Page 80 of Just For Her

“Tricks taught to us by ol’ Gustav. That must be why you missed out on the memos.”

Tove slammed her pen atop the documents she had been highlighting. “What do you want? Something about raising property taxes?”

“I do have two properties in two very expensive cities. I should consider that. The condo in Lake Oswego isn’t doing me much good these days. Maybe I should rent it out. Charge enough to cover the taxes.”

“I’m not the person to ask for advice about that until you come back with some hard numbers.”

Oskar leaned forward, his chin crossing the edge of the desk. “Tell me, cous, how liable would I be if I allowed a lovely lady to inhabit the condo and not pay any rent? Or should I charge her something like fifty bucks a month? Would that help?”

“Not from a professional point of view… honestly, you’re the last person who should move one of his short-lived girlfriends into one of his properties. That’s asking for trouble.”

“Good thing she turned me down, then.” Oskar’s performative sigh caught Tove’s attention. “You ask me, Kayla didn’t know how good she could have had it with me.”

Tove’s throat was the driest it had been since Grady revealed who Kayla really was. “There’s no reason to bring her up. Unless that’s your whole reason for being here. In which case, you can kindly get out of my office.”

“I’m just saying. She’s the reason I’m thinking about this. Just because she turned me down doesn’t mean some other young thing will give up the same golden opportunity. Lake Oswego is nice and expensive. It’s a great place to be a single woman in your 30s!”

“You keep saying you offered her this deal of a lifetime. When was it?”

“Oh, not when you two were together. Although if she had come on to me and tried to move up the Fredriksson ladder, I doubt I would have said no. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t interested in her because she wasyourgirlfriend and I have something against you. It’s more that she was very…” Oskar sucked his breath through his teeth, hands clasping together. “Very hot. I am but a man, Tove.”

“You’re a creep, is what you are.”

“I asked her a week ago. Do you know she’s still working at that brewery? I also hear that she went and saw Aunt Kiersten a few days ago. I wonder what that was about…”

“For the love of God, do you have a real tax question, or are you being a sad and pathetic bully once again?”

“Onceagain?Eh.”

Tove couldn’t get rid of her cousin quickly enough. When he finally vacated her premises, she discovered she had no brain matter for work. Since her next appointment wasn’t for another two hours, she grabbed her half jacket and hit up the “all day” breakfast place across the street that was often closed before she had the chance to load up on eggs, vegan bacon, and a Belgian waffle topped in strawberries and cream.

And a mimosa. God bless brunch.

As was usual in town, she couldn’t hang out anywhere long enough without bumping into a family member. Then again, it was her fault for eating at the window-front bar. It was the perfect place for Thomas to spot her on his way by.

Naturally, he came in as soon as he saw his cousin. While Tove washed down her vegan bacon with a mimosa, Thomas approached the front counter and ordered something to-go. It wasn’t until he had a number in his hand that he finally approached Tove by the window.

“There she is.” Thomas smacked his hand against his cousin’s shoulder. She had been in the middle of drinking water and was nearly sent into a coughing fit. “The woman we all thought died of a broken heart.”

“I’m alive.” Tove dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “Dare I ask what brings you here?”

“Polly has a serious craving for chorizo. Was gonna hit up the burrito food cart by the river, but I saw you and remembered this place has a pretty meanchorizo con huevosI can get to go. Doctor says she should up her protein anyway.” He hopped on the seat next to his cousin. “Besides, I should say hello to my favorite Tove. Unless we decide to name our daughter Tove. Polly is trying to get on Aunt Kiersten’s good side and thinks we should follow tradition and give our kid a Swedish name. Personally, I was gonna suggest McKenzie, but what do I know?”

“You’re having a girl?” Tove thought it was early to know, but she also had lost all sense of time those past three weeks.

“Eh, you have to cover your bases. Just kidding anyway. We wouldn’t give the kid a name that’s been used in the past three generations. Pshaw.”

“Of course not. That could cause strife. Like what happened with Sven and Sven.”

“I’ve always been on Sven’s side.”

It was the first quip to make Tove smile in three weeks. As she pulled apart her last strip of crispy bacon and sprinkled it on the rest of her eggs, she said, “You could go big and name her Maja. Nobody has had the balls to name her after your great-grandma. You could be the first.”

“I bet Polly would like that name. Maybe I’ll swing it by her when I get back to the condo. As long as I have chorizo in hand.”

“I’ve heard the chorizo is pretty good here, yeah.”

Thomas placed his phone on the counter as soon as he was done checking it for messages. “How you holdin’ up, Tove?”

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