California Girls(60)

“You’re welcome, ma’am.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Seriously? You’re not going to say my name?”

Instead of answering, he winked at her, then walked out of the apartment. Ali took a last look around before stepping onto the landing and locking the door behind her. She went to the front office where she turned in her key before heading to her car to drive to Daniel’s and what an optimist would call the first day of the rest of her life.





Chapter Sixteen


At Daniel’s house, the unloading went quickly. The furniture and boxes for storage went into the far bay of the garage with plenty of room to spare. Jerome and Sam took the other boxes into the room she would be using. She and Daniel carried in the clothes she’d left on hangers. Well before noon, she was moved.

“You’re going to let me pay for the truck and the guys’ time,” she said when they were done.

Daniel shook his head. “It’s already taken care of. Sam and Jerome work for me so they’re getting paid through the company and I borrowed the truck from a friend. There’s nothing to pay.”

She insisted on giving each of the guys forty dollars. Daniel went and got sandwiches while she started the process of moving into the oversize bedroom and bath. When he returned, he put the food on her dresser and left.

It took her less time than she would have thought to unpack. She had more closet space and more drawers than she’d had before, which made fitting in her clothes super easy. The bathroom had tons of storage, and everything else—her laptop, bill file and checkbook—went into the desk. She even had a small linen closet with plenty of sheets and towels. She made the bed, adding a pretty patterned blanket across the foot of the mattress, then opened up her laptop and checked her email.

Nothing except for a few email ads. Her phone was just as quiet. No texts from anyone. She sent Finola and Zennie each a “thinking of you” text, then stood in the center of the room and wondered what she was supposed to do now. And for the next fifty years.

It was kind of a daunting question. What was she going to do? Get her own place, for sure. But what about the rest of it? There was no Glen, no wedding, no yet-to-be conceived children. Did she want to start dating again? Change jobs? Go to college and get a degree? Start working out?

She told herself that her mini life crisis was about all the upheaval of the past few weeks. She would give herself a little time to get settled, then she would come up with a plan.

She wandered into the kitchen and got a glass of water, then decided to explore the downstairs. That should be safe and allowed. She was surprised to find Daniel reading in the living room. And not a tablet, either. The man was holding a book.

He looked up when he saw her. “All unpacked?”

“Yes. It was easy. There’s plenty of storage. Going from small to bigger is much easier than the other way around. Thanks again for letting me move in. I appreciate having the transition space.”

He put down the book and motioned for her to take a seat. “It’s going to take you a while to get used to living here,” he told her.

“I think that’s true for both of us.” She smiled. “You don’t strike me as the roommate type.”

He flashed her a smile that had her stomach doing all kinds of flippy-over things. “I’ve had my share.”

“I’m talking roommates, not girlfriends.”

“I know you are.” His humor faded. “Ali, I meant what I said. I want you to take your time when it comes to finding a place. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want.”

“I appreciate that. I’m going to wait a few weeks and then figure out a plan. I don’t want you to get sick of me.”

Something flashed in his eyes, something that she couldn’t define although she didn’t think it was bad. “There’s no chance of that,” he told her. “You’re strong. You’ll have decided what you want long before that’s an issue.”

“You think I’m strong? Is that how you see me?”

“Of course. Look at what you’ve been through in the past few weeks. You had a couple of bad days after you found out about Glen, then you handled it all.”

“Actually, I completely fell apart then asked a virtual stranger for help.”

His smile was gentle. “You reached out to friends. That’s the healthy thing to do.”

“You make me sound way better than I am.”

“Is that bad?”

“No. It’s nice. I’m just...” She looked away, then back at him. “I’m going to say something and I want you to just listen. No judging.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever judged you.”

She hesitated. “I’m not sure I was ever in love with Glen.”

Daniel didn’t say anything and his expression was unreadable.

“When he dumped me, I was so angry and hurt and embarrassed, and I had to cancel the wedding.” She twisted her fingers together. “Since then, I’ve been busy with work and looking at apartments and helping my mom and stuff. I’m still pissed at him and I think he’s a jerk and I can’t believe I was so stupid to fall for him, but I don’t long for him or think about what we would have had if he hadn’t dumped me.”

“Is that bad?”