Page 29 of Lucky Strike

“Why a green door?”

“I like how it looks. Did you know the color of your door actually means something? A green door symbolizes prosperity and, considering where I’ve started, where I’ve been most of my life, having a cute place with a green door would feel like I’d actually made it somewhere.”

“I hope you get your green door someday,” he said.

Her clear hazel eyes studied him, as if attempting to detect any sarcasm. She wouldn’t find any. If anyone had the determination to get the door color of her choice, Sam had no doubt it would be Luna.

“Me too.” Luna smiled and it was genuine before switching to one tinged in mischief. “I don’t suppose I can paint my door green.”

He almost choked on his pizza. Why didn’t he see that coming? “You don’t know this, but I secretly gave you a choice between the door or the cabinets and you picked cabinets. Now that we’re almost done, it’s too late to change your mind.”

“Ah well. I guess it would look pretty funny for the building to have only one green door. Besides, with how faded the rest of the outside paint job is, the building has to be due for a refresh soon. Maybe I’ll petition the neighbors to get us all green doors.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.” He wasn’t. Not with his dad.

“Does management ever do work on the outside?”

“What do you mean?” he asked. What work was there to do? There was the concrete patio, a small patch of mostly living grass and then the parking lot.

“Oh, it’s just that the patio area, even the laundry room, is so dusty.”

“Obviously. They’re exposed to the outside. And guess what? Outside is dirty.” Okay, maybe Sam was somewhat embarrassed about the laundry room. The door was always propped open, letting in all kinds of dirt. But who exactly expected a clean patio? Certainly not the residents of Schnell Ridge.

“And you have those barrel planters around the patio but they’re just filled with old dirt. I know it’s all surface beauty to you, but just cleaning off the patio, utilizing the planters with some seasonal summer flowers is something simple to make the place feel more homey. Don’t you think?”

“Nope.” Sam slid the bill of his hat lower on his face. “I’ve already wasted a whole day painting your cabinets. I don’t need any more projects added to my list, especially from you. I don’t know the first thing about plants.” He swept a hand in the direction of her kitchen. “This is all the homey you’re going to get, Queenie.”

Chapter Twelve

“Welcome to myhome,” Zabe said in a formal tone after answering the door. Luna was sure she would follow this with a curtsy or bow, but instead the kid grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

“This is my beanbag!” she said, falling into it. “Oh, and this is my dad.” The kid stood up and then plopped on the sofa beside him.

Zabe’s father looked up from his laptop and nodded an acknowledgement with a “Hey, how are you?” as though Luna being in his home was not strange at all. But perhaps the girl’s explanation of: “This is Luna number two and she’s going to make my room da bomb,” was enough of an introduction.

The kid then ran into the kitchen. “Oh, I have your payment.” Luna had previously joked that she wasn’t sure Zabe could afford her room-styling fee, before telling her she loved nothing better than a really good peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Sure enough, this is what Zabe bounded out with, carrying it on a plate. “This is the best PB and J sandwich I’ve ever made. I even used a cookie cutter we had. See? It’s shaped like a pumpkin. I make good sandwiches, right, Dad?”

Her dad assured her she did with an approving “Mm-hmm.”

Luna followed her to the bedroom with a bag of tricks, and plopped on the carpet next to Zabe while scrolling through a Pinterest board on her phone and munching on her sandwich. While the girl had pinned a few elaborate pictures, she’d also pinned a lot of images of dogs. Luna wasn’t sure what Zabe wanted more: a new room or a pet. Many things on the girl’s Pinterest board weren’t possible even if Sam gave her free rein. While Luna was willing to be risky when it came to her landlord and her living situation, she wasn’t foolish enough to take chances where Zabe and her father were concerned.

Instead, it was better to get creative, like gluing brown fringe on a lamp shade because it represented a Yorkshire terrier’s fur. Or cutting a bunch of spots out of black sticky-back felt and putting it on the wall for a dalmatian pattern. Then Luna rearranged the furniture for a better flow. Zabe didn’t care as she kept declaring her room wasdefinitely more amazing than it was before.

Luna loved to be appreciated, so she had a blast and took before and after pictures for social media, letting Zabe choose the hashtags.#SeeingSpots #GirlPower #Dogs. That last one was a little generic but this was a compromise when the kid originally wanted#doggystyle. Regardless, Luna left the apartment satisfied, and it made her think about all the times when she had been a kid and wanted to redecorate her and Ross’s childhood home. At the time, her grandfather was less than enthusiastic about the idea and she never had any money for it.

Schnell Ridge was the first time she’d been able to really express herself in her living space. Ross had jewelry; she had this. Speaking of which, she needed to get to work. While her cousin would allow her to come in late, he didn’t like her to miss the whole day even if there wasn’t anything pressing for her at the moment.

Luna arrived at Lanza’s Fine Jewelry and, as she predicted, it was quiet. In fact, the only people on the shop floor were Aanya Pujari, the semi-retired, part-time saleswoman, and Mia who was excitedly talking about baby stuff.

“Oh, Luna,” Mia said at her entering the shop. “I was wondering where you were. I brought you your favorite, an iced caramel macchiato.”

The price for Luna claiming her surprise drink was getting swept into a side hug.

“Luna is helping me put together the nursery,” her cousin-in-law said brightly to Aanya.

“She does have good taste,” the older woman agreed, which made Luna feel even better. Things were definitely looking up for her.

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