Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Eloise
Penny spins in a tight circle in the middle of my living room. “I love your place, Els.”
I’ve come to love it too.
The two bedroom apartment I currently call home was bought by Astrid’s late mom years ago. It was a package deal with the record store two floors below where we are currently standing.
After her mom died, Astrid inherited it all. Draco was already in Manhattan trying to land a job. When Astrid offered him a full-time position at Vinyl Crush, he took it immediately.
My plans to move to New York were already in motion at the time. I’ve always considered this city the fashion epicenter of the world, so I knew I needed to be here to find inspiration and hone my craft.
I slept on the couch in Draco’s one bedroom walkup in Murray Hill until he went home to help our dad with his carpentry business.
His departure sent me into the home of two friends from school. They had an extra bedroom and needed someone to help cover rent, so I jumped at the chance.
I jumped again when Astrid moved in with Berk and handed me the keys to this apartment.
She insisted I not pay her a dime in rent. I swore I would.
I won that fight.
It’s important to me that I take care of myself. I think she gets that now.
“Thanks,” I say, adding more, “I rent it from my cousin.”
“Is that the same cousin that is married to Dr. Morgan’s cousin?”
Not that it matters, but I nod and ask a question that I hope leads her away from the subject of the gorgeous doctor, “What can I get you to drink?”
“Vodka?” She laughs but follows it up with a much tamer answer. “A glass of cold water would be heaven, Els.”
I walk to the kitchen, sliding one of the glasses from the cupboard. I fill it with tap water, stopping to drop two ice cubes from my freezer in it.
When I hand it off to Pen, she downs more than half in a single gulp. “Thank you.”
I nod, waiting for the right moment to ask her if she’s ready for our measurement session. We’ve been playing phone tag for days in an effort to find a time that worked for both of us to meet up. That time is now.
“I’ll go slip into my slip.” She glances toward the hallway. “Can I use your bedroom for that? Or maybe the bathroom?”
“You pick.” I laugh. “My room, the guestroom, and the bathroom are all in that direction.”
“Perfect.” She plucks the Liore Lingerie bag that she arrived with off my coffee table. “I’ll be back in a flash, and we can get started.”
Since we haven’t spoken much in the past week and a half, I feel the need to check in to make sure she’s as excited about the dress as she was when she first showed me the picture of her grandma.
“You’re still good with this, right?” I ask just as she’s about to head down the hallway. “Are you sure you want me to start working on the dress next week?”
“I’m so sure that I’ll be transferring the money to you while I’m here.” She grins. “I need your banking details. I’m full steam ahead on this, Els.”
“Good.” I smile. “I worked up a design in my sketchpad. I think it’s identical to your grandma’s, but I did add a little extra something to the neckline that I think you’ll like.”
“I’ll love it,” she says with confidence. “Give me two minutes to change, and then you can show me.”
“Deal.”
As soon as the door to my bedroom clicks shut, a loud knock sounds at the door that’s less than two feet from where I’m standing.
It’s my apartment door.
I haven’t ordered takeout, and I’m not expecting anyone, but Astrid knows the security code to the main door, and she has a set of keys to this apartment. Sometimes, when she stops in at Vinyl Crush, the record store she owns, she’ll make the trip two floors up to surprise me.
To save her the trouble of having to jam her key in the sticky lock of the door, I swing it open.
“Hey, babe,” Philip greets me with no exuberance at all, even though we haven’t seen each other in almost two weeks.
The last time I was with Philip, he was headed out of Atlas 22 after he took a video of Daxton dropping to the floor.
“Philip,” I say his name with the same level of excitement he has at the moment. “What are you doing here?”
“What kind of question is that?” He barges past me, not bothering to wait for a formal invite. “I ordered us a pizza. It’ll be here in fifteen. Do you still have the beers I bought?”
Since I don’t drink beer, I nod but stop myself and shake my head. “How did you get in the building?”
He glances in my direction before his gaze settles on the window behind me. “Castle let me in.”
Naturally, the new manager of Vinyl Crush would give Philip carte blanche to step inside the building without so much as a warning to me. They hit it off when Philip stopped in there to buy an album for his dad.
Philip taps his shoe on the hardwood floor. “The beer, babe.”
“You need to go now.”
He glances around. “Why?”
I study his face. His brown eyes still lack any depth. His blond hair is cropped even shorter to his head than it was two weeks ago. He’s wearing one of the many tailored suits he invested in when he landed his job with a well-known financial firm.
He’s everything I should want, but he’s never been what I need.
“I like you, Philip, but…”
“Philip?” Pen’s voice carries through the apartment. “Is your boyfriend here?”
Philip’s eyes widen when he gets an eyeful of Penny in a thin, silk slip. The color is the slightest shade of off-white. It’s a striking contrast to her red hair.
He takes a step closer to her. “Hey, I know you.”
She crosses her arms over her chest to shield the outline of her hardened nipples. It’s not that warm in my apartment. I can’t imagine her body is reacting to seeing Philip since the last time we talked, she was still head over heels in like with Daxton.
“We don’t know each other.” Her gaze volleys from Philip’s face to mine. “I can come back, Els. I’ll go change.”
“No,” I say loudly. “This will only take a minute.”
“You were at the restaurant when that guy keeled over.” Philip points a finger at Pen. “I remember you.”
“How?” she asks, tilting her head. “How the hell do you remember me when there was a man practically dying on the floor?”
Whether it’s intentional or not, Philip’s gaze trails over her body.
“Oh my God,” Pen spits out. “Did you just check me out? Your girlfriend is standing right there, asshole.”
I stifle a laugh. “I’m not his girlfriend.”
Philip finally turns to look at me. “Yes, you are.”
“Yeah, no.” I shake my head. “We’re done, Philip. You can go.”
“You’re dumping me?” Surprise drips from his tone. “Why the hell would you dump me?”
The arrogance in that question is all the reason I need, but I go with an easy answer, “I’m not happy. This isn’t working for me anymore.”
The corners of his lips fall into a frown. “What about my pizza?”
Pen and I start laughing in unison.
She answers before I can get a word out, “Consider it your parting gift to Els. Leave now, and don’t bother looking back because she is done with you forever.”