Goodbye Ruby Tuesday by A. L. Michael Read Free Book Online Page B

through to the main studio, wondering where the entrance to the flat even was. Evie crossed the room, found a door, and behind that, a narrow, steep staircase and another door. Which opened.
    ‘Holy shit!’ Evie said as the doorknob twisted, and felt her heartbeat slow with the sounds of someone unlocking the door from the other side. Of course, the carpenter guy Evelyn had mentioned. Calm the hell down.
    The door swung open to reveal a man frowning at her. He was mid-thirties, or thereabouts, his dark hair peppered with the tiniest hint of grey. His stubble remained dark, however, and his eyes were a shocking light blue, looking at her with disdain. He was muscular, but Evie berated herself – obviously, he was a carpenter. His black t-shirt fit too well, and his jeans hung low on his hips. It was a good thing he wasn’t smiling, Evie thought to herself. He looked like a bad boy. Just her type. Well, her type since she’d finished with the art school hippie boys, all angular elbows and hips, living in clothes made of hemp, not bathing for weeks in the name of ‘authenticity’. This man was…. well, a man. Ruby had definitely slept with him.
    ‘Hi, we’re –’ Evie put out her hand, assuming his frown would soften in response to her smile. It didn’t.
    ‘The cavalry, I know. You’re the creative genius who’s going to save this place and make it into a special magical space for everyone.’
    His mouth was a thin line, and his voice mocked her.
    ‘Most days I go by Evie. It’s shorter.’ She rolled her eyes, ‘And you are?’
    ‘Killian.’
    ‘The grumpy carpenter. Got it,’ her eyes sparkled as his frown deepened. ‘This is Mollie and her daughter Esme.’
    Killian grunted and nodded, his lips briefly quirking up at the sight of Esme squinting at him like he was a unicorn. But just as quickly, his eyes returned to Evie, and that glare returned.
    ‘So listen, just so no one gets confused – this door…’ he tapped the frame ‘… goes to my workshop. I don’t do distractions. I don’t want to be involved in what you’re doing here, I don’t want tea, I don’t want to get my kumbayas out with whatever ridiculousness you’re doing in the space. I’m here to work.’
    Evie could feel her blood boil as Mollie’s mouth dropped into an ‘o’, but she just smiled. Keeping her cool. She’d been to enough of those anger management classes – something had to eventually stick. And the manly carpenter was not going to piss her off. She had a dream and a goal, and Ruby had given her this place.
    ‘Evelyn said she was sure we’d get along just fine… learn to compromise.’
    ‘Compromise?’ His dark brow furrowed, and in her head, ridiculously, Evie imagined him playing Hamlet, all broody and outraged, stalking across a stage dressed in black.
    ‘When it comes to noise, if we…
when
we have events on… well, it won’t work to have drilling or banging or whatever it is you do.’
    Killian’s lips quirked, and he learned on the doorframe. ‘Well, in that case, I’ll give you a list of my working hours and you can work around me.’
    ‘Um… excuse me?’ Esme put up her hand like she was in class, and stepped forward.
    ‘Yes?’ Killian answered, bemused.
    ‘I think you may need to look up compromise in the dictionary, because that’s not what it means.’
    The carpenter’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked at Evie, ‘Is she being funny?’
    ‘She’s
ten
,’ she rolled her eyes ‘her sense of sarcasm hasn’t been cultivated yet.’
    ‘She’s just pedantic, honest,’ Mollie supplied helplessly, putting her hands on Esme’s shoulders, as if she was afraid Killian was about to launch himself at her daughter.
    ‘I was using the word compromise
ironically
,’ he said stiffly, directing his answer to Esme.
    ‘Nope, that’s not what
that
means either.’ The ten-year-old crossed her arms after adjusting her glasses. ‘I think you’re just being grumpy so you can be grumpy. And