An hour later, all her shelves were up and filled with perfectly color-coded books.
Brandy came down with an empty bottle of wine. “Trey and Cory are sleeping.”
“Thanks.” Nadia sighed. “I knew Trey would pass out, but I wasn’t sure about Cory.”
“Yeah. Once Trey’s head hit the pillow, he was snoring. Cory wanted to come down and check on you and our friend.” She gestured at me. “But I made him get in bed, then I sat down and told him all about my last relationship with the clown performer.”
Nadia chuckled. “Why would you subject my baby to that?”
“He fell asleep within a minute. Then, I just sat there drinking the rest of the wine and wondering why that fool never called me back. I mean really? He blew balloons for a living, and he thought he was too good to call a sister back?” She headed off to the kitchen. “I’m getting another bottle.”
“No, you’re not.” Nadia shook her head. “You’re going up to the guest room and sleeping.”
Brandy groaned, slung the bottle in the trash can, and turned around. “Fine. I probably have had enough. Where’s my gun?”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Go to bed, Brandy.” Nadia pointed to the stairs.
“Yes, ma’am.” Brandy waved goodbye to me. “Bye, Mr. Zain. You must come around all the time.”
“I sure will.”
Brandy yawned. “Girl, did you give him my number?”
Nadia rolled her eyes. “Of course I did. That’s been my top priority this evening.”
I laughed.
“My girl.” She stumbled up the stairs. “I love you, soror!”
Nadia laughed. “I love you too.”
When Brandy disappeared, I turned to Nadia. “Soror?”
“We’re in a sorority together.” She cursed and rushed to the back. “Speaking of that, I need to put up my elephants.”
I followed her into an empty room that could be used for an office or a small den. In there, several large paintings of elephants lay against the wall.
“I can help you hang those.”
“Zain, you’ve done enough.” She lifted the large one that I saw her struggling with earlier.
I took it from her. “I told you that I was your personal maintenance man. Deal with it.”
She stepped back and looked like she was going to fight it.
“Where do you want it?”
“In the living room behind the couch.”
“Okay.” I carried it out of the room.
The next hour involved light hammering and heavy lifting. Surprisingly, the boys and Brandy didn’t wake. I helped her arranged the living and dining room. Nadia got a chance to unbox many things while I hung her paintings here and there. Earlier I’d told her that she just had me for an hour. In the end, I’d stayed for three, and wanted to hang out even more, but exhaustion covered her face.
Rubbing her eyes, she scanned the room. “I can’t believe so much was done. Tomorrow, I can just sit down and write. I owe you a feast.”
“One plate is good enough.”
“What’s your favorite food?”
“Look at me. I can destroy anybody’s kitchen.”
“Any food allergies or—”
“I’m not a fan of green food.”
She laughed. “You mean vegetables?”
“I’ll eat them, but it needs to be with a huge slab of meat or covered in cheese.”
“Steak and potatoes sounds good with cheesy broccoli?”
“You make that, and it will be hard to get rid of me.”
“Then, your order will be at your house tomorrow.”
“I’ll be waiting.” I headed for the door. “It was fun, Nadia.”
“It definitely was.” Something hinted in those words.
I glanced back and noticed her checking out my ass. It was a first for me. When she realized I caught her, she blushed and turned around.
I chuckled, opened the door, and left.
No dating? Fuck that. You’ll be requesting this cock soon.
Cool air hit my face. I welcomed the chilliness and made it back to my house in no time.
A new, sexy neighbor. That was unexpected.
I spotted my phone and read the text from Zachary.
Zachary: Are you down to do the three new bonds?
Me: Yeah, but not this week. I’m busy with something.
I shut the phone off and put it in my pocket.
Back in my quiet place, I shut off the kitchen lights and headed upstairs.
As I got ready for bed, I thought of Nadia’s home cooked meal coming my way. If she knew her way around pots and pans, then she would have an even bigger problem on her hands.
A new sensation filled me. Usually, my time in the house revolved around TV shows, beer, and some form of takeout. It was nice to have something new to look forward to when I headed home.
Nadia. Nadia.
5
Story Time
Nadia
A
fter Zain left, I cleaned up some of the scattered boxes. He’d done so much. Which was perfect. I needed to finish my current novel fast.
That was a blessing.
By midnight, I finished cleaning.
I should have went up to bed. Instead, I entered the kitchen and took out several steaks. I’d bought up a lot of food yesterday as if I was planning for a hurricane. Stress-buying. Stress over the new move. Stress with the divorce. Stress from the current short story. Stress with being a new single mother.