Sarah blinks, and then a slow smile spreads over her pretty face.
“Really?”
“Sure. It’s just sitting there. It’ll be loud during the day because of the garage noise, though. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
“I don’t care about the noise. And I’ll be working at the diner anyway,” she replies, getting excited. But then her expression falls.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her.
“I just—” She bites her lip and glances around nervously, her gaze landing on Tanner. She looks embarrassed.
“Excuse us,” I say and gesture for Sarah to follow me outside. “What’s wrong?”
She blows out a huff of breath and turns to me. “I appreciate the offer, Wolfe, but I can’t afford to pay you a deposit and first and last month’s rent. I just can’t.”
“Okay.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not going to accept a gift that big.”
“The money doesn’t matter to me, Sarah.”
“It matters to me,” she says as she rounds on me, her eyes hot with temper. “I can and will make my own way. I have a hell of a work ethic, and I will pay you for that apartment. I won’t live there rent-free.”
“Okay,” I say again. “You can pay me whatever you think is fair. As I said, it’s not a big place. And I don’t give a shit about the deposit. You’re not going to tear the place apart.”
“No, I’m not,” she concedes. “You said it needs some work?”
“Yeah, the floors need new carpet or hardwood, and it needs paint. Stuff like that.”
“I can do it,” she says and reaches out to grasp onto my arm. “I’ll paint and clean it all up. I can tear out the old carpet if you’ll have the new stuff put in.”
“I definitely don’t expect you to lay flooring,” I agree. “Does this mean we have a deal? It’ll be a couple of weeks before you can move in.”
“Oh my God,” she says with a bright smile and launches herself into my arms for a hug. “We have a deal! I can get started right away. Just tell me what color you want things painted.”
“No way,” I reply as she pulls away. “You can paint it whatever the hell you want. I don’t have a preference.”
“I’ll make it so pretty,” Sarah promises me just as the door opens, and Luna pokes her head out.
“Dinner’s on.”
“We’re coming. I have an apartment,” Sarah announces and starts to fill Luna in on the details as she walks back into the house behind her.
I join them, and Tanner crosses to me.
“That was nice of you.”
“I have the space,” I say with a shrug as the girls start talking about ideas for Sarah’s new apartment. “Someone should use it.”
“Still nice,” Tanner says and watches Sarah.
“You should probably have a conversation with her,” I suggest.
“Eventually,” he agrees and takes a sip of his drink. “But for now, I’ll let her do some healing.”
“You’re a patient man,” Apollo says.
“Unlike me,” I agree.
“There’s no rush,” Tanner says. “She’s not going anywhere, and neither am I. I’ve waited all these years. A few months more won’t matter.”
“Patient,” Apollo says again. “And smart. Come on, I’m hungry.”
We join the girls, load up our plates, and then take all the food and drinks out to a picnic table in the gazebo so we can watch the sunset.
The sky is orange and pink as the sun starts to sink into the water.
“You know,” I say after taking a bite of warm, crusty bread, “I’ve been around the world and have seen a lot of sunsets, but nothing compares to this. Absolutely nothing.”
“Agreed,” Sarah says and clinks her glass to mine. “I lived in Malibu, and while it’s pretty down there, it’s not like this.”
“It’s special here,” Apollo says, seeming to think it over as we all watch the water. “Look!”
“We see it,” Luna murmurs with a soft voice as two whales breach the surface and spout water into the air. “It’s a mom and baby. They have been hanging out here for a couple of months.”
“Special,” I repeat, watching the whales and eating dinner with my friends as the sun slips away. When we’ve devoured the food, and the sun is gone, we all carry the dirty dishes into the house and help clean everything up.
No one leaves before Luna’s kitchen shines.
“Six people in this space is a bit tight,” Luna says with a laugh. “But I appreciate the help.”
“If you cook and host, you don’t clean up alone,” June says. “Also, this was fun. We should do it more often. Maybe next time we don’t invite Apollo. Hermes can come, though.”
“Thanks,” Tanner says dryly.
“Hey, I get to come, too,” Apollo says with a frown. “You can just ignore me if you don’t like it.”
“I will,” June says.
“Good.”
“Good.”
“Well, isn’t it fun to listen to these two bicker?” I ask, my voice full of fake enthusiasm.