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“You sure?” I asked as I uncapped the marker, bringing it up to the sensitive flesh by her hipbone.
“Yes.” Her response came out breathy, her eyes unwavering as she watched me draw the symbol of my unconditional love on her.
“Are you okay?”
Imogene’s voice cut through like a sharp knife. It took me few seconds to remember where I was.
WhenI was.
“Sorry,” I said, a bit dazed. “Just went somewhere else for a minute.” I handed her the tray now that she had a firm hold on her board.
“Thanks.”
I forced a shallow nod and turned away, hastily collecting my newspaper and coffee before striding in the opposite direction, needing to put as much distance between us as possible.
That tattoo didn’t change anything. It didn’tmeananything.
She probably got it so she wouldn’t feel guilty about moving on with her life.
Well, I didn’t have that luxury.
It was time she finally felt my pain.
Time they all did.
ChapterFive
Imogene
“I’m sorry I can’t stay and go to your first game,” Liam said as he walked me toward my car Saturday morning.
While I normally didn’t like him spending the night, I felt uneasy after receiving that necklace. Whomever sent it knew the address of the townhouse I’d only been living in for a few weeks. As if that weren’t unsettling enough, upon closer inspection of the box, I noticed there wasn’t a shipping label.
Which could have only meant one thing.
This person didn’t send it in the mail.
He’d left it at my front door.
He’d seen where I lived.
I would have felt better if ithadbeen shipped. There was comfort in distance. Instead, this person had physically found my home. Stood on the front porch. Invaded my safe space.
Because of that, I didn’t feel comfortable staying by myself, so I invited Liam to spend the night, blaming the wine he’d consumed.
I didn’t tell him therealreason I wanted him to stay.
If I’d informed him someone left a box from my mother’s bakery on my doorstep and it contained an exact replica of the heart necklace I once wore every day, he’d cancel all his meetings for the next week and insist on staying by my side.
Hell, he’d probably have me moved into his house before the end of the day.
That was the last thing I wanted.
“I’ve got a dinner in New York I can’t miss,” Liam explained.
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “Especially now that I finally have an actual bed to sleep in. It would have taken me another few weeks to put that together.”
“Why do I get the feeling those boxes will still be in the garage next weekend, too?” He pinched the bridge of his nose.
