Hugo wasn’t sure what he thought Allegra’s apartment was going to look like. Most of the women he dated were on their second or third apartments after leaving their parents’ home but still searching for a decorating style that suited them. He could tell most of them surfed the same shopping portals, because after a while, their homes all looked alike, with accessories sourced from One King Lane or Pier One, depending on their level of income.

The first thing that struck him about Allegra’s apartment was that it was messy—she clearly wasn’t a minimalist—but so colorful he felt like he’d walked into a Rousseau painting.

Outside it was gray and cold and rainy but inside her apartment it was warm and inviting with mustard yellow walls and upholstered furniture...

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