Page 22 of Chasing Infinity

“On the contrary, my dear friend,” Grace says, pointing at me. “I think that if he were to accept a handout like that from anyone, it wouldonlybe from you.”

“You give me way too much credit.”

Grace shrugs and then pushes herself into a standing position. “That’s what best friends are for! Unless you need me to do anything else, I am out of here. I feel like I need to sleep for a week.”

“Same here. You’re good to go. Jack said he’d help get everything cleaned up.”

Grace gives a big sigh of relief and then pulls me up to stand, too, and wraps her arms around me in a hug. I hug her right back, grateful that she was here today to help. I’m not sure how today would have gone without her being at the helm.

As soon as Grace leaves, I set to work helping the crew with the cleanup. Jack and the staff have finished most of it already, but I hop in where I can, and we get everything sorted. Once we’re finished, I send everyone home for the evening, despite it still being early. We’ve had a full day, and the majority of the town has been in and out of here already today that I doubt we’ll have much of a dinner rush.

I shut the diner down, ensuring the door is locked and the lights are off, then go up to my apartment. After my parents’ original shop burned down and I expressed an interest in refacing the building, I got the architect to build it specifically for what I needed. My dual real estate layout is peculiar, but it works for me.

My apartment is located right above the diner so that I can get to and from work easily. The stairwell from the diner up to my home opens into a hallway. I also have another exit built into the side alley for visitors, mailmen, or package deliveries. This way, they don’t have to go through the diner to get to my front door.

As soon as I’m inside my apartment, I kick off my shoes and head straight to the fridge to get a glass of wine. Today was an emotionally charged, crazy busy day. Now I plan to sit on my couch, watch a terrible movie, and have some wine until I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.

Self-care.

I settle on a cheesy romance movie I find on a streaming service and queue it up before padding into my bedroom to put on a pajama shirt and lounge pants. After I’ve changed, I settle into my couch and cuddle up under a blanket, ready to dive into this cliche love story.

The movie is halfway through when I hear a knock on the door. I frown as I reach for the remote, pausing the movie. Grabbing my wine glass by the stem, I pad over to the front door and switch the deadlock open before swinging it open. I feel my jaw drop when I see Noah standing on the other side of the threshold, a green rucksack thrown over his shoulder and his hands stuffed in his jean pockets.

His eyes scan me up and down, pausing for only a moment when he registers that I’m in my pajamas. When he meets my gaze, I see a wry smirk start to form on his lips. “I heard you might have a couch that’s available for rent.”

I stare at him silently for a moment, surprised that he actually showed up. Noah and I staying in the same apartment screams bad idea—I know it, and I’m sure he knows it. But I can’t in good conscience let him sleep in the back of his car any longer. The image of this large man scrunched up in his backseat burns in the back of my head and my heart aches.

Without a word, I open my front door wider and step back, allowing him to enter my home. He offers me a smile as if he knows the internal warfare I just went through and strides past me. Noah’s eyes dart all around my apartment. His gaze lands on the couch where I was sitting, taking in the abandoned popcorn bowl and a half-empty bottle of white wine.

“Did I interrupt something?” he asks me teasingly, his steely blue eyes looking back at me.

“Only self-care,” I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest. “Today was a little draining.”

He rubs the back of his neck with his free hand and nods in agreement. “You can say that again. Are you sure you’re okay with my staying here? It won’t be too….”

“Weird? Uncomfortable?”

“Yeah,” he agrees, his cheeks tinting pink. An unusual look for Noah. “All those things.”

“It’s not weird unless you make it weird, Noah. We both are adults now, I think we can manage to stay under the same roof. Or at least I can.”

As soon as I say that, I’m reminded of his words from earlier in the day,“My interest in you was never the problem.”

Now it’s my turn for my cheeks to heat up. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea.

“If you want me to go, I can,” Noah offers in the kindest way he can.

I shake my head and offer him as significant of a smile as I can muster and spread my arms out. “Welcome to my humble abode. Mi casa es su casa.”

An amused smile appears on his lips as he looks around. “It’s cute. Very quaint.”

“It’s not much,” I agree, chewing on my lip. “But it’s only me here 100% of the time, so it works.”

“I like it,” he tells me, and I know he means it. “So where do you want me to—“

“Oh, over here,” I say, hustling around the couch to grab the remote and shut down the movie. “Sorry, I was just watching a movie.”

“Don’t stop on my behalf.”

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