Page 17 of If The Shoe Fits

Helene grabbed Cade's sleeve and led him out of the hall, into the entryway, and then to the library, right next to the sitting room where Cassie received guests downstairs. She closed the door behind them, breathing out in relief. At least until she turned, and realized she'd locked herself in with a seriously hot man. Helene bit her lip. She'd truly just wanted to avoid Olivia's line of questioning. But now, she'd cornered herself into another situation. One she wasn't entirely averse to, she realized.

"Nice place," he said. He was looking around. Maybe he didn't care about being alone with her.

"Yeah. They don't have a lot of books. Just the occasional signed paperback and first edition. Cassie and Carter mostly read ebooks, these days. They just wanted a nice place to sit down and do it together. In the winter, they light the fireplace." She was rambling, and she knew it. Cade was making her nervous in a way no man had for a long time.

"That sounds cozy."

She bobbed her head. "Yeah. I kind of feel like an intruder every time I'm in here with them. Cassie sits on the recliner, Carter on the sofa. The way they look at each other makes me feel like they'd be doing something entirely different if I wasn't there."

Cade turned to face her, intrigued. "You spend a lot of time here?"

She sighed. "My apartment burned down a couple of weeks ago, so at the moment, I live here." She shrugged. "Not for long. I'm looking for a new place. You know how the rental market is in the city, though." Or maybe he didn't know.

"Ah. Hence your opinions on insufficient salaries in the face of rising market prices."

Helene glared. "My opinion was the same before my place was set on fire, thank you very much."

He laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm sure it was."

The silence that set around them wasn't comfortable at all; it was electric. His unnerving attention seemed to dissect her, analyzing everything about her. She filled it with white noise, only to avoid the full weight of the chemistry in the air.

"You wouldn't believe the creeps on the roommate websites, offering free rent for services." She made air quotes at the last words, and pretended to gag. "Then, there are the studios smaller than this library that still cost thousands of dollars per month. It's a nightmare. I might have to look in Brooklyn or Queens, but the commute is going to be killer."

"Have you thought of asking Cassie for help? She could buy and rent it out to you for a decent price."

Helene made a face. "She's helping enough by letting me stay here until I find somewhere. I'd never ask her to make an investment like that just for me. Not when she could rent it out for twice as much to someone else."

"Then I believe we found your fatal flaw, Helene."

"What, wanting to stand on my two feet like an adult?"

"You can call it that." He took a step toward her, bent down, and said, lower, "But I'll call it pride." He saw her too clearly for someone who had known her for just an hour. Helene lifted her chin.

"Cassie's my little sister. I shouldn't need her help at all."

He shrugged. "But you do. And you're not asking. You'll stand alone with your head held high, come what may. Your parents may have been clairvoyant when they named you Helene."

She snorted. "Yeah, well, my sister is Cassandra, and she’s pretty far from a priestess of Apollo. I'm just going to guess they liked the sound of the names."

"Be that as it may, your name suits you to a T."

"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes. "Isn't Helene supposed to be blonde?"

"In Hollywood movies, perhaps. I haven't seen many blonde Mediterranean, though. It's a bit like Jesus is always portrayed as a Caucasian guy, rather than a Middle Eastern Jew. Cultural appropriation at its finest."

Helene chuckled. "You truly do have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"So do you." He had a point. She couldn't help it, though—he challenged her like no one else. "My father owns an apartment complex in TriBeCa. I can check if there are availabilities."

"No, thanks." The refusal was fast on her lips. He laughed, like he'd expected it.

"See? Pride."

"I don't like owing favors to strangers." She didn't doubt that she couldn't afford whatever rates his father charged, and she wasn't about to let him broker a deal.

"Or to anyone," he guessed. Rightly. "See? Pride."

"Common sense," she shot back.

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