Yeah, I do. Does she know about No, and I'm not telling her yet. Ethan, I mean it, Rachel. If this goes anywhere, I want it to be because she actually likes me, not because she Googled my net worth. His sister sighed.
You're going to make this so much harder than it needs to be. Probably. She's going to find out eventually. I know. And she's going to be pissed that you didn't tell her.
I know that, too. But you're doing it anyway. Yeah. Rachel laughed, but it wasn't unkind. You're an idiot.
Thanks. A well-meaning idiot, but still an idiot. They talked for a few more minutes before Rachel had to go deal with her own kids. Ethan hung up and walked through his empty house, room by room, trying to remember the last time it had felt like a home instead of just a place to store his stuff. He couldn't.
His phone buzzed. A text from Clara. Lilly wants me to tell you she's already planning where the bookshelf goes. Tell her I'll need measurements. You were serious about that?
Yeah. Why wouldn't I be? Because people say stuff they don't mean all the time. Ethan stared at that message for a long moment, trying to figure out what kind of people Clara had been dealing with that made her so surprised by basic follow-through. I meant it, he typed.
When's good for you? For what? To come take measurements for the bookshelf. The response took longer this time. You actually want to come to my apartment?
Would that be weird? Maybe. I don't know. My place is really small. That That's okay.
Another pause. Tuesday evening? After I pick up Lilly from school? What time? 6:00?
I'll be there. Ethan sent the message and immediately wondered if he was moving too fast. They'd had one coffee date that barely qualified as a date. Now he was showing up at her apartment to build furniture like some kind of overeager handyman, but Lily had asked. And Clara had said yes.
And for the first time in years, Ethan felt like he'd found something that mattered more than quarterly earnings reports and board meetings. He spent Sunday in his workshop, a converted barn on the property that was the only part of the estate he'd designed himself, sketching bookshelf designs and trying to figure out what a 7-year-old girl might actually want. His phone rang Monday morning while he was inspecting a concrete pour at one of his developments in the industrial district. Mr. Mercer? His assistant's voice was crisp and professional.
You have the quarterly review meeting at 10:00. Ethan looked at his watch, 9:45. Push it to 11:00. Sir, the board members are already Then they can wait. I'm in the middle of something.
He hung up before she could protest and went back to arguing with the contractor about rebar spacing. The quarterly review meeting was exactly as painful as he expected. 12 people in expensive suits talking about profit margins and market expansion while Ethan tried not to fall asleep. His vice president ran most of it anyway. Ethan just nodded in the right places and signed off on things when required.
You seem distracted, his VP noted after everyone else had left. Just thinking about a project. The Riverside development? Different project. Should I be worried?
No. Ethan stood and grabbed his jacket. I'll be at the Fourth Street Warehouse this afternoon if anyone needs me. You're getting concrete dust on your suit. Ethan looked down at the gray smudges on his sleeve and shrugged. I've got others.
He spent the rest of Monday and all of Tuesday in his workshop building a bookshelf that was probably way too elaborate for a 7-year-old, but he couldn't seem to help himself. Cherry wood, adjustable shelves, a small drawer at the bottom for art supplies, rounded corners so Lily couldn't hurt herself. By Tuesday evening, it was finished and loaded in his truck. Clara's apartment was on the third floor of the building, up a stairwell that smelled like old carpet and something vaguely chemical. Ethan could hear raised voices from one of the units, a baby crying from another.
He knocked on 3B. The door opened immediately, like Clara had been waiting right behind it. She looked frazzled, hair in a messy bun, paint smudges on her fingers, wearing leggings and an oversized sweatshirt that said coffee, please in faded letters. "Hi," she said. "Sorry, I'm covered in I was working on a project and lost track of time."
"You're fine." Ethan gestured to his truck. "I've got the bookshelf." "You actually built it already?" "I had some free time."
Clara blinked. "It's been 3 days." "Like I said, free time." She led him down to help carry it up. When he pulled the tarp off the truck bed, Clara stopped moving entirely.
"Ethan." "Yeah." "This is" She ran her hand over the smooth wood, the precise joints. "This is real furniture, like actual furniture furniture." "That was kind of the plan."
"I thought you meant like cinder blocks and plywood." "Why would you think that?" "Because that's what normal people build." Lily appeared in the apartment doorway upstairs, saw the bookshelf, and her whole face lit up. She signed something rapid and excited.
"She says it's perfect," Clara translated, sounding dazed. "She says it's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen." "Tell her thank you." Getting the bookshelf up three flights of narrow stairs took some creative maneuvering, but they managed. Inside Clara's apartment was exactly what Ethan had expected, tiny, crowded, everything worn but clean, mismatched furniture, art supplies scattered across a folding table, a kitchen barely big enough for one person, and books everywhere.
Stacked on the floor, crammed into a leaning particle board shelf, piled on the window sill. Lilly directed them to place the bookshelf against the wall in what appeared to be a shared bedroom. There was one full-size bed and a mattress on the floor. A curtain hung on a rope as a makeshift divider. Clara saw him looking and her jaw tightened slightly.
I know it's not much. Where do you work? Ethan asked instead. What? Your design work.
Where do you do it? Oh. Clara pointed to the folding table in the living room currently buried under sketches and a laptop that looked like it predated smartphones. There. And Lilly does her homework there, too?
When there's space, yeah. Ethan filed that information away without comment. They spent the next hour loading Lilly's books onto the new shelves. She organized them by color first, then by size, then changed her mind and reorganized them by which ones she liked best. Clara sat on the floor beside her, offering suggestions and occasionally fixing the stacks when they got too precarious.
Ethan stood back and watched them work and something in his chest felt almost painful. This this was what his enormous empty house had been missing. You hungry? Clara asked eventually, looking up at him. I was going to order pizza.
I can do better than that, Ethan said before thinking. Better how? Let me cook something. Clara stared at him. You cook?
Sometimes. In my kitchen? She gestured at the narrow galley space. There's barely room to boil water. I've worked in smaller spaces.
That was a lie. He'd never worked in a space this small, but he'd watched enough cooking videos to improvise. Clara looked skeptical but intrigued. What would you even make? What have you got?
20 minutes later, Ethan was somehow making pasta carbonara in a kitchen the size of a closet, while Lily did her homework at the now cleared folding table, and Clara sat on the counter because there was literally nowhere else to sit. This is surreal, Clara said, watching him work. You build furniture and cook? What are you, some kind of domestic wizard? I'm just a guy who likes making things.
Most guys I know can barely make toast. You know the wrong guys. She laughed. Clearly. Dinner was chaotic and perfect.
They ate crowded around the small table, Lily getting sauce on her face and signing enthusiastically about her day at school. Clara translated, adding commentary that made Ethan laugh harder than he had in months. Afterward, while Clara was getting Lily ready for bed, Ethan did the dishes. The kitchen sink was tiny, and the water pressure was indeed terrible, but he managed. Clara emerged from the bedroom looking exhausted.
She wants you to say good night. Ethan followed her back to the bedroom, where Lily was already in bed, her new bookshelf visible from where she lay. She signed something, looking at him seriously. She says, "Thank you for her bookshelf." Clara translated.
She says it's the best present anyone ever gave her. Ethan felt something tighten in his throat. Tell her she's welcome. Clara's hands moved. Lily smiled and waved, then rolled over and closed her eyes.
Back in the living room, Clara sank onto the couch with a heavy sigh. I don't know how to thank you for all this. You don't have to thank me. Yes, I do. The bookshelf alone.
Ethan, that thing is worth more than my rent. It's just wood. It's not just wood, and you know it. She looked at him steadily. Why are you doing this, really?
Ethan sat down in the only chair, a a armchair that had definitely seen better decades because I wanted to. That's not an answer. It's the only answer I have. Clara studied him for a long moment, her eyes searching his face for something. Most guys would have run after the first date, kid, chaos, all of it.
But you're sitting in my crappy apartment doing dishes and building furniture like it's completely normal. Maybe it is normal for me. Nothing about you is normal, Ethan Mercer. She said his full name and Ethan's heart stopped for a second, but her tone was warm, not suspicious. She hadn't Googled him, didn't know.