Kara McLean sighed heavily as she climbed the stairs of her apartment building and took a deep breath when she reached the landing. Tears pricked her eyes and her lip quivered as she fought to hold them at bay. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Her birthday. But it hadn't happened that way.
First, there was the blow-up at work. She hadn't meant to cuss but the f word had slipped out of her mouth the instant she found out that she shared a birth date with Lyndsey Cross and that Lyndsey had already commandeered the ceremonies. Everyone in the office knew that Kara did all the decorating, especially when it came to her own soirée. The unfortunate slip didn't go unnoticed; her boss, Brad was standing right behind her. For the first time in her entire life, she'd received a written reprimand and had to sign a paper that would go into her permanent personnel file. Now, she was a ripe piece of fruit with a spot of disease.
The problems with the car hadn't helped, either. An angry radiator put an end to her long ride home and two hours waiting in the hot sun for the towing company had threatened to melt her into the asphalt. The only thing that had made things somewhat bearable was the Rastafarian cab driver and his girlfriend who had taken a liking to her and had promised to stop by later on. She didn't know what it was about them that made her feel so comfortable but with the way her day was going, she didn't stop to ask.
Sheldon's call was the last straw. His mother had flown in for a surprise visit from Omaha and he wasn't going to be able to take her out for her birthday dinner. So here she was, alone, exhausted and much in need of a drink. She hauled her purse up on her shoulder and crested the last set of stairs, pleasantly surprised to find the cabbie and his sexy girlfriend sitting on the top step.
"I hope you don't think that we're too strange." His girlfriend said with a lilting West Indian accent. "But we couldn't wait. We thought you needed the company right away."
He reached out his hand to Kara and took her elbow, letting her use his strength to finish the climb. "My name is Donovan and this is Amalie." Kara nodded in acknowledgment and trudged over to her door, allowing Amalie to take the keys from her hand.
The inside of the apartment was dark and cool and Kara kicked off her shoes, dropped her purse on the couch and headed straight for the refrigerator. "Want a beer?"
"Sure."
