“Ari! Stop running in here. It’s not safe.”
That was reassuring.
The more I looked around, the more I could see what he meant. It wasn’t safe for a hyper little girl, but for an adult, it wasn’t too bad.
It was literally just renovations.
“There’s nothing structurally wrong,” Theo said, walking into the main living area where a sofa was covered under a dust sheet. “It was just time for a renovation, and with the season being so long, I needed it all done at once. Unfortunately, there are a few contractors who didn’t agree with me, and here we are.”
“They’re arseholes,” Arielle said brightly, drawing a heart on the dusty sliding doors with her finger.
Theo rubbed his temple. “I have got to stop taking work calls with her around,” he muttered. “Ari, get off the doors. Anyway,” he said, turning his attention to me. “The kitchen is getting finished this week and hopefully the bath will be done, too. Otherwise, it just needs cleaning and all those supplies are in the utility room.”
“I don’t mind,” I said, looking at him. “How much do I owe you?”
Ari did a cartwheel across the dirty floor and almost toppled into a stack of flooring packets.
Theo winced. “Ari has a dance class in the morning. I’ll come by when I’ve dropped her off.”
“Offt!” Ari rubbed her butt from the floor.
“That works.” I edged back.
Theo slowly nodded. “Ari, take my key and let yourself in at home. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Aw, but, Dad—”
“But, Dad nothing. I can’t hear myself think while you’re over there pretending to be a fairy elephant.” He held out his keys. “Go now, please.”
She huffed and stomped across the room, then snatched the key out of his hand. He reached out and gave her a quick clip to the back of the head, one she squealed at before she ran off.
“Anyway,” he said, turning around again. “Like I said, needs a clean, but everything works. Except the bath—don’t run that fucking thing unless you want to pay to repair a hole in the ceiling.”
“I’ll pass.”
“Good choice. There’s not great service on the beach, but there is a WiFi code. It’s in my office, so if you can manage without it, I’ll bring it over with me tomorrow. If not, feel free to come over in about half an hour and I’ll get it for you.”
“There’s no rush,” I replied. “I’m not bothered.”
He looked at me for a moment, puzzlement flashing across his face, before he shrugged off any hint of emotion and schooled his expression back to one of not really caring. “Your choice. There’s a drawer in the TV unit with numbers for food delivery, and there’s a grocery store in the middle of town, plus directions on how to get there.” He glanced around the room one last time and nodded as if he was satisfied with the directions he’d given me. “I just ask that you have a bit of a clean before you pull off the dust sheets. There’s also sheets for the bed in the cupboard in vacuum-sealed bags.”
“That’s great. Thanks.”
“Right. Well, I’ll stop by around ten-thirty tomorrow morning, if that works.”
I nodded. “Thanks again. I really do appreciate this.”
He drew in a deep breath, his nostrils flaring, and nodded. “No problem,” he said with the tone of someone who definitely had a problem with this. “The key is just here.” If you need anything, you know where I am.”
On that tightly spoken note, he dropped the key on the kitchen island then left, closing the door behind him.
I sagged, leaning against the dust-sheet-covered sofa. All the breath left my lungs in something that was a mixture of relief and dread, but it was mostly relief. Relief because there was a place to sleep that wasn’t my car, and dread because it was blatantly obvious I wasn’t really welcome here.
Not as far as Theo was concerned, anyway.
He obviously knew who I was because Arielle obviously watched my videos, but I didn’t know how much he knew, especially about recent events.
Jesus, Mitch had really screwed me over, and I didn’t even know why. It wasn’t like we’d broken up last week—we’d split up almost a year ago. I could only guess it was because he no longer had access to my online platform for his newest attempt at a business.
His latest one had been candles. Not particularly nice-smelling ones, either.
Funnily enough, me giving him my honest opinion had sparked the row that had ended up with him breaking up with me and me throwing a pair of his sneakers out of my apartment window at him.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t hit him.
You couldn’t win them all.
I went out to my car and grabbed my things. Saying ‘things’ was a bit of a stretch; I had my cheap phone, laptop, chargers, and two hastily-packed carry-on suitcases filled with necessities.
I lugged everything inside and up the stairs. The two-bedroom house was small but cute, and I pulled the cases into the bedroom with an ocean view and a double bed. Unlike the rest of this house, this room was painted in a gorgeous powder blue, and the white, wooden furniture had a slightly rustic feel to it.
It definitely felt like a beach.
I pulled all the dust covers off the furniture, pleasantly surprised to find a new mattress on the bed, still wrapped in the plastic. A quick bounce determined that it was comfortable, and I folded all the dust sheets so I could store them in the closet.
The room was relatively clean, so I went ahead and unpacked my meager belongings, making a quick mental note of what I needed to buy from the grocery store when I ventured out next.
Probably in an hour.
I doubted there was wine in this house, and God only knew I needed some.
I carried my phone and laptop downstairs, plugged them both in, and retrieved the bucket of cleaning supplies from the utility room. There was both a vacuum and a mop there, and I thanked my lucky stars I didn’t have to go out right this second.
Sure, this wasn’t a long-term solution to my problem, but I wasn’t sure I such a thing existed.
Not right now, anyway.
So for now, this would do.
CHAPTER THREE – THEO
“Dad, you don’t understand. It’s amazing. That’s Elle Evans. She’s my most favorite vlogger ever. I can’t believe she’s in Creek Keys. I can’t believe I met her. I watched her eat, Dad!”
I side-eyed Arielle. “Yes, and I’m sure she appreciated every second of that. Put your plate in the dishwasher.”
She did as I asked. “Now she’s right next to us? In our beach house? Oh, my God, I’m gonna die. I can’t even. This is the coolest thing. I need to tell everyone, Dad. I can’t believe this happened. Do you think she’ll show me how she curls her hair? I can’t get it right.”
“What are you curling your hair with? You don’t have one of those things,” I replied. “And no, you’re not getting one, either. You’re nine. Also, for what it’s worth, I don’t think she would appreciate you telling everyone she’s here.”
Ari huffed as she put her cutlery in the basket in the dishwasher, but I didn’t care. She could huff all she wanted.