Page 12 of Suddenly Entwined

I pause. She knocked on my fucking door at this hour?

“My kids are asleep.”

She better not have woken them up.

She shrugs. “Am I supposed to sleep in my car?”

“No. Of course not.”

She thrusts her thumb toward the light fixture over the door. “The lightbulb needs replacing, too. You should consider hiring a handyman.”

A han-- Oh, hell no.

One more good shove and the door pops open. I had no idea the wood had swelled so much. Must be all the rain. The weekend hang out I promised my kids at supper? Guess I’ll be replacing a door instead.

“I can fix it this weekend.”

“As in Saturday or Sunday? How should I get into my apartment in the meantime?”

“I’ll…”

Well, shit. I don’t know what I’ll do. I pinch the bridge of my nose. I’ve got a doctor’s appointment and work and rightabout now I’m feeling like there’s one more person who’s been plopped onto my plate. And I don’t have the appetite for it.

“I had to leave before you got home. I waited as long as I could for you. I was late for work.” She folds her arms over her chest. I might not have lived with a woman for almost seven years now, but I know what that body language means.

“Did we have an appointment?”

“Yes.” Her response is clipped. “At 4:30. My brother said he texted you.”

I reach into my pocket, opening up my phone to scroll through several unopened messages.

“Ah,” I suck air through my teeth. “Missed that.”

Carolina glares at me, hovering on the threshold of the suite, obviously not interested in offering immediate forgiveness for my oversight.

“I’m going to level with you. I completely forgot you were moving in today.” I throw my hands up. “Life, you know?”

Chris’s little sister probably doesn’t know a lot about my way of life. Of what it means to put yourself third after two children who rely on you for everything. Chris always describes Caro as young and carefree, not the most responsible, travelling around with no apparent plan. Until she showed up one night unannounced, surprising the hell out of everyone. I think I surprised myself by agreeing to have her move in when Chris brought it up.

“You’re only getting home from work now?”

She nods. “Yeah, I’m bartending at The Tipsy Mermaid.”

“Marv’s place.”

“Yeah, he’s sweet. And punctual. And has functional doors and lighting in his business.”

I raise my eyebrows at the barb. She’s not wrong.

Her lips lift and I notice how naturally full they are, and then she tucks one of her feet behind the other and I’m pretty sure she bows. Or curtseys? Is this something she picked up in a foreign country? So Caro is a bit odd. But, aren’t we all?

I mutter a goodnight and turn back into the garage, thinking about what I’ll need to replace the door. I linger by the entrance to my place. Only when I hear her shut the door behind her do I press the garage door button, and get my butt back inside. A wall of tiredness hits me as I shuffle into my bathroom to shower before turning in. I freeze at my reflection.

My beard is still full of hair clips.

Bows. Butterflies. Glitter.

It looks like a Claire’s Accessories store puked on my face and I’m horrified.

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