Chapter 15

Eliza

“You can put that right there,” I tell the mover.

He sets down a stack of boxes in my bedroom, which is really Steve’s guest room and the place I’ve been staying since we reached the phase where we’re supposedly spending all our nights together.

It’s going to take some time to get everything organized here. I wasn’t that organized at my mom’s, but I lived alone and didn’t care. Here, I’m a guest, so I will try to be more thoughtful.

I’m a little uneasy about this, but with mom and her latest boy toy moving back, it’s time for me to get out of her place anyway. I’ve been ordering appliances and furniture for my condo and putting them into storage as they arrive, since the condo isn’t ready yet, but I still had a lot of stuff to move, mostly clothes, shoes, and accessories.

Tanya drops a box. “What the hell is in this? ”

I look at the markings on the side. “It says mugs, but I don’t have mugs, so I’m not sure.”

“I hope the movers didn’t pack your mother’s kitchen.”

I break the tape seal with my keys and open it up. There is a mug here that was on my bedside table, but the rest is about ten boxes of boots and a few more, like my wellies, that don’t have a box. I like boots. “Nope. One mug and boots. I need to figure out a way to organize them.”

Tanya moves the box to the corner of the room. “Where is Steve? Why isn’t he helping his girlfriend move into his house?”

“I assume he’s out at the practice facility. We didn’t talk about it.”

Tanya stops and looks at me like I’m a wild animal that might turn on her. “What part didn’t you talk about? Where he would be or that you were moving in?”

“I guess both.” I pick up the box that has my hair and makeup supplies and walk toward the bathroom.

“You don’t think the confirmed bachelor is going to freak out that you used a key—mind you, one he’s never given to any other female outside of an immediate family member—and just moved in your things?”

“He knows it’s not permanent, and we talked about it at the beginning. I will be living in this bedroom. His room is down the hall. We even have our own bathrooms.”

“But he didn’t know you were doing this today?”

“I didn’t have time to get into it, but I’ll ask for forgiveness if I need to, because I had to. My mom and her new friend return tomorrow. I can’t stay with them. I don’t want to hear her have sex with this guy.”

She wrinkles her nose. “I get that. I don’t want to hear you have sex, either.”

“Don’t worry. Steve and I are not having sex.”

Now, she looks even more disgusted. “You need to get your priorities figured out. That man is amazing, and you’re going to look back on this and regret that you didn’t have sex all over this house when you move out.”

I sit down hard in the single spot open on the bed. “This is about getting the team. Steve is great, but I don’t have time for that right now, and I don’t want to risk getting my heart involved. My priority is the Tigers.” I could be reminding myself of this as much as telling her.

Tanya opens her arms. “You deserve more than that. I’m sorry you’ve been backed into this mess, but try to consider a relationship with Steve as at least a means to scratch an itch. It worked before, right?”

“That was totally different.” I look around the room. “That was before he was kind enough to wade into this mess with me and let me live in his house.”

“Well, I’m still not convinced. I think we need to find a good martini place and discuss all the merits of his very fine ass and a dick you’ve never told me about.”

I laugh. “I have a box of liquor here. Let’s make raspberry lemon drops, and you can tell me what’s happening with Jun.”

I dig around a minute, and when I find the raspberry syrup and vodka, I motion for her to follow me downstairs. I know there are lemons on the bar cart, and Steve has some glasses.

Tanya moans. “What’s there to tell? He wants me barefoot and pregnant. I want to enjoy life a minute before I’m forced to settle down.”

“When was the last time you went out with him?” I pour raspberry syrup, lemon juice, and vodka over ice and seal the shaker.

“I guess it depends on what you mean.”

I’m looking for Steve’s martini glasses, but I stand back up. “Okay, when was the last time you saw him?”

She looks away. “I might have caught his bare backside yesterday morning as he was getting out of my bed.”

My eyes grow wide. “What? Are you sleeping with your ex-husband? ”

“It might be an exaggeration to call it sleeping.”

I give up on my search for martini glasses and pour our drinks into tumblers.

“Are you exclusive?” I ask as I pour.

“I guess that depends on how you define exclusive.” She takes a tentative sip of her drink. “Oh, this is good. Dangerously good.”

I smile, feeling very proud of my bartending skills. But she’s not getting out of this. “You’re being very technical here. How do you define exclusive?”

Tanya sits back. “I don’t want to ask because I think he’s seeing other people, and anyway, I don’t know that I’m ready for us to be exclusive. That didn’t go so well the last time.”

Then why are you doing this? I want to shriek, but I don’t. I realize she’s lonely, and Jun is at least a known quantity. I sigh. “As long as you’re protecting yourself, both with condoms and your heart.”

She shrugs. “We do the horizontal mambo well. It’s our desired ways of living life that don’t intersect. He wants to spend all his time attached to a video game, and I want to be outside enjoying what Vancouver has to offer.”

I take a deep breath. This sounds like almost as big a mess as I’m in. Jun was a little suffocating when they were married. Going out for drinks when I was in town was hard, not because he wanted to come with us, but because he didn’t really want to share her with anyone. “How do you feel about him dating other people while sleeping with you?”

She shrugs. “It’s so flipping hard to meet a nice guy in Vancouver.”

“I get it. But as you said to me a bit ago, you deserve more.”

“Well, I haven’t found a fake boyfriend to move in with so…”

I roll my eyes. “Hey, I’m not holding myself up as the shining example here either, but this is just temporary. I’m going to get where I want to be. I want you to do that too. ”

Tanya shakes her head. “Thanks. I need to get a plan together, not just keep falling into bed with my ex. He’s not any different than he used to be, so I don’t know what I’m expecting to happen.”

I nod and give her a squeeze as I join her on the couch. We spend another hour talking while I work on unpacking. If the movers were being paid by the box, they would have made a mint, because despite that heavy one full of boots, they packed a lot of boxes with very few things inside.

After I wave goodbye to Tanya, I head to the take-out menus and look at local places. I decide on Thai, and the best news is that they deliver. I order myself pad thai with shrimp and sweet basil chicken with steamed rice. I’ll have enough for lunch tomorrow and possibly the next day.

While I wait for my dinner, I crank up the music. I work through Katy Perry’s, “Smile” and then up comes Taylor Swift. I bop around, hanging clothes and at least trying to clean off my bed so I can sleep tonight at some point. Then “Shake it Off” begins to play, and I have to abandon the unpacking for dancing.

I use my brush as a microphone and sing at full volume, shaking my back side.

As the song ends, I turn and find Steve standing in the doorway. “Don’t stop on my account.” His smile melts my panties.

I turn the music down. “Sorry. I’m trying to get this all put away. I’ll get it taken care of.”

He looks at all the stuff, seeming to notice it for the first time. “What’s going on?”

“I’m moving in.”

His smile freezes.

“Don’t worry. It’s only temporary.” I laugh.

His brow furrows.

My heart races. He’s panicking, and I need to head it off before he completely freaks out. “Remember, we said we would move in together after ‘dating’ for a while.” I use finger quotes to emphasize that we’ve not really been dating.

“Yeah, I remember we talked about it. I just…”

“My mom and her new boyfriend are coming back tomorrow, and The Butterfly isn’t ready for me to move in. This is just until I get things figured out with my dad.” I pat him on the arm. “I promise, I’m a good roommate. I’m not messy, and you can use all the hot water if you need to.”

He looks at me, and I can tell he’s struggling with what to say. I’ve short-circuited his brain.

He looks around the room, stuffed with boxes. “Where are you planning on sleeping?”

“Still in here.” I open my arms to the chaos. “It may take some time to clear the room, but I can dig out the bed. This is all clothes, so I’ll get it figured out.”

“This is all clothes?” He winces.

“Well, and accessories—shoes, purses… I have to admit, I love a good handbag.”

“I… I…d…”

I sigh. “I know. This is a lot for you. I’m sorry. Please don’t panic. I swear, this is not going to turn into Fatal Attraction . Don’t worry. Think about whatever rules you need, and we’ll put them in place. I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

His lips purse, and I hear the doorbell. “I didn’t know if you were coming home so I ordered dinner—Thai food,” I tell him, my words tripping over each other. “I have more than enough to share if you’d like.”

I explain what I ordered, and he nods.

While I get dinner from the door, he pulls out plates and silverware.

I bring the takeout containers to the table, and we sit.

“You mentioned your mom is moving back to town?” he says after a moment.

I nod. “She’s been in Italy taking art classes, and she’s met some young guy. She’s bringing him back.”

“What will your dad say? ”

I nearly choke on the water I’m drinking. “My dad? Nothing. They have an okay relationship, but they’ve both moved on.”

He takes a bite of his food. “I love sweet basil.”

I smile at his compliment, even if it’s just about my ordering skills. “I figured since they named the restaurant after it, it might be their best dish.”

He nods, and I wait for him to say something about his parents. He’s very private, so I won’t push.

Okay, maybe just a little. “What about your parents?”

“What about them?” He sighs. “I can’t remember when they weren’t pissing each other off.”

“Do all your friends know about them?”

“They know my parents don’t get along behind closed doors. But when you meet them, they’re delightful and seem happy together.”

“That must have been really hard growing up.”

He shrugs. “I guess. I don’t have any other experience, though. My friends’ parents seem to all still be together, and they’re much like my parents when I see them. They don’t fight, and they smile a lot. Who knows what’s going on beyond that.”

“What happens if your sister one day gets divorced? Are they going to disown her or call a priest in to counsel her and her husband?”

“I suppose we’re going to find out. My sister just told me she and her husband are splitting up.”

“How do you think they’re going to feel about what we’re doing?”

“I wasn’t going to tell them it’s fake, because I don’t want them to do anything to ruin it, so I suppose when we break up, they’ll blame it on each other.”

We eat, and I process what he says. “Is that why you’re doing this for me? Your parents’ experience?” I ask after a moment.

He shakes his head. “I’m doing this because you asked. No one should be in the situation your dad has created for you.”

“That’s it?”

He shrugs. “I’m not the marrying kind of guy. My parents showed me I’m not made to be married. But I can be a nice guy, so when you asked, I agreed.”

“Okay,” I squeak. I don’t know how I feel about that.

“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t mind getting naked with you,” he adds with a devilish grin. “Maybe if you just have to walk down the hall, you’ll be less likely to escape in the middle of the night.”

I’m glad this is all out on the table, and I need to make sure he understands that I hear him. “What we did was fun, but our relationship has changed since then. You are a nice guy, and I’m so grateful that you’re helping me. But if you’re truly not available, I don’t want to get my heart tangled up with you. And that’s not what this is about anyway. This is about me getting the team and keeping my life from being controlled by my dad. Anyway, all that to say, it’s still probably best we don’t sleep together again.”

He looks down at the table. “I guess we understand each other then.”

I nod. “Thank you for sharing dinner with me.”

“It was great.” He’s silent a moment. “What are they telling you about your condo at The Butterfly?”

“Good question. They say December, but they’ve been running behind, so I’m guessing it will be February.”

He nods. “What kind of unit did you choose?”

I explain the floor plan I went with, which will give me a view of the harbor, and the various finishes I picked. “I worked with an interior designer to get the tiles I wanted, not that I didn’t like what they had, I just wanted something more ornate. And since the elevator opens inside my apartment, I wanted to be able to put out a small table for deliveries and what not. Have they ever had a problem with key fobs that went to the wrong floor?”

“What do you mean? ”

“They’ve told me I’ll wave a key fob, and the elevator will go to my floor. There are almost a hundred units in the building, most on the lower floors, but I was wondering if the fobs they give us could accidentally take someone to the wrong floor. I wouldn’t want someone walking into my place. Or if I leave my keys and bag on the table by the elevator, I don’t want to worry someone might come and take it.”

He shakes his head. “It’s never happened that I’m aware of. I can set up some time for you with my sister. She could explain their system and its safety measures.”

“Oh, okay.” I collect our empty plates, and Steve follows me into the kitchen. “What else has your dad—well, your family—built?”

“He’s known for interesting architecture. He did the stadium a few years ago.”

My head whips up. “He did?”

“Yep. He has some signage there.”

The lightning hits me. “Of course, Boss Construction. I didn’t put it together.”

Steve nods. “He also did the convention center years ago. That was one of his early projects.”

“That’s amazing.”

Steve loads the dishes in the dishwasher, and I put the takeout containers in the recycle.

“The stadium has some issues,” I say. “I hope The Butterfly doesn’t.”

“A builder can tell the architect that there are issues, but if they don’t want to fix them, the builder can’t do it without their approval and a change to the plans.”

“Is that why the offices at the stadium have such a lousy view and there aren’t enough women’s restrooms?”

He laughs. “Yep. Don’t blame the builder. Blame the architect, and in the case of the stadium, blame the city and your dad.”

“He says the builder got it all backward.”

Steve shrugs. “I wasn’t there.” He stands and wanders over to the window.

He seems a little distant now, but I’m not sure if it’s because he told me about how he grew up or the fact that I shut him down again about having sex. Or maybe it’s because I picked a stupid argument. But the silence forming between us makes my mind go crazy.

His phone goes off, and I jump.

He looks at the message and types a reply. “I’ve got to go to the hospital.”

The timing is a little suspicious, but that’s fine. “Oh. Okay. I’ll see you around then.”

He nods. “Sure.”

“I’ll have my room all taken care of in the next day or two,” I call as he walks away. “I’ll try to keep my mess to a minimum.”

He doesn’t turn around, just waves over his shoulder. I hope this is going to work out okay.