Page 6 of Wild Heart
My sister’s phone call was unexpected. Feeling slightly alarmed, I answered, “Yeah. I just got back from work. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s the matter. It’s just that, Ava and I were out, and we’re near your place. I thought we could stop by to say hello. We grabbed some food while we were out, and we’re happy to share.”
I didn’t necessarily care about the food, but I wouldn’t turn it down. I was more interested in seeing Ava, because apparently, I enjoyed putting myself through torture and chaos. Plus, she’d never been to my place yet, so at least I could have the vision of that in my mind later.
“Sure. I’m here if you want to stop over.”
Ten minutes later, both Ava and my sister had arrived. Ivy came running through the door and said, “I have to pee so bad. Here, take the food and Ava.”
Ivy dashed off to the bathroom, and I jerked my head toward the dining area. Ava followed behind me, and when we made itthere, I turned to find her with a look of concern on her face as she took in the space surrounding us.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Is this… are you… I thought you moved in a while ago,” she said.
“I did.”
Ava’s eyes darted toward the kitchen and living spaces before returning her attention to me. “Why is it so clean in here?”
“You think I should live in filth?
Shaking her head, she insisted, “Not at all. But you don’t have a single thing out of place. I’m almost afraid to eat anything for fear of making a mess.”
I laughed. “It’s okay. I keep my house clean, but you can still eat here. Just don’t drop anything.”
Her brows shot up in disbelief.
“I’m joking!” I said, when I realized she actually thought I was being serious.
“What are you joking about?” my sister asked when she strolled into the room.
I was about to answer when Ava said, “I’ve never seen a place this clean. I swear, someone could perform surgery here if they needed to.”
Ivy laughed and opened the bags with the food. As she pulled everything out for us to eat, she said, “Yeah, Tate doesn’t like things being out of place.”
“I don’t know why anyone thinks this is a problem. Don’t you want your home clean?”
“Of course, but this is on another level. And it’s not necessarily a problem. It’s just a shock, much like I’d suspect you’d be shocked if you saw my apartment.”
Tipping my head to the side, my eyes roamed over her gorgeous face. “What makes you say that?”
She grinned at me. “The fact that I can’t always find what I’m looking for, because I don’t put things back where they belong.”
“Oh, we need some forks,” Ivy declared.
I pushed back in my chair. “I can grab them.”
“I’m already standing. I’ll get them.”
While she took off toward the kitchen, I returned my gaze to Ava. “So, you don’t like to clean up after yourself?”
“I’m not a total slob, Tate. I just don’t like wasting time on doing unnecessary things.”
“Right. Got it.”
“Hey, you can come over for a visit if you don’t believe me.”
As much as I liked the idea of Ava visiting me here, she was only doing it because she was with my sister. I wasn’t quite sure that me being at her place without anyone else around was a wise idea.