As an up-and-coming social media influencer, Sadie Dwyer has had enough of the expectations thrust upon her and is finally ready to start living life on her own terms. Goodbye cushy corporate finance job, goodbye Los Angeles, and hello fresh start...
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I should've known Finn was up to something after he'd beared witness to my few pitiful attempts at finding a new tenant for the apartment above the pub and decided to take care of things himself. He'd told me not to worry. That he would find someone similar to the woman who'd lived there previously—who kept to themselves and didn't interact with us outside of paying rent at the beginning of each month or the odd maintenance request.
He'd apparently gone and done the exact opposite though, pulling the wool over my eyes whenever I questioned him about it. He'd somehow painted our new tenant as a shy, middle-aged woman who was moving back to the city after years away, and while the last part may have been true, nothing about the woman who climbed the stairs in front of me screamed exuded an inkling of shyness. And she certainly wasn't middle-aged.
If I had to guess, Sadie Dwyer looked to be in her late twenties; a few years younger than me. She came across as outgoing and vibrant. Someone who went with the flow and naturally felt at ease when surrounded by others. Someone who could—with a snap of their fingers—build a connection with anyone within minutes of meeting them. And remembering the way her blue eyes had pierced through me when she'd looked up from her laptop back in the office, as though searching for the thing that'd make me tick, I knew in my gut I wasn't far off.
Which didn't bode well for me. Unsurprisingly, people that were unpredictable or overly optimistic in too many parts of their lives just didn't mesh well with my more straight-forward and gruff attitude. Or my signature doom and gloom attitude, as Finn so eloquently enjoyed calling it.
But I had my reasons for being so closed off. For keeping my cards close to my chest. And no woman—whether they were flirting, or like Sadie, were just trying to be friendly—was going to crack through those walls within minutes, hours, or even weeks of meeting me.
"Rhett? Are you okay?"
I shook myself out of the tsunami of irritation invading my thoughts. I'd apparently slowed my steps at some point without realizing, because while I had stopped on the landing between the two flights of stairs, Sadie stood at the door to her apartment, looking down at me with a raised brow.
"Yeah," I replied. "All good." Climbing the rest of the stairs, I stepped into the apartment behind her. Closing the door behind me with my foot, I then held up the small box in my arms that contained a Wi-Fi modem and some cords. "Are you okay with this being set up just on the ground next to the couch?" I asked, getting straight to the point of why I was here. "That's where the current hookup is."
Sharing space with her pile of recycling it seemed. Empty bags, plastic wrap, and boxes from the new bedding and bathroom decor she'd purchased were thrown together haphazardly; an open pile of snacks littered the top of the small dining table; and while most of her clothes were hanging in open closet space, there were certainly a few items littering the floor around her open suitcase. For moving in only yesterday, she'd certainly done all she could to bring some life—however messy—to the apartment over the last twenty-four hours.
