"I know it's selfish, but I really hope they allow you to stay on. I would hate to lose you. You're my best friend." She knew there was only a slim chance of this happening, and so did her friend.
Indya slapped her gently on the arm, "You're not going to lose me, dummy! I just won't be able to meet you most days in the park, like we do now. You can always visit our new apartment, or we can meet like we normally do on your day off. Look, don't be upset. I can see it in your eyes. It might be a while until we find a suitable place and who knows what's going to happen between now and then." Lucy was pulled into a tight hug by her best friend. "You are a lot stronger than you think," Indya whispered in her ear.
"Sure," she said, not entirely convinced. She'd settled into a comfortable routine with both the Delgados and Indya, and she liked it. She wasn't sure if she was ready to have all that disrupted. She'd never made friends easily, as she tended to be too shy to make the first move. She was lucky that Indya didn't have that problem and had approached her the first time she'd taken the children to the park. They'd struck up a close friendship almost immediately and it had made Lucy's life here so much easier.
She unbuckled Olivia from her stroller and let her waddle over to the jungle gym to join the boys as she followed closely behind. "Lucy, look at me," shouted Tristan as he slid down the slide with his arms in the air and a wide grin on his face.
She remembered the first time she'd brought him here and he was too scared to go down the slide himself. He'd burst into tears at the top, refusing to go down the slide. She'd wrapped her arms around him and soothed him, told him he'd be fine as she slowly guided him down the slide, tears still falling down his tiny face. He held on to her arms with a death grip, but he'd done it and now look at him.
She wished there was someone there for her if Indya did move in with Mateo. She'd gotten too comfortable and didn't think for one second that any of it would change. She guessed change was inevitable as she watched Olivia climb up the steps of the jungle gym herself, which she couldn't do a short while ago. Yes, maybe it was time for her to make some changes too.
Yes, everybody was changing but was she ready to do the same?
CHAPTER FIVE
A few evenings later, Adam met Finn for a drink in Woody's, a bar central to both their apartments. It was a bar that, although popular, Finn assured him they'd be able to easily get a table and catch up, without the whole bar listening in. Adam wondered why Finn had asked to meet up, without Marcus and Alex, but hadn't asked. He figured he'd soon find out.
As he was first to the bar, he ordered two bottles of the local beer and sat on one of the vacant stools to wait for Finn. He picked up his bottle and took a long pull of his drink. It had been a while since he'd last been in a bar. In fact, it had been a long time since he'd been anywhere he realized.
He made the decision then and there that he would make more of an effort to get out more. He turned to look at the entrance when he saw Finn stride into the bar with a grin as he noticed Adam was already there. "Hey bro! Am I late?" he asked, with a nod in greeting.
"No, I was early. Thought I'd grab us a couple of beers while I was waiting. You're just lucky I haven't drunk yours yet," he chuckled as he handed a bottle over to his brother.
"Yeah, no doubt," Finn replied. "Want to get a table?" He looked around to search for an empty table.
"Sure, lead the way," he said, picking up his drink to follow his brother.
Adam followed him to an empty booth at the back of the bar. It was the first time he'd been there, and he liked the homely feeling the decor, full of framed old album covers and photographs of bands. The music from the jukebox was a mixture of old and new rock and he hummed along to the track currently playing.
"So, are you settled into your new apartment yet?" Finn asked as he took the first sip of his beer.
"Yeah, all my new furniture was delivered not long after you guys left, and I'm almost done setting up my office," he replied. "It's finding the discipline to get back into working on my business that I'm struggling with, now I don't have schedules to keep, y'know?"
"Yeah, I get it. I was the same when I stepped back from gaming and started working with Willow. The early morning alarm was a killer to get used to," Finn chuckled.
"I bet! I remember often coming home from school and you were just up and eating breakfast," he grinned. He was envious of the carefree lifestyle Finn seemed to have back then, doing his own thing when he wanted, not caring about anyone else's opinion.
He noticed Finn was looking far into the distance with a glazed look in his eye, no doubt caught up in a memory. He shook himself out of it and looked directly at Adam, "I'm sorry we've not hung out more," he sighed. "Growing up we used to be really close and then I got into gaming and ..."
Adam knew where Finn was going with this. They'd been very close up until Finn was in his early teens when he found a love of gaming and no longer wanted to hang around with himself and Noah. Noah then started to hang around with friends from school and was never in, while Marcus and Alex, being the eldest, didn't want him around either, unless they were forced to by their mother. Finn cutting him off to spend his time with his new gaming friends was one of the reasons he'd picked up coding. Adam had always had his brothers to hang out with and he'd assumed it would always be that way, so he'd not made the effort to make his own friends at school. Back then, when Finn pulled away, so did he, into his bedroom and focused on learning as much as he could about coding. Initially he wanted to create a game that he and Finn could play together, but the more he got into it, the more he preferred creating games for mobile. He felt that whenever he did leave his room, at least one of his brothers would make a remark about what he should be doing with his time. It was easier to shut his bedroom door and shut them out too.
The last thing he wanted was for Finn to feel bad about it, all these years later. "Finn, I get it - well now I get it. Back then all I could see was my brothers doing their own thing and I was left to fill that void by myself. We were kids, and if you'd not done that I probably wouldn't have started coding and built my own business. I'd probably have ended up at Harrington Enterprises." He shuddered at the thought.
"Ha," Finn said, "one thing we were both determined about was to not join dad's company, so if it hadn't been your mobile apps, I'm sure it would have been something else."
"Exactly," he shuddered again. "There was no way I was going to start there and let Marcus and Alex boss me around for another forty years of my life. I had enough of that growing up. Besides, I like being the one in charge now," he chuckled.
"You've changed," said Finn, the left side of his mouth twitched. "My little brother is all grown up."
"Don't you dare pat my head, or ruffle my hair," he warned. "If I'd had a dollar for every time one of you'd done that, I'd be richer than Harrington Enterprises." He dropped his gaze, "I just want to be seen for me, y'know. Not as everyone's little brother."
"I totally get it. I should have known better because I got it from Marcus and Alex and hated it. I liked the idea that I could turn the tables on you and Noah. I'm sorry. From now on I'll treat you like an equal." He scoffed, "Well, not an equal. You could never be as awesome as me." He reached across the table to ruffle Adam hair, knowing what he was about to do, he managed to dodge out of the way.
Adam burst into a fit of laughter, "Only you think that. Well, and maybe Willow, and she has to, being your wife."
He enjoyed his time with Finn and after he got a few things off his chest he felt lighter. He'd spent his whole life thinking his brothers thought he was the weakest link, or maybe not weakest but the 'less than' brother that needed their protection and guidance when maybe all it took was to point out their behavior and ask them to change it.
He grinned, maybe it hadn't all been bad, because without it he would never have striven as hard as he did to make himself be a success in his own right. He'd certainly achieved that, and he was far from finished.
CHAPTER
SIX
Lucy picked up her flat iron and pulled it through long, auburn hair. She usually pulled it up for work, but she was going out with Indya tonight. They were meeting at a bar, a short five-minute walk from the apartment, then they'd decide what to do from there. Once she'd finished with her hair she applied a layer of mascara and some lip gloss and she was ready to head out. The one day and two nights she had off, wasn't nearly enough and was determined to make the most of them. She sighed as it dawned on her that when Indya moved in with Mateo, it might be a long while until she got out again.
Before leaving she popped her head into the living area, where Sylvia Delago was sitting with a glass of water, catching up on a TV program. "Hi Sylvia, I'm just heading out. I've got my key and won't be too late."
"Have a great time, Lucy. I'm just waiting for David to get back from work, hopefully with some Chinese food," she chuckled as she paused the TV program she was watching. "Thanks for putting Tristan and Olivia in bed. I know he feels terrible about not spending more time with them but he's having issues at work. Hopefully not for much longer."
"Have a nice night," said Lucy as she headed out the door. For the past couple of months, David had been working later in the evenings and even some weekends. She knew he had an important job at some financial company and the stress was getting to him. She tried to avoid him, when she could. He used to be so laid back and fun, spending any free time with his wife and children but now ...
While waiting on the elevator she pulled out her phone to send Indya a quick message to say she was on her way. She frowned when she saw Indya had sent her a message canceling this evening as Mrs Franklin had asked her to stay on at the last minute. She let out a loud groan just as the elevator doors opened and her new neighbor stepped out.
"That didn't sound good," he smiled. "Everything alright?"
No everything wasn't alright. She'd gone to all this trouble for nothing.
"My friend just messaged me to say she had to cancel our night out," she explained, "and I was really looking forward to it as this is my night off from nanny duties." She couldn't believe she was telling him about her ruined plans, usually she never said two words to strangers, but for some reason he was different. A grin quickly appeared on his face.
"Where were you off to?" he asked as he stepped out of the elevator and let the door close behind him. The closer he got to her, the taller he seemed. She needed to crane her neck now to look at him.
"Just a bar nearby then we were going to play it by ear. She'd canceled the last time we were going to go out so ..." She sounded so pathetic, even to her own ears.
"Would you like me to go with you?" he asked as he took another step towards her. She didn't take a step back. Weird.
She finally registered what he'd said and looked up with her mouth wide open. She certainly didn't expect that. He grinned at her and then the thick dark hair of his bangs fell over his left eye, as if he was nervous for her answer. Why he was nervous she had no idea, he was gorgeous. He must be over six feet of yumminess and had an athletic build that filled his dark green henley very nicely. He had the deepest brown eyes she'd ever seen, with longer lashes than she had, even with her mascara. She could get lost in those eyes, and at the moment she could only see one, which was raised in expectation of her answer. Definitely nothing to be nervous about.
"Do you not have other plans?" she asked, because she couldn't really believe that he would want to drop them for her. He didn't even know her.
She could see the tension slip away from his body as he gave her a light-up-the-room smile. "Is that a yes, or a no? I'm not quite sure," he said as his eyebrow raised. "You'd be saving me from a boring night of eating leftovers and watching mindless TV."
What did she have to lose? She needed to make new friends anyway and that meant stepping outside her comfort zone and why not do it with her new neighbor?
"Okay then, I'd love to," she said, returning the smile.
He leaned over to call the elevator back, "Great, where are we headed?"
"Murphy's, over on Everly? I usually meet my friend Indya there and then we decide from there where to go next. We don't have to go there, we can go wherever you want. I usually just go where she suggests as she knows the city more than I do and she's been to more places to know if they're good or not, y'know?" she rambled. She knew she was rambling, but she couldn't help herself, she always got like this when she was nervous, and she was certainly nervous.
She hoped he wouldn't regret asking her out now.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Adam smiled at Lucy, the need to put her at ease overwhelmed him. Now she'd accepted to go out with him, he'd lost any nerves he'd had. Now to help her lose hers. He wanted to go somewhere they'd be able to chat in peace and he mentally went through all the bars and restaurants in the area.
"Relax," he said, "I was brought up here and I know of a few place we can go. Have you eaten?"
"No, we usually grab something when we're out," she said as she fiddled with the straps on her purse.
"Are you hungry now?" he asked as they both stepped into the elevator.
She gave him a shy smile, "Yeah, I could eat. I think it's probably best or else I'd be drinking on an empty stomach."
They chatted about their food preferences and she told him about living in the building and being a nanny to the two children he'd seen with her earlier in the week. He couldn't believe how relieved he was at that news. By the time they arrived at the burger place, he noticed she'd lost any signs of nervousness around him and they were chatting like old friends.
They were seated by the window and it wasn't long until the waitress took their order, and then delivered it. His mouth watered at the sight of his burger. It had been a long time since he'd been here and his mouth obviously remembered the tasty burgers.
Lucy let out a loud groan, "This is the best burger I have ever tasted. Thank you so much for bringing me here," she said, then looked around as her face reddened. "I can't believe I did that out loud."
He grinned, "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're obviously enjoying it. I used to come here with my brothers when we were younger," he said as he took a bite of his own bacon double cheeseburger.
"Three brothers, right?" she asked between mouthfuls.
"Four," he replied, not sure how she guessed so closely.
"I met them the day you moved in," she explained after she noticed the confused look on his face. "I was taking Tristan and Olivia to the park and they got in the elevator with me. Seemed nice."
"Ah right," he nodded, "Yeah, Marcus, he's the oldest, then Alex and then Finn. Noah's next but is out of state at the moment."
"You're the baby?" she asked.
He groaned, "Yeah." He wished it didn't bother him so much when someone mentioned that. He needed to get over it and quick.
"I think it's great that you have a big family. I'm an only child and would have loved to have had siblings growing up. It's not fun being an only child," she said as her forehead creased, and she dipped her head.
He'd never thought of it like that. He'd often wished to have been an only child, and when his brothers had all left home, he pretended he was. It wasn't until after his chat with Finn and having his brothers help him move, he realized he was actually glad he had his brothers. He knew, no matter what, he could count on them to have his back, and he theirs.
"I'd not really thought of it like that. I experienced the only child thing when my brothers left home, but one of them was always popping over to visit and I guess I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have," his shoulders dropped as he spoke.
"We never appreciate what we've got," she forced a laugh. "Indya, my best friend. Well only friend, is moving in with her boyfriend, and as her position is live-in, she might have to find another job. I just assumed she'd always be there, but her life is moving on. It's at times like this that I wish I had siblings to call on for advice, or even just to chat with." She let out a long sigh and ret
urned to her burger, "I'm sorry to lay all that on you," she said before she took a bite.
"What about your parents?" he asked, studying her as she stilled at the question.
"They died in an accident a few years ago. My parents were older when they had me and had almost given up hope of being parents. They loved me a little too much," she cringed, "I shouldn't say that, they were wonderful parents and I had a great childhood, but they sheltered me too much. They thought they were protecting me from 'the big bad world'" she finger quoted, "But now that I'm on my own and in this city, I realize how sheltered I really was and I sometimes struggle to figure everything out on my own."
"I'm sorry," he told her, "If it's any consolation I'm here whenever you need someone to talk to. I can even lend you one of my brothers if you'd rather," he chuckled, to lighten the mood.
She lifted her eyes to meet his, "Thank you," she said. He could see the sincerity in her eyes as she spoke. This was a promise he was determined not to break.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lucy stared at the man across from her and wondered how she could have got so lucky. She normally stayed away from men, well people in general, not knowing how to react around them. Home schooling and overly-protective parents would do that to a person.
"So how did you end up here?" he asked as he put the last bite of his burger in his mouth and licked his lips.
"I've always wanted to work with kids. I guess it's another symptom of being an only child," she laughed and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Being home-schooled meant I didn't have the qualifications to go away to college so I went to a local community college to study Early Childhood Education. I think my parents planned it that way. Then my parents died during my first year and a student counselor helped me get a live-in nanny position. My parents didn't leave me enough to finish the course and I was struggling so much after losing them, so it seemed the most sensible thing to do. It gave me an income, somewhere to live and I still got to work with kids."
Love by Geek (The Harringtons Book 4) Page 2