Page 65 of Wild Promises

TORI

This morning was perfect with the bacon, the shower sex, and Xander giving me permission to use his truck. I loved that he trusted me with something important to him. It almost made up for last night when Xander disappeared into the bathroom after we'd been intimate. When he'd returned, he hadn't immediately reached for me. When he finally did, I figured he wasn't used to relationships since he'd never done anything like this before, and I'd easily fallen asleep.

But then he'd mentioned our arrangement. I'd hoped we'd moved away from any of it being fake. I wasn't sure what to make of it. Was he panicking because he wasn't used to being in a relationship? Was the fake label making it easier for him to do this? If so, I'd give him some time. Every time he said the word "fake," I felt a sharp stab of pain in my chest.

I wanted to move past any talk of our arrangement and onto a future where something between us was possible. I wanted to make any decisions about our future together.

When I got back to the apartment, I texted Noelle to see if she could help me decorate the apartment. She'd always had an eye for design. Plus, she was one of my best friends when I lived intown. I wanted to spend more time with her, especially since this move was permanent.

She'd texted back that she could get away for a few hours, so I changed, then met her at one of the furniture shops downtown.

She hurried inside with windblown hair, her coat hanging open, and her scarf thrown haphazardly over her shoulders.

I smiled as soon as I saw her and held my arms open for her. "Thanks for meeting me on such short notice."

She let out a breath and rubbed her hands together. "What are we looking for?"

"The apartment is Xander's, and there's nothing on the walls. The couch has no pillows or blankets. It's sad."

Noelle grinned. "You came to the right person. What color palette are we working with?"

I thought about the furniture colors and the walls. "Tan. Brown. Basically variations of brown."

She grimaced. "Have you thought about buying new furniture or even painting?"

"He's looking to buy a place soon, so we'll revisit those ideas. But for now, the place just needs a pop of color."

Noelle grabbed my wrist and led me toward the pillows. "You could do navy, red, green, mustard, orange, white. Really anything would be an improvement. What do you like?"

I scanned the rainbow of textiles. "I love blues and grays."

"Perfect. We'll get navy, and then you can work on convincing Xander to paint the walls a soft gray."

"Thank you for helping me." We picked out pillows, then moved onto throws. Noelle recommended faux fur blankets that were amazingly soft. Then she dragged me to a new art store that featured local artists. I fell in love with a few paintings that portrayed snow-covered mountains. One reminded me of the view from the lodge. I ordered all three to be wrapped and delivered in the upcoming week.

Pleased I was putting my touch on his apartment, I carried the bags of pillows and throws outside. "I wish you could do lunch. We don't spend enough time together." I felt bad imposing on her if she was busy.

"I have to get back."

"Are you living with your family?" I asked tentatively. Noelle had always been closemouthed about her family situation.

She shook her head. "I'm there a lot helping out."

"Oh. Let me know if you ever need any help." I offered, knowing she wouldn't accept.

Her face pinched. "You know I'm not great at asking for help."

"I know, but I'm home for good. I'd like us to spend more time together." If my friend needed help, I'd be there for her. I just hoped she'd let me in.

"I'm busy with my businesses. I get up early to make the donuts, and when I can get away from my family, I spend time on my design business, which is really just a glorified holiday decorating service at the moment." Her eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like that. I love my family."

I touched her shoulder. "Everyone knows how devoted you are to your family."

"It's hard for my mom. She's in a lot of pain, and she doesn't want to admit that she can't do everything."

I didn't bother to ask if her mother applied for disability. I wouldn't be surprised if her mother hadn't. Noelle got her pride from her hardworking single mother.

My phone vibrated so I set my bag down to read the message.

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