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In the next half hour, I saw an otter mount—which she claimed was her best model yet—and an Airedale terrier that looked even more doglike than its photograph, and a grinning hyena with a mischievous appearance.
“How do you like it here so far?” I asked her, remembering that Sean had told me a little about her recent move to New York.
“It’s been great. I’m glad I let Sean convince me to move here because I’d been complaining about how lonely I was in Florida.”
I angled my head sideways to look at Sean. Did he know how considerate that made him sound?
“When Sean learned that this storefront was available, he sent me a picture of this place and also said that he could help me with a loan for the down payment if I moved here. The location was too good to refuse, even if I haven’t been able to pay Sean back as fast as I’d like.”
“She’s too proud to let me waive it off,” Sean said while Erin nodded with an easy laugh.
She turned to me. “So, tell me, how did the two of you meet?”
I grinned. “We met at a café, where I flung a cup of coffee on him, after my fiancé dumped me.”
“Over the phone,” Sean corrected in a manner that suggested he would never forgive Bruce for it.
“And Sean held me while I sobbed my heart out on the sidewalk.”
Erin gave Sean a happy look before nodding at me. “I see that kindness in him all the time, by the way,” she added. “Over the past month, he’s come over to help me fix things in my shop, and if it’s something he can’t fix, he makes sure he gets someone who can.”
I turned to Sean, amazed at this touching detail of him being a caring elder brother. He gave me an awkward shrug and looked like he wanted to change the subject.
“He’s taken great care of me as well,” I said warmly. “Though at times, he can be a bit?—”
“Of a know-it-all?” Erin asked good-naturedly. “Possessive? Blunt?”
I nodded, giving her a wink while Sean looked taken aback.
“I’m not any of those things,” he grunted.
“Don’t worry,” I said, pulling him close to me and wrapping my arms around him. “Those are the things I love about you.”
52
CHLOE
Acouple of days after my fun evening with Sean and Erin, I walked back home from the subway station after work.
My week had been going well. Greg had brought the trash bins back this week on his scheduled turn, and a few other friendly neighbors had moved in, making me feel optimistic about finding a community of friends here in our building. I was feeling so good that on my way home, I stopped to get Henry’s favorite burger from Shake Shack.
My PMP certification course had been going well, thanks to Sean’s support, and I was fairly confident that I could pass the exam and get certified soon. I was glad Sean had pushed me to do this, especially since I was coming up on the deadline to leave my job at Tassater Inc.
I pushed the apartment door open and walked in, putting my handbag down and looking around for a place to hang my keys. The table by the apartment door was a mess, filled with mail that I’d brought in the previous day.
My gaze went to one of the letters that Henry had left on the table. It was addressed to him, and I picked it up,meaning to clean up the place, when my gaze fell on the wordcongratulations.
I froze. Before I could read the rest, I looked up and saw the door to Henry’s room open.
He rolled out, humming a tune and looking generally pleased with the world. He stopped when he saw me, his gaze drifting slowly and dramatically to the paper in my hand.
The silence in the room was thick and heavy while I debated what to say.
“Chloe,” he said, his voice serious as he wheeled himself over to me.
When he reached me, I held the letter out to him. “What is it?” I asked, my voice trembling because, if Henry was keeping something from me, it must be serious.
“It’s just an admission to grad school,” he said.