Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Ava looked up from her closet, smiling. “A friend of my mom.”
“Did you really think we were both going to fit in here?”
She pulled a green dress out and held it up to her chest. “What about this one?”
“Is this a date?”
“It’s just a dinner, but he might be there.” She shook the fabric. “What do you think?”
“It’s nice,” I said. “Are you sure you want to get back together with him? Have you thought this through?”
“No,” she laughed, throwing the hanger onto the bed. She took the dress into the bathroom and closed the door. A moment later, she was out, twirling around the kitchenette to model.
She really did look fantastic. “It looks great,” I said.
Ava’s shoulders fell. “I feel like you’re not really in the moment.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What’s wrong?” She sat down beside me.
“You know what’s wrong,” I said.
“Oh.” She looked down at her nails. “Tell me about lunch yesterday.”
I nodded. “We talked.”
“About?”
“About the cabin.” I drew in a breath.
“And?”
I didn’t want to tell her. If I said it out loud, it would make it true, and I still held on to hope that somehow, Jason would decide he didn’t want the cabin. Maybe his old boss from Nashville would call and offer him a raise. Maybe he would discover a sudden passion for goat farming and decide to move to Tuscany. I still had a couple of days before he moved in, and my mind was working overtime, trying to figure out a solution. I looked into Ava’s hopeful eyes and had to admit the truth.
“I decided to stay in the cabin…with him,” I said.
“Ohh!” She clapped her hands, way too excited over the prospect of me sharing my living space.
“I just don’t have any better options. I can’t afford a two bedroom, and I can’t move in here,” I moaned. “I’ve been over and over my options for the past several days, and I still couldn’t see any way out.”
“Let’s look at the bright side,” Ava said, her eyes sparkling. “At least he’s hot.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Maybe you guys could hook up,” Ava gasped, as if discovering the answer to life’s problems.
“No.” I shook my head.
“Come on.” Ava put her hands down on mine. “Just imagine, you go to brush your teeth, and he’s accidentally in the shower.”
“Ava, I can’t.” I pulled my hand away. “He’s gonna be my landlord.”
“Technically,” Ava argued.
“I can’t sleep with my landlord.”
“Not even if he’s hot?” she asked.
“No,” I said.
“Maybe he’ll give you a discount on rent.” Ava winked.
“No,” I reiterated, putting the matter to bed.
“Okay, if we’re not going to talk about you, can we talk about me?” Ava jumped up again to look in the mirror. “Does this dress say ‘casually dressed up for a night with friends’ or ‘desperate to reconnect’?”
I grinned. “It’s beautiful. You should wear it.”
She looked at me and sighed. “Cheer up. There are worse things than sharing your home with a handsome man.”
“I thought we were talking about you now.” I dodged the advice. There was no way I was going to cheer up thinking about Jason. He could take his rugged good looks and go back where he came from. I didn’t need him in my life, and I definitely didn’t need him in my home. I forced myself to focus on Ava and her upcoming dinner for as long as I could stand it. After more than an hour of watching her change clothes, I excused myself and went back to the cabin.
The living room was lovingly filled with my furniture. I remembered how long it had taken to get everything just right. The sofa and love seat were arranged specifically so I could sit in front of the fire or look out the window and enjoy a view of the trees while sipping my coffee. The spider plant had found its home in a twine hanger by the door. The coffee table and end tables added space for décor but weren’t intrusive or cluttered. I would probably have to move all of this to make way for his manly man furniture.
I shuddered. He was a single guy. This probably meant he’d place a recliner and maybe a dartboard or a pool table in here. Who knew what monstrosities he would want to stuff our cabin with? I was so upset, I didn’t even notice that I had subconsciously begun to think of it as “our cabin,” not “my cabin.”
I sighed. I had to face facts. Wishing that something would come along to magically turn events in my favor wasn’t going to work. He was moving in, and I had to get ready, which meant putting most of my stuff in storage.
There was only one storage place in town, and the owner was a client of mine. I decided to pay her a visit and see if I could get a discount. After work the next day, I drove the ten minutes out of town to the sprawling city of green-roofed storage sheds.