Page 33 of A Little Light

“I’m so sorry about this. I must have done something to it before I left. But if it needs an engineer, I’ll cover the cost.”

Rachel closed the door when Andi was safely inside, turning to face her. Andi suddenly seemed flustered…nervous, perhaps. “No, you won’t. Maybe it’s something simple that we can fix between us.”

Andi shed her coat, hanging it up to the side of the front door. She had probably done that hundreds of times over the years; she seemed too comfortable as she rolled up her sleeves and walked towards the spare bedroom. Rachel followed, her hands shoved in the pockets of her jeans.

She watched Andi get to work, bent over as she shone the torch from her phone at the tiny display where the boiler was in the cupboard. “Oh, thank God for that. It’s just the water pressure that needs topping up.” Rachel stared at Andi’s very pleasant backside; her head cocked slightly. She really is a vision. What an idiot Rachel had been. A gorgeous woman who was actually interested in her, someone who was genuinely the nicest person she knew…and she’d fucked it up. She continued to stare, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. Wow. “It’ll only take me a minute, and then I’ll be out of your way.”

“Oh, no rush.” Rachel caught the tone of her voice as that slid from her mouth, suddenly standing upright and focusing her attention elsewhere. “Cuppa?”

Andi shifted back out of the cupboard, blowing her hair out of her face as she faced Rachel. “I’m sure you’re busy, but thank you.”

“Actually, I’m not. I didn’t have much to bring with me, to be honest, so I’m just here, feeling like a lost soul.”

“Rachel—”

Rachel held up a hand. “I wanted to ask if you’d stay for a while. So we could talk.”

“We really don’t have to do this. Please, let’s not put ourselves through it again.” She appreciated that Andi didn’t want to go over this again, she didn’t either unless absolutely necessary, but Andi seemed like the kind of person who would beat herself up about something that wasn’t her fault. Rachel wanted to be one hundred percent sure that Andi knew all the details. Maybe then, Andi would understand why Rachel was worried about going into something with her.

Rachel could only smile as Andi’s dark eyes stared back at her. “I’d like to talk. And I’d really appreciate it if you could give me a little time to say what I wanted to say.”

Tonight likely wouldn’t be the night when Rachel told Andi how stupid she’d been. She needed to get everything in order in her head first. But down the line, maybe a date wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. And they had the Christmas party coming up, too. Maybe Rachel could test the water then.

“Okay.”

Rachel instantly settled at that. “So, cuppa…or wine?”

Andi snorted. “Wine. Obviously.”

* * *

Andi took the middle of the couch, sitting side on as Rachel got comfortable on one end. She had purposely sat in a different seat from where she usually would; it felt weird being here with someone else the owner now. “Sorry about the boiler. It’ll be because it hasn’t been used in a while.”

“Really, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you knew what you were doing.”

“I’ve always made it my mission to know what I’m doing rather than pay someone else. Those bookshelves built into the office? Handmade and fitted by me. The bed frame on the mezzanine, also me. The kitchen? Fitted by me and Jane.”

“Wow. Seriously? That’s impressive.” Andi noted how Rachel’s eyes brightened. But it was just one of the things she liked about Rachel. Her enthusiasm when Andi spoke about her past. It made everything feel less daunting moving forward.

“Anything a man can do, we can do.” Andi couldn’t recall the last time she’d paid for a service when it came to things around the house. Obviously, she wouldn’t touch anything related to gas or electric, she wasn’t certified, but if she was confident with other things…absolutely. “That’s the one thing I miss about this place. The kitchen.”

Rachel tipped her wineglass towards Andi. “It’s a very good kitchen.”

“Thank you.”

“And I have to thank you for offering me this place fully furnished. It made my life easier when it came to not needing to hire removal men.”

“You’re welcome. I didn’t want to take any of it with me. Fresh start, you know?” Andi had considered taking everything with her, but it only reminded her of a past life. And if she was being honest, it suited the loft perfectly. It would only look out of place in Andi’s new home.

Rachel smiled, lowering her eyes momentarily. “And how’s that going?”

“You know what, it’s going okay. Better than I thought after I left you at the coffee shop. I just needed a minute to grieve after letting go of my home, I guess.”

“I don’t blame you for that at all.”

“So, you wanted to talk?” Andi chose to get straight to the point. She didn’t want to sit around here all night. If she did, she wouldn’t want to leave. Her only hope for the end of this night was to be in a better place with Rachel. This friendship was important to her, even if friends was the last thing she wanted to be.

“Yeah, uh…” Rachel stared down at her wine glass as though she was gathering up the courage to speak. “I wanted to give you a real apology for the night we went out to dinner. And I know you’re only going to tell me that it’s okay, but please, I need to do this. To say this.”

---