I laughed. “What did you expect?”
“A bachelor pad of course.” She walked into the kitchen.
“And that’s not what this is?”
She shook her head as she looked at the dishes in the drying rack. “Nope.” She turned back around. “It’s a home.”
Something twisted in my gut. “Well, not a home for me.”
“Really? I can’t understand why you’d want to sell it. The street is so peaceful. It almost feels like you’re not even in the city. It’s like an escape from all the chaos.”
Is that why she was here? To escape from the chaos? From James? I made myself stay on the opposite side of the kitchen island from her. “I like the chaos.”
She rolled her eyes. “What is it with you guys? I love New York, but only because it’s where everyone I care about is. If we could all pick up and move literally anywhere else together, I’d do it in a heartbeat. The suburbs are…”
“Boring.”
She laughed. “Fair point. Here.” She slid the present across the counter at me.
I caught it and just stared back at her.
“Open it.”
I pulled the bow on the top and ripped the paper. The box staring back at me was absolutely not coffee. “You brought me a teapot?”
“It’s a kettle. I figured you didn’t have one.”
“Yeah, because I don’t drink tea.”
“It’s for guests, Matt. Like me. And maybe for a special someone in your life after I set you up. Here, I’ll show you how to use it.” She opened the box and started washing the teakettle. She moved around the kitchen with ease, humming some tune I didn’t recognize.
And as I watched her, I felt the strangest sensation. Familiarity, maybe. My mom always hummed in the kitchen too. But it wasn’t really that. Maybe it was more of a…longing. Because I could get used to this. A woman in my kitchen. A woman in my house. It felt warmer with her here.
Penny placed the pot on the stove and turned back to me. “I figured you didn’t have any tea bags either, so I brought some.” She pulled out some more boxes from her purse and put them on the counter.
“You promised me coffee,” I said.
“Coffee is for people who don’t lie to their Tanners about their friends being rude and not wanting to see their place.”
“Please stop calling him my Tanner. It’s just Tanner.”
She laughed. “But it’s so fun to mess with you.”
I was the one that was supposed to be messing with her. That was our thing. I didn’t like when the tables were turned.
“It’ll whistle when it’s ready.” She walked around the island. “Give me a tour?”
It was actually cute that she didn’t realize how suggestive she always sounded. A tour usually meant straight to the bedroom.Or is that what she meant?I tried to shake off the thought as I showed her the family room and downstairs bathroom.
She peered out the window to the back yard. “You have grass?” She opened up the door before I could stop her. She laughed as she spun around in a circle, her hands lifting in the air. “It’s like a little slice of Central Park!”
It was such a small yard that I couldn’t help but laugh. But I’d made it look nice. There was a small stone patio with a grill and some chairs. And some flowerbeds along the back fence.
“Scarlett would love this,” she said.
“You can bring her next time if you want.”
Next time? Bring another person?What the fuck was I doing? I didn’t want anyone here.
