The Housemaid(35)

Two whole weeks without that little monster. I want to jump with joy. But instead, I turn my lips down. “It will be sad without Cecelia here this month,” I say as Nina comes back out of the kitchen.

“Really?” she says dryly. “I thought you couldn’t stand her.”

My jaw drops open. I mean, yes, she’s right that Cecelia and I have not hit it off. But I didn’t realize she knew I felt that way. If she knows that, does she realize I’m not a big fan of Nina herself either?

Nina smooths down her white blouse and goes back out to the garage. As soon as she leaves the room, it’s like all the tension has been sucked out of me. I always feel on edge when Nina is around. It’s like she’s dissecting everything I do.

Andrew emerges from the garage, wiping his hands on his jeans. I love how he wears a T-shirt and jeans on the weekends. I love the way his hair gets tousled when he’s doing physical activity. I love the way he smiles and winks at me.

I wonder if he feels the same way I do about Nina leaving.

“So,” he says, “now that Nina is gone, I have a confession to make.”

“Oh?”

A confession? I’m madly in love with you. I’m going to leave Nina so we can run off together to Aruba.

Nah, not too likely.

“I couldn’t get a refund on those show tickets.” He hangs his head. “I didn’t want Nina to give you a hard time over it. Or try to charge you, for Christ’s sake. I’m sure she was the one who told you the wrong date.”

I nod slowly. “Yes, she did, but… Well, anyway, thank you. I appreciate it.”

“So… I mean, you should take the tickets. Go to the city tonight and see the show with a friend. And you can stay at The Plaza hotel room overnight.”

I almost gasp. “That’s so generous.”

The right side of his lips quirks up. “Well, we’ve got the tickets. Why should they go to waste? Enjoy it.”

“Yeah…” I toy with the hem of my T-shirt, thinking. I can’t imagine what Nina would say if she found out. And I have to admit, just the thought of going gives me anxiety. “I appreciate the gesture, but I’ll pass on the show.”

“Really? This is supposed to be the best show of the decade! You don’t like going to shows on Broadway?”

He has no idea about my life—what I’ve been doing for the last decade. “I’ve never even been to a show on Broadway.”

“Then you need to go! I insist!”

“Right, but…” I take a deep breath. “The truth is, I don’t have anyone to go with. And I don’t feel like going alone. So like I said, I’ll pass.”

Andrew stares at me for a moment, rubbing his finger against the slight stubble on his jaw. Finally, he says, “I’ll go with you.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

He hesitates. “I know Nina has jealousy issues, but that’s no reason to let these expensive tickets go to waste. And it’s a crime you’ve never seen a show on Broadway before. It’ll be fun.”

Yes, it will be fun. That’s what I’m worried about, damn it.

I imagine my evening unfolding. Driving out to Manhattan in Andrew’s BMW, sitting in the orchestra for one of the hottest shows on Broadway, then maybe grabbing a bite to eat at one of the nearby restaurants and enjoying a glass of Prosecco. Having a conversation with Andrew where we don’t have to worry about Nina showing up and glowering at us.

It sounds wonderful.

“Sure,” I say. “Let’s do it.”

Andrew’s face lights up. “Awesome. I’ll go change and let’s meet down here in about an hour, okay?”

“You got it.”

As I climb the stairs to the attic, I get a dark, heavy sensation in the pit of my stomach. As much as I’m looking forward to tonight, I have a bad feeling about it. I have a feeling that if I go to the show tonight, something terrible will happen. I already have a totally inappropriate crush on Andrew. It seems like spending the entire night with him, just the two of us, is tempting fate.

But that’s ridiculous. We’re just going to go to Manhattan to enjoy a show. We are two adults, and we are completely in control of our own actions. This will be fine.





TWENTY-FOUR





I can’t go to a Broadway show in jeans and a T-shirt—that’s for sure. I checked online, and officially there’s no dress code, but it just feels wrong. Anyway, Andrew said he was going to change, so I need to wear something nice.

The problem is, I don’t own anything nice.

Well, technically I do. I have that bag of clothing Nina gave me. I hung up the outfits so they wouldn’t get damaged but I have yet to wear any of them. For the most part, they’re all fancy dresses, and it’s not like I’ve had many occasions to dress up while cleaning the Winchester house. I don’t really want to put on a ballgown to do my vacuuming.

But tonight is an occasion to dress up for. Maybe the only such occasion I’ll have for a long time.

The biggest problem is that all of the dresses are so blindingly white. Obviously, it’s Nina’s favorite color. White is not my favorite color. I don’t even think I have a favorite color (anything but orange). But I never liked wearing white because it gets dirty so easily. I’ll have to be especially careful tonight. And I won’t be wearing all white, because I don’t have any white shoes. All I’ve got are some black pumps, so that’s what I’m wearing.