Page 66 of New Girl in Town
Chapter Thirteen
Isighed and rubbed at my eyes. It had been a long day at the office, and I found myself here later than everyone else, again. For the past week I’d been leaving later and later, but there were so many details to go over with the art exhibit debuting next month that it couldn’t be helped. All I wanted to do was go home, draw a long bath, and hopefully find leftovers that I’d somehow forgotten.
I rose from my desk and gave the collection of roses on the table in my office a sidelong look. A bouquet had arrived every day that week, and while I didn’t bring them up to Grant I had begun to wonder if I had chosen the correct plan of action because he wasn’t bringing them up either.
Did he keep sending them because he thought I liked them? Was my silence saying that? Was this like some throwback romance novel where I needed to be wooed and softened up with flowers and notes?
Not every bouquet had notes in them but the ones that did were succinct. The last one, which saidthinking of you, had me rolling my eyes and tossing it in the garbage.
If he was thinking of me, then why didn’t he just talked to me?
I had thought in our quest to be friends that we would at some point meet up, engage in conversation, anything more than a nod and quick greeting uttered in passing. For the past week Grant had been a ghost in the apartment, and I’d barely caught sight of him since the morning we’d met by my car, which might have had something to do with his decision to make himself scarce.
“Maybe because you bit his head off,” I told myself as I locked up my apartment and trudged out to my car. If I did bring up the flowers to Grant I’d have to do it with tact, maybe over dinner and drinks.
Friends did that, right? Melinda and I did, at least, so why would it be any different with Grant?
The butterflies in my stomach reminded me why dinner and drinks with Grant wouldn’t just be casual conversation or a night out with friends.
I sighed and dropped my hand against the hood of my car. How had things gotten so mixed up?
Maybe I could talk to him tonight. Not about the flowers, but just talk. The truth of it was I missed him, and what if he was waiting on me to talk to him first?
I nodded at my decision and got into my car with new energy. Grant was home at this time, and me swinging by on my way to my apartment wouldn’t be going out of my way. It would be checking in with a friend, and that was perfectly normal.
By the time I walked up the stairs to my apartment building I’d mostly convinced myself that my little evening drop-in at just past eight on a Friday night was normal. That confidence lasted all of the two steps I managed to take inside the building before I ran smack dab into a woman I’d never seen before. She was petite; the top of her head barely cleared my shoulder, giving her a youthful look enhanced by her wide emerald eyes and honey-colored hair.
“Sorry, sorry.” I gave her an apologetic smile and moved to step around her toward Grant’s door, but she stopped me.
“No problem, but can I ask a favor?” She held her phone and looked around the foyer with a confused expression.
I nodded, giving her a smile and stepping closer. “Yeah, of course.”
“Thank you so much. I’m meeting this cute as hell guy but I am sooo lost. My data isn’t working.” She gave her phone a shake with a roll of her eyes. “I can’t remember what apartment number he gave me.”
I went through my mental rolodex of the faces I’d seen in the apartment. There were two guys I remembered seeing around who lived in the building. “What’s his name? Everyone’s names are on the mailboxes. We can figure it out like that? I’m kind of new here too and don’t know everyone’s names.”
Her eyes lit up. “You’re a genius!” She held out her hand to me with a sunny smile. “I’m Bianca.”
“Aurora,” I said, giving her hand a shake. “So what’s the name of this cute guy?”
She leaned close to me while we walked toward the mailboxes. “Grant St. John. I swear, that man is gorgeous.”
I stopped so fast that I stutter-stepped, and turned toward her. “You’re here to see Grant?”
Bianca nodded. “Yeah, we’re going out tonight, and I am psyched. I’ve been trying to get him to out with me forever, but I like a little hard to get, so whatever. Do you know where he lives?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, feeling like I could throw up. “He’s just there,” I pointed behind her toward the door marked Super. “He should be home.”
“Oh, thank you, girl! I was so nervous I would knock on the wrong door.” She reached out and squeezed my arm. “How do I look?” she asked, giving me a spin.
“Great. You look great.” I smiled at her, knowing it didn’t reach my eyes, not that Bianca noticed as she skipped toward Grant’s door and banged on it without hesitation. The door to Grant’s apartment opened, surprising both Bianca where she stood and me where I stood rooted to the floor .
“Bianca, hey,” Grant greeted her with a warm smile.
She winked at him, a hand already reaching out to catch his. “Hey handsome.”
My eyes zeroed in on where she touched him, her fingers moving over his arm and down to his hand. When her fingers touched his a startled sound escaped my lips. I clapped a hand over my mouth to muffle it, but the damage was done and Grant looked over Bianca’s shoulder.
