“They weren’t. That’s the thing!” I held out my hands and the wine sloshed in my glass. “The last apartment was gorgeous. It was a blank slate and fully up to date with modernization. I’m not even sure anyone’s lived there before. Plus I could pay extra for a pet deposit so that Poosh could come if you stayed over or had to work extra overtime.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“It was cold!”

His lips quirked to the side. “That’s what a little thing called the heating is for.”

I took a big mouthful of wine and swilled it before I swallowed. “No. I mean it’s cold. There was no life there. I couldn’t picture any furniture there, and I realized it’s because I don’t have any!”

His smile turned sympathetic. “You can buy some of your old stuff again. You found your sofa and your bed on Ikea, plus your dresser and some other stuff.”

I slumped onto one of the stools. “I know. But it’s not mine. The bed won’t have a scratch on the side and the sofa won’t be a little lumpy in the corner. This is so much harder than I thought it would be.”

Noah walked around and wrapped me in his arms, holding me against his chest. I turned my head and hugged him back around the waist, letting a deep breath sigh out of me.

I didn’t just want any apartment.

I wanted my apartment. But I couldn’t have it, because rumor had it that the building wouldn’t be rebuilt. And even if it were built again, it wouldn’t be the same.

I was being a huge whiny baby about this, and it was a classic case of first world problems, but I wanted my own space again.

Somewhere that was really, really my own.

“You’ll find somewhere, babe. I know you want to get out of your parents’, but it’s only been a few weeks. You can come here anytime you want. I did come home from work at two a.m. to find you in my bed the other day.”

I sniffed. “Mom and Aunt Bethel were fighting, and I couldn’t sleep. Besides, that’s your fault for not asking for your key back.”

He snorted. “What was I going to do? Tell you that I’m in love with you and then ask for my key back?”

“Do you want your key back?”

“No. I came home from a ten-hour shift and got to grab your ass while I fell asleep. You can keep the key.”

I laughed, pulling back a little. “True. Okay. I feel better. I guess I’m just fed up.”

Noah smiled, then dipped his head and kissed me. He pulled back to say something when his newly installed doorbell rang and Poosh went bananas. She had no issues if you knocked, but the doorbell?

Nope. Poosh was not a fan.

I jumped down to scoop her up. She instantly settled in my arms and snuggled in close to me.