Page 45 of The Reality of Us
Alice hesitated for a second as she chewed on her bottom lip. “Sure. Make yourself at home while I take this guy out.” She snatched a dog lead off the hook next to the door and headed down the stairs.
The apartment looked different. The towering boxes of candle supplies were gone, replaced with several soft toys with the stuffing bursting out of them and a shredded blanket. All the cushions from the couch were gone, and three candles were burning on top of the fridge. Dining chairs were stacked against the far wall. Alice’s laptop was set up on the table, surrounded by a collection of water glasses, coffee cups and a lone wine glass with rosé in it. There were other touches of her scattered around the room as well. A snake plant in a Buddha-shaped pot on the entertainment unit. The dusty pink blanket tossed over the side of the futon.
“Pretend you didn’t see this mess.” Alice reappeared, and Murphy pushed past her and wound himself around Owen’s legs.
“Sure.” Owen shrugged, leaning down to pat the dog. He straightened back up, rubbing the back of his neck. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be hungry, but I brought pizza.”
“Thanks, but I can’t have—”
“It’s gluten free. I called Tino’s and asked for whatever you’d ordered last. Teddy mentioned you guys have had takeaway from there before. Mine’s gluten free, too, in case you wanted some.”
This time, her surprised look rankled a little. For God’s sake, he was a nice guy.
“Thanks.” She stepped around him, pulling a few plates out of the cupboard. Murphy tried to jump up, his front paws on the back of her denim-clad thighs. “No chance,” she muttered.
Owen opened the boxes, steam wafting up, the smell of cheese and pepperoni filling the air.
“Why don’t we eat outside?” Alice suggested, putting a few pieces of vegetarian pizza on her plate. “Murphy can chill inside. There’s wine in the fridge if you want some.”
“Do you want a refill?”
“Please.”
And that’s how Owen found himself sitting on the floor of Alice’s balcony, drinking a rosé he’d never tried before, watching the sunset fade and stars begin to wink in the sky. Waves of warm air from the outdoor heater kept the chill of the night away.
“Hey, Owen,” Alice said after a few minutes of silence, tossing her pizza crust back onto her plate. “This is nice and all, but why are you here?”
Owen set his drink down next to him, his thumb swiping at a drop of condensation on the side. “Raff called and said I should come and check in with you. That you might want some company.”
“Me? Why?” Alice stretched out her legs, her glittery socks sparkling under the glow of the outdoor light above them.
“I don’t know. He’s working on this big investigation, and he had to go. So here I am.”
She looked at him sideways from beneath her lashes. “And here you are.” Alice folded her pizza in half, taking a big bite as she pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. “No one’s called me.”
Owen shifted, trying to pretend the way his stomach squirmed was because he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had pizza, let alone one loaded with processed meat, even if it was delicious. Raff wouldn’t have said what he had without reason, but … why did he? He wiped his hands on one of the serviettes and crumpled it up. Now he knew Alice was fine, he’d get out of her hair. Maybe sit in his car in the driveway for a bit to make sure she was really okay, but the last thing he wanted was for her to think he’d created an elaborate ruse to spend time with her. Shit, what if she thought he was hitting on her? He gulped the last of his wine, not even tasting it. He was about to stand when she spoke.
“I misjudged you originally, you know. Thought you were the stereotypical lawyer guy. All business, no fun.”
His lips pulled into a relieved smile, and he relaxed back against the brick wall. What was the harm in staying a tiny bit longer? “I was. Still am a bit, really, but I’m working on it. You’re not the only one trying to make changes.”
“Maybe you should dye your hair,” she teased, nudging him lightly with her elbow. “You could go super blond. Teddy would love it.”
He rolled his eyes, her lilting laugh making his smile morph into a proper grin. “I don’t think so.”
“Imagine what the Old Girls would say, though. They were telling me about fuck buddies earlier.”
Owen choked on a piece of pepperoni. “If my mother was there, I don’t want to know. That information can’t be unheard.”
Alice snickered, reaching for a piece of his pizza with the lot. He pushed the box towards her.
“She has some opinions, shall we say?”
“Stop,” he groaned, covering his ears. “Please. I beg you.”
Alice pulled an olive off the pizza and popped it into her mouth, her eyes twinkling. When she looked at him like that, it wasn’t hard to imagine all the other things he’d like to beg her for.
And even though he still didn’t know what Raff had meant—it must have had something to do with Phoenix—this was the nicest night Owen had had in far too long.
