It’s disconcerting, so I shift slightly on my feet under the scrutiny.
“Well, hello there.” She gives me a full once over with her eyes and then nudges Nia. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Nia mouths ‘sorry’ then says, “This is Jared. Jared, this is my cousin, Simone.”
That explains the resemblance. It doesn’t explain why Simone is looking at me like all her prayers have been answered.
“It’s nice to meet you, Simone,” I say, not sure if I mean it or not. “We’d better head off. The park’s waiting.”
“Right,” Nia says. “Thanks for stopping over.”
I wave this off and start back across the road with my son. As soon as I hit the curb on the opposite side of the road, I hear footsteps. When I turn, I see Nia jogging over to us. I can’t stop my eyes from straying over her face as she comes closer and I try to ignore the tingle of anticipation that races through me.
When she reaches us, she says, “I’m sorry about Sim. She’s harmless, really.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“No, but I do need to say sorry for the other day.” She eyes Cooper who is watching the whole exchange with interest. “I put you in an awkward position,” she says quietly.
Shit. This is not a conversation I expected to have with her, and certainly not with my son at my side, but with hindsight, I should have. Nia strikes me as a person who doesn’t let things fester.
“It’s me who is sorry. You tried to do a nice thing and I acted crazy.”
“I understand why you did.” I’m not sure she does, but I don’t call her on it. “Let’s just start again, okay?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
I’d like it more than I care to admit.
She obviously does too, because she beams at me. “Right then. I better get back to the shop.”
“Yeah. Later, Nia.”
“Bye, Nee Nee,” Cooper says, scrunching his fingers open and closed in an attempt at waving.
I watch her melt a little at my son and then she says, “Bye, Cooper.” Her gaze comes to me and her eyes are sharper, more heated. “Bye, Jared.”
Then she turns and jogs back across the street, her summer dress swirling around her dark thighs. Holy shit, my cock stirs as I watch her retreating back, and that scares the shit out of me. It’s the first time since Robyn died that I’ve had a physical response to a woman.
Shit.
8
Nia
The storage unit sale is on Monday afternoon in a huge site just outside the city. I get there early, so I can see what’s in there with an unobstructed view. The organizers don’t let you go inside the storage unit, so you have to buy based on what you can see, which makes it both tricky and exciting. This one looks like a bit of a doozy, though. It’s absolutely stacked full of bits of furniture and other junk, so it’s impossible to tell if anything is worth anything. Most of it looks old fashioned, like it belongs in the nineteen sixties, but it piques my interest. Why, I don’t know, because it doesn’t look like anything could be worth a damn, but I have a feeling I should bid on it.
When the auction starts, there’s a few bidders, but I can tell there’s no real fire for this storage unit so I manage to win it for a hundred and fifty bucks. It’s a steal, even if most of it is junk. It could have some treasures buried beneath all that stuff. I hope.
I start by sorting into piles of stuff I want to keep and junk that I’m going to either upcycle, resell, or get rid of. There’s a surprising number of things buried deep that I can sell, including a collection of old eight tracks and an amazing elephant decoration.
“So, this is what you shut shop for today?”
I startle and snap my eyes up to see Simone standing in the entrance of the storage unit. Her eyes roam around the space, taking in my precious items.
“It’s a treasure trove in here,” I tell her.
Her brow cocks. “It doesn’t look like a treasure trove.”
“I found a cookbook from eighteen-ninety-seven in here. There’s so much stuff I can sell.”
“Uh-huh, so you’re in your element, right?”
I nod, then ask, “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not glad to see you.”
“Well, I got off work and thought about you buried under all this junk. I figured I’d come down and see if you needed help.”
And this is why I adore my cousin. She supports all my endeavors, even if she thinks I’m crazy.
“I would love some help. I’m a little overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in here.”
“Okay, then put me to work.”
“Can you start pulling things out in that corner?” I point to the back left-hand side of the storage unit.
“Absolutely, sugar. What am I doing with it?”
“For now, just line it up out front with the other pieces and I’ll see what I want to keep.”
Simone goes to work and I continue rummaging through the stack of things in front of me. I have no idea who the storage unit belonged to, but I do know I’ve stumbled on a winner here. What looked like junk at first glance is actually saleable items—some of them might be worth a little money.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an antiques expert. I’m a hobbyist, who takes her hobby more than a little serious. I can discern valuable items from junk, though. Years of collecting has given me an eye for the things that are worth money, and I can tell some of this will be worth good money.
“What the hell is this ugly ass piece?”
I glance up as Simone appears out of the junk holding a painting. She’s not wrong; it is kind of ugly, but there’s also something to the piece that draws the eye. It’s a portrait of a man in his fifties, maybe sixties, but there’s something a little sinister about him. I don’t really like the piece either, so I can see why Simone doesn’t.
I check to see if there’s a signature on the bottom, but I can barely make out the scrawl.
“Maybe I should get someone to take a look at it.”
“Why would you do that? This thing is not something you hang over the fireplace, Nee. It’s creepy and weird.”
I laugh. “It’s just a painting.”
Holding the frame, I walk it over to the ‘keep’ pile.
“Seriously? You’re keeping that nasty thing?”
“Yeah, Sim. At least until I’ve had someone look at it. I want to know who painted it, where it came from. Aren’t you a little bit interested?”
“Not in the slightest, sugar, but if you want to get it looked at, then by all means.”
“Thanks for the permission,” I mutter.
She waves a hand and goes back to rummaging.
“So, what’s going on with you and Mr. Hottie?”
I feel heat in my cheeks. “Nothing.”
“You protested that far too fast. Nia, I’ve been your girl for years. If you can’t level with me then I’m hurt.”
I roll my eyes. “Guilt trips won’t get you anywhere, Sim.”
She scowls at me. “It was worth a try.” For a moment, she studies me. “Seriously, there’s nothing going on with you and Jared?”