Page 112 of The Silver Fox Brother

Chapter Twelve

Winter

Kate arrives at 2pm on Saturday with champagne and a speaker that she immediately connects to her phone. Music fills the apartment within seconds—something upbeat and nostalgic that makes me smile despite the chaos of half-unpacked boxes surrounding us.

Amy shows up ten minutes later with Thai food for later and an extra set of hands.

"You weren't kidding about the boxes," Amy says, surveying the living room.

"How much stuff did you have in storage?"

"More than I thought." I hand Kate a champagne flute and pour for Amy.

"I forgot how much I accumulated before moving in with Rowan."

Kate raises her glass.

"Well, you're back now. In a place that's actually yours—at least for a while.”

We toast and drink, and then we get to work. Kate tackles the kitchen boxes while Amy helps me arrange furniture in the living room. The apartment has good bones—hardwood floors, high ceilings, windows that let in natural light from two directions. It feels like home in a way the Gramercy apartment never did.

"This place is perfect," Kate says, emerging from the kitchen with an empty box.

"How did you find it?"

I'm hanging a piece of art on the wall, trying to get it level.

"I didn't. Knox arranged it."

Amy stops mid-push on the sofa we're repositioning.

"Knox Sterling got you this apartment?"

"It's a corporate apartment. Temporary. Until I find my own place."

Kate sets down the box and crosses her arms, grinning.

"A corporate apartment in Greenwich Village. How generous."

"It's practical," I say, echoing Knox's words from when he offered it.

"The project demands collaboration."

Amy and Kate exchange a look.

"Right," Amy says.

"Collaboration. Speaking of which, we haven't had a proper update. How are things working with Knox? You've been pretty quiet about it."

I step back to check if the art is straight. It's not. I adjust it slightly.

"The project is going well."

"That's not what she asked," Amy points out.

I turn to face them. "What do you want me to say?"

Kate sits on the arm of the sofa.