He set her up with seconds of both pizza and beer and grabbed another bottle for himself. As she bit into her slice, she walked over to the large window that looked out onto Mott Street. “Café Roma?” she said. “Is that a good place for Italian food?”
“Yeah. It is.”
She looked back at him. “Since I’m in Little Italy I want to try something I wouldn’t find in St. Louis.” She’d thought he might offer some suggestions, but he stayed quiet. “It’s a very busy street, but I’m not hearing any traffic.”
“Special windows.”
“Triple glazed?”
He nodded, and once again it appeared that she’d surprised him. “It won’t keep out sirens, but for regular traffic, it works great.”
She took another pull of her beer, which made her feel a tiny bit dizzy. Maybe this would go better if she sat down. Looking around, she saw a big wooden shipping crate, which, according to the label, was filled with wine, a stepstool that she could have perched on except it was awfully close to the floor and a stack of boards. None of the options appeared very stable, and she figured she probably shouldn’t overstay her welcome, anyway. Which meant she needed to get on with things.
“Could you be a bit more specific about exactly how long I’m allowed to stay?” she blurted.
Luca’s eyes closed for a second.
“I’m just asking because, well, today really doesn’t count, what with me getting here so late. It would have been impossible for me to look for housing tonight, so what do you say we count tomorrow as day one? That will give me more of a chance to do some research and make some calls. That is, if there’s a place nearby where they serve cheap coffee and have free Wi-Fi?”
“Wait a minute—”
“I mean, all that was supposed to have been done by Wes. He was in charge of finding a permanent place for us to live. I have no idea where he looked, or if he even looked at all. And yes, I know it’s not your problem but I don’t have anyone to call or to give me tips or even a couch to sleep on.”
“April—”
“I’m not trying to get anything more out of you, honest.”
His lips pressed together, but he didn’t tell her to take a flying leap.
“Unless, I can?”
His deepening scowl said she was pressing her luck.
“But, no. You’ve been so nice already, and I don’t want to take advantage of you. Although, there is just one more little thing... Since Wes had paid for the next five days there should be a small refund, right?”
“He didn’t.”
“What?”
“He left without paying for the last week he was supposed to stay here. Which is why I figured he was gone for good.”
She sagged. But she would mope later. Instead, stopping to consider that she was lucky, under the circumstances, she pulled out a commiserating smile. “I’m very sorry he did that to you,” she said. Then a very unpleasant thought occurred to her. “That means I owe you for the two days.”
Frowning, Luca set down his beer. “No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. So, let’s see... Two days would mean...” She rubbed her temple, trying hard to do the math. “I’m usually good with numbers. I guess I’m just too tired. Would you mind doing the calculation and letting me know what I owe?”
“Look, April—”
“I won’t stay for free.” Before she even realized something was wrong, she had to brace her hand on the wood cabinet to keep from falling over. The dizziness passed as quickly as it had come. She guessed hearing yet another bad thing about Wes had made her head spin.
“You all right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Luca cleared his throat, picked up a tarp that had been folded neatly on top of a tool chest and draped it over the case of wine. “Travel days are the worst,” he said. “Especially by Greyhound.” He gestured for her to sit down.
She stumbled a little before she planted her butt on the makeshift seat. “No, it was okay. The problem wasn’t the bus, it was the lack of sleep even before I boarded, then not hearing from the jackass, then the elevator situation, then me almost going to prison and now you wanting to throw me out.”
He coughed, and she realized what she’d said.
She blinked up at Luca, who was watching her with a hint of a smile and an arched right eyebrow. Instead of questioning that look, she yawned. A real jawbreaker. Which let loose a wave of exhaustion that hit her like a tidal wave. “I really should go get some sleep.”
“I agree. I don’t think the beer helped, either.”
“No, it probably didn’t. I’m not much of a drinker, and I rarely have beer, although this one was really good.”
“Look, even knowing I should have my head examined, I’m going to let you manipulate me into that extra day.”
“Thank you. That’s very nice.” April really needed to get upstairs. Her head kept getting fuzzier. “So, I’ll plan on leaving the morning after the second night. Not counting tonight.”
With another shake of his head, he said, “What is it you did in St. Louis?”
“Hmm? Oh, lots of jobs. During and after college I worked everything from construction to pet sitting to serving promotional drinks to drunk businessmen. That one was the most lucrative, although getting my ass pinched got old real quick.”
“So, you never worked in sales, huh? You know, you look as though you’re about to fade away. Why don’t you let me walk you to your room?”
She laughed. “It’s just upstairs.”
“The last thing we need is you falling and breaking something.”
“Not to mention suing you. I wouldn’t do that. Wes, on the other hand, would. Can you believe him? How could I not have realized he was an epic asshole? That’s very disturbing. I’m going to have to think about that one—” She yawned. “Just not tonight.”
Luca stood close, and looking up at him made the room spin. She took another sip of her beer, belatedly remembering it was ill-advised.
“Wait a minute. Don’t move,” he said. A moment later he was back, holding a bottle of water. Then he put a hand on her back and helped her stand. Which was very nice of him. So was his sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her against him.
He was so much bigger than Wes. Taller, stronger, more muscular. He smelled good, too. Masculine. She was pretty sure he wasn’t wearing any cologne, either, at least not the kind Wes stocked up on. “He liked to smell like the woods,” she said. “Wes, I mean. But he hated the woods. Hated camping. Made me take care of all the spiders.”
“Did he?”
As they got closer to the stairs she found herself leaning more heavily against Luca. “You’re nice, though. Thank you for this. For letting me stay. I’ll be out of your hair before you know it.”
“I’m sure of it. Come on now, step up. We can do this.”
It took some concentration for her to climb up the staircase. Or maybe she was simply distracted by the man who was helping her. His body felt warm and solid. His arm tightening around her made her feel safe. So foolish. She didn’t know him. She just needed to get him to let her stay until she could find a job—heck, several jobs—so she could earn enough to find a place to live that wasn’t a cardboard box.
“No way I’m not going to start my own business,” she said as they made it to the second-floor