Page 36 of By A Thread

I didn’t like it.

The doors finally opened like a reprieve, and we stepped out into the lobby. I led the way trying to get a few steps ahead of her so I could not smell that lemon scent that was messing with my head.

“Hey, Ally! How’s it going?” A man wearing brown cargo pants and a cap that looked like it had once been a woodland creature shifted the half-dozen Dior bags he was carrying to wave.

Ally beamed.

I’d seen her smirk. I’d witnessed her annoyance. I’d even seen her laugh once or twice. But this was something else entirely.

Her face lit up with actual joy. Didn’t she know joy had no place here? I wanted her to be as annoyed and uncomfortable by my presence as I was of hers. I wanted her unable to function.

“Buddy! Doing a little shopping?” she teased.

He laughed, a braying, donkey-like sound that was too loud to be dignified.

“Yeah, right! Doing a little pickup for a fancy photo shoot,” he called. “You?”

“Heading off to a fancy meeting,” she told him with a wink.

“See you at lunch tomorrow,” he yelled as the elevator doors closed.

She was still grinning when we climbed into the SUV.

“Good afternoon,” Nelson said when he slid behind the wheel. “I took the liberty of getting you each a protein shake for the drive.”

Nelson’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, and I felt his unasked question. Before today, I’d never once asked him to make a special trip for food or drink before a thirty-minute ride.

“Wow, thanks!” Ally said, making a grab for one of the shakes.

I picked up mine, pretending like I wanted it. “Who was that guy?” I asked her.

“Who? Buddy?” she asked, peering into the cup.

I saw the way her eyes lit up, and as annoying as I found her and as much as I enjoyed our back and forth, the hunger I saw there made my chest tight. I wanted to ask her why.

Why, when she had a full-time, decent-paying job, was she hungry?

“His name is Buddy?” I asked instead.

“I’m surprised you don’t know. Your mother hired him at the same bus stop she hired me. You know, after you got me fired.”

“You got yourself fired.” I peered out the window at cold, wet Manhattan and wished I were somewhere hot and tropical. Far away from everything else.

“Here’s a thought. Since we’re trapped working together,” Ally began, “why don’t we try this thing where we just agree to disagree.”

I shook my head. “That never works.”

“Okay. Fine. How about instead of mortal enemies, we make an effort to not be horrible to each other?”

“I don’t feel comfortable making promises I can’t keep.”

Her lips quirked. It wasn’t the full-on Buddy Beam. But I still liked it.

“How long of a drive is this?” she asked with a sigh.

“About thirty minutes, miss,” Nelson said from the front seat.

“It’s Ally,” she told him.