a moment.” He started the engine. “Marty loved this thing and I can see why. He always wanted me to upgrade my car, but I didn’t see the need.”
“And now you have two vehicles.” That felt positively luxuriousto me.
“I do. I can’t bear to part with either of them so, for now, I have both. Oh, do you have a license?” He backed out of the spot and headed toward the exit.
“Yeah. Mom insisted. With transit in Toronto, though, you hardly ever need a car.”
“True that.” He merged onto a road with few cars. “I’m going to take the scenic route. Only takes an extra fifteen minutes or so. But you’ll get a sense of Cedar Valley.”
“We’re in Abbotsford?”
“Yes. Eventually we’ll cross a bridge to get us to Mission City.”
He took us through a roundabout and I held my breath. I hated those fucking things. “Uh, okay.”
And so we drove through an area with lots of shops and strip malls. Then a couple of housing developments and suddenly we were in the country. As we drove, he pointed out farms of all kinds, vineyards, and other places. At one point, he had me look over my shoulder. I got a stunning view of the valley. And— “That’s Mount Baker, right? The dormant volcano in Washington State?” I marveled at the thing with the massive snowcapped white top.
“That it is.” He turned, and we headed down a winding road with sharp turns.
“I can see Mount Baker from my house. Actually, if you want, that can be your room.”
“My room?” I considered. “Wouldn’t that be, like, the best view in the house?”
“It is. It’s the primary bedroom.”
