Page 45 of Secondhand Soul

“The guy who literally turns into a car? Yeah, I know him.”

“I asked him to help with sales. Rhea’s going to teach Victoria how to handle rentals and all the office systems. A mom-and-pop team.”

“Yeah, you two really are about to be a mom-and-pop,” I smile, wishing (selfishly) that I got to be the one who made that real for them. Still wish that I felt like I belonged with them.

“I meant you two! You and Victoria. You running the tech side of things and re-ordering fuel, checking the pumps, securing the lot each night... Her in the office, ordering parts, making the calls... It’s a lot. Rhea needs to get her ready. Why are you so impatient to see her—as if I didn’t know.” Manny chuckles and elbows me in the ribs. Fortunately, my ribs can stand up to that battering ram of an elbow. “As if I didn’t know!” he repeats, crowing. “My boy is smitten. She’s a sweet girl, Laz. Hard-working. Soft-spoken. Bright! Pretty, too.”

I love that her looks are the last thing he mentioned. I love how in love with Rhea he is, but I don’t like to show him how soppy I am. “Hm. Maybe. I might take her out to dinner.”

“Ohhh. Uh. Rhea kind of already ordered a big bunch of Chinese take-out from Jade Forest. I was on my way to pick it up. Why don’t you stay and share it with us?”

“Uh. Sure. Sure, I can do that.”

And maybe I’ll have Victoria for dessert...

DECORATING. DECORATING is what’s for dessert.

We eat dinner upstairs in the apartment, and it’s cozy. Cramped, with all four of us there.

Manny notices the hole in the bedroom doorway. Stares at me like he caught me frying ants with magnifying glasses. “Accident,” I cough around the last dumpling.

“The bedroom door won’t shut now,” he grouses, rubbing his hand through his thick head of hair. “Hmm. Laz, this might be too much for me, at least right now. We’ll have to call Nigel Salvin, the handyman.”

“Are you going to get something done about the wallpaper in the hall?” Rhea butts in, smiling up at her husband as she comes to stand beside him.

“What? No, why?” Manny looks mystified.

“Honey, it’s hanging off the walls in spots, and sagging at the corners, not to mention it’s hopelessly outdated. If I’m offering Victoria the use of this apartment for a few weeks as part of her pay, it ought to be a little less spartan. One recliner. Two chairs. The dishes... the dishes!” Rhea looks at the paper plates we scrounged up. “This is fine for emergencies when it’s snowing hard, or we need a quick—nap. A quick nap,” Rhea rushes on, but I know what she wanted to say.

I steal a look at Victoria, and she’s blushing bright rose.

“Victoria? What do you think?” Manny asks.

“I didn’t mean to take your napping spot!” Victoria breathes out, looking around, horrified.

“We live so close now, and Manny and I were even talking about building out the back of the office. Goodness, with the size of the bed in there... You probably don’t have room to walk without stubbing your toes or twisting an ankle. You don’t need a monster-sized bed.”

“Uh, honey. Honey! Can I talk to you?” Manny tosses me a look and rushes to Rhea’s side.

I think I’m blushing, even if it doesn’t show.

Victoria isn’t blushing. Victoria’s face, which was sweetly animated a second ago, now looks flat. Closed over.

“You okay?” I ask.

She nods, eyes still on Manny and Rhea.

I don’t know if that’s normal. Do couples literally get naked and watch each other turn into the most vulnerable things alive, trusting each other with the pieces that can cause incredible pain if not treated right—and then barely look at each other the next day?

Yeah. Maybe if you were just another notch on the bedpost.

You never had a second date in your life, Lazarus.

“Victoria, Manny wants to keep the bed. He says something that size might be useful one day. You never know. But I cannot let you live with this wallpaper and without new carpet in the living room. Manny, Laz, why don’t you two go work on Laz’s pick-up or something? We girls want to have some retail therapy.” Rhea opens her laptop and clears away cartons of Chinese food to sit next to Victoria.

She doesn’t even ask if that’s okay with me. Or tell Rhea that maybe we’d like to be alone.

She smiles at Rhea and nods excitedly about the wallpaper, but the smile dims when it shines on me.