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She repressed the impulse to stammer nervously, to explain that she didn’t mean anything by taking charge of his shower arrangements. It seemed best not to lie, after all. Because maybe she did despite countless articles warning peoplenotto get involved with their housemates. It might seem like the best of both worlds at first, but if things soured, the living situation might swiftly become untenable. And Iris needed the money.
So I can’t date him. Even if he’s kind of perfect.
Besides, she wasn’t even sure what was going on emotionally. She might be confusing gratitude with attraction. And sleeping with someone wasn’t the only way to say thank you. Giving herself a stern, silent warning, she headed into the Pepto-Lime bathroom. Oddly, the colors were starting to grow on her. The curtains had to go, and so did the wallpaper, but otherwise, as long as everything worked properly, she had no plans to gut this room.
She took a quick shower to scrub off the paint, wrapped up in a thick cozy robe, and left the door open to air the room out. Eli met her in the hall, and she was absurdly aware of being nearly naked despite how the robe covered every inch of her. Her cheeks heated as he stepped to one side, averting his gaze with color darkening his cheeks.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, rushing past her.
Did I make him blush? Okay, that’s adorable.
No. Stop. You’re not doing this.
As Iris headed up to the attic to get dressed, she wondered how Great-Aunt Gertie had managed here alone.All these stairs will take care of my cardio.She put on random comfy clothes—soft, baggy cotton pants with pockets and a T-shirt that saidUNICORN RIDER. Warm, fuzzy socks on her feet completed the ensemble, and Iris went downstairs to see what she could make for dinner. She found a bit of cream cheese, a rind of parmesan, penne, and half a bag of frozen spinach.
“That solved itself,” she said, putting on the salted water to cook the pasta.
Just then, her phone beeped, signaling an incoming video call. Her hands were wet, and she accidentally tapped the accept icon. Silently she swore as Mom, Lily, and Rose appeared on her screen. It looked as if they’d gathered at Rose’s house; Iris would recognize that accent wall anywhere.
“Hey,” she said, picking up her cell so they weren’t staring up her nose.
“You’re crying to Dad again?” Lily demanded. “When are you ever going to grow up? This is absolutely ridiculous.”
“What are you even talking about?”
Oh right. She’d spoken to Dad not long ago and explained her side of the situation. Evidently that counted as whining. “Look, I’ll tell you exactly what I told him. I don’t think dating Dylan is a good look for you, but that had nothing to do with me missing Rose’s party. I wasn’t in town, that’s all.”
“I worked really hard for this,” Rose said. “You didn’t send a gift or a card or anything. I’ve tried so hard to get closer to you, but you act like you don’t care about any of us at all.”
Iris stifled a sigh, wishing things weren’t so fraught with Rose, but Rose was much closer to Lily than Iris, whereas Olive was the only one who ever understood where Iris was coming from. “Okay, that’s fair. I’m sorry I didn’t at least send something. Iam proud of you. But…didyousend me anything when I opened my store?”
“Why would I?” Rose asked, swapping a puzzled look with Mom and Lily.
“Because it’s important to me.” Honestly, this shit shouldn’t even need to be explained.
“It’s not like you’re earning a living that way,” Lily said.
“So only milestones that mark financial gain are worth celebrating—noted. That means I don’t need to send gifts on normal holidays, right?” She could have said more, so much more, but there was no point. They expected her to give and yield, and always had. Those metrics didn’t seem likely to change.
And…she was done.
Meanwhile, Mom was talking over everyone, a skill she’d perfected. “Stop blabbering nonsense. You’re mad at Lily over nothing—it’s not like you’d have married Dylan—and I think we all remember when you were trash-talking Greg for no reason.”
“We’re all doing our best here,” Rose added.
Are you? Really?
“Why is everything always my fault?” Iris asked.
“You know that’s not true.” Mom immediately went on the defensive and started listing all the problems Iris had caused over the years.
“Did we make you drop out of college?” Lily snarked.
“Probably,” Rose muttered. “You know how she is, blames us every time something doesn’t go her way.”
“Here’s the thing. I’m never going to give Lily my blessing with Dylan. If he becomes my brother-in-law, it’s whatever, I guess. ButI’m done pretending things are fine when they’re definitely not. Make of that what you will. Rose, I’ll send you a special necklace for your promotion.”Not that I expect you to wear it.“What are you planning to send me to congratulate me for inheriting a house? That’s a financial gain that should be acknowledged, according to the Collins’ creed.”
Rose sighed. “I can see there’s no talking to you.”
