Page 23 of Between the Lines

“She lives too far away, but that’s beside the point.” I shake my head, nausea biting my stomach. “Penny doesn’t know anything about the house, and it has to stay that way. She’ll make a huge deal out of it, and Danny will end up siding with her, and they’ll strong-arm me into selling the house. They don’t think it’s worth the money to repair it.”

“You know I’d invite you to live with me if I didn’t have three roommates from hell.”

I wave her off. “It’s okay, don’t even go there. This all happened so fast, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.” My heart reacts, pattering wildly in my chest.

Halle is taking her last few classes this summer before she graduates with her degree in education, and though she’d take me in in an instant, I need a quiet place for Daisy. Her stability is all I’ve been worried about since Caden called.

My best friend eyes me. “So then, what are you going to do?”

“Well, like I said, Caden has a property that’s sitting unused. It’s fully furnished with two bedrooms and about fifteen minutes away.”

“So you’re moving in?”

“I can’t afford a rental, so what choice do I have?” I shrug, shoving my hands in my back pockets.

“Yeah, no, that’s a relief you have a solution . . .” Halle avoids my eyes and picks up a rag to wipe the already clean counter.

“What are you not saying?”

Her mouth opens and closes. “Isn’t it just so out of character for Caden to be so . . . involved?”

I chirp a laugh, leaning my hip against the counter. “Let me reassure you, he’s involved for selfish reasons.” I roll my eyes. “I mean yes, I’m grateful for the loan and housing, but it’s not out of the goodness of his heart. He knows without me this coffee shop would fail.”

“Look at you, such a hot commodity.”

We both laugh, but then the back door chimes and I bolt up, eyes over the espresso machine. Caden waltzes in with sunglasses still on and perfectly sun-kissed skin.

“Why the hell is he here?” I whisper to Halle as my heart races for no damn good reason.

Halle raises her eyebrows, looking me up and down.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Are you sure he just wants to help you because he cares so deeply about his business?” she mocks, and I don’t like her innuendo. It’s absurd. Caden and I are oil and water.

“I’m going to fire you,” I reply through tight lips.

“You’d have to ask your new landlord first.” She winks, and before I can react, a voice cuts through our whispers, low and stern.

“Fia, can we speak?”

My best friend spins away from me, but not before I catch the smirk on her face.

“Yes, coming,” I reply, closing my eyes briefly before following Caden into his office. I have to step over a box of syrup I forgot to unpack this morning.

He is dressed even more casual than normal with board shorts, a white T-shirt, and tennis shoes. He’s giving a whole surfer, skateboarder vibe with his dirty-blond hair raked back and secured loosely at the nape of his neck in a bun.

I cross my arms over my chest and remain near the office door. But standing here still has me feeling exposed. Not even a week ago, Caden knew next to nothing about my life. He cut my paycheck and texted me weekly about brief business updates. But now? He got a peep inside my very real, very messy, single-mom life. He saw me in my freaking pajamas, for goodness’ sake.

It’s entirely unfair considering the only things I know about him are that he surfs, he has an abundance of discretionary funds, and his family owns a construction business.

“What’s up?” I break the silence as he leans over his desk, long arms reaching out to grab a piece of paper and pen.

“I just made a copy of the key to the property.” He waves a silver key on a keychain and then tosses it to me underhand.

I catch it, closing my fist around the metal and smiling tightly. “Oh right, thank you.”

He rubs a palm over his jaw. “You can also unlock the door using the last four digits of your phone number.”