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But at the same time, there was no denying how curious I was about the new air around him.
Gone was the lanky boy with a sharp tongue. Instead, he was a man, filled out and taking on the world. He was the physical definition of a shifter, and he could have his pick of women. Something told me he would.
That mystery surrounding his quiet nature would surely bring in any single woman, and something about that made me just as irritated.
I didn’t want to admit he was a lot more impressive than he had been, but it was all too confusing for me to wrap my head around. I felt like I was being betrayed by myself.
The perfect karma would’ve been for him to suffer some sort of inconvenience. Bland looks, a crappy job, or some other unfortunate circumstance. Anything would’ve brought me at least a sense of victory.
But evidently, that wasn’t the case. Of course, he had to be everything most women would want.
If he hadn’t come back more mature and appealing than before, it would be easier for me to forget about him.
Knowing I had been caught watching him sent heat through my cheeks, and I tried my best to ignore it regardless of how it burned.
I didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of knowing I was caught up on him and how poorly he had treated me, even if he didn’t seem to recognize me at all.
During our conversation, there had been a brief moment of suspicion from him, but from what I could tell, he didn’t remember me. It was the slightest relief until I realized that meant he didn’t have the chance to feel remorseful or to understand why I had been jittery and off-putting around him.
I wanted to keep my cool when I questioned him, but that all went out the window the moment I saw him again for the first time in all of those years.
Reaching the office was enough to take my mind away from Liam and the unfortunate circumstances, thanks to my coworkers, but that soon ebbed away when I reopened the article draft.
He was everywhere all of a sudden, and it wasn’t making my attempt at forgetting him easy.
Pulling in a deep breath and letting it go as a sigh, I drank from my coffee and reined myself in.
After reviewing and transcribing the audio from our conversation, which had me nearly doubled over as I cringed, I slowly made my way through the article. I took bits that seemed suitable enough and tried to craft the semblance of a viable story.
It was painful to get through and required more breaks than I cared to admit, but I pushed through anyway.
There typically weren’t too many stories I covered that felt all that close to home, but something about taking on Liam’s story seemed unbearable. While typing through it, there were so many things I found myself wanting to say, but I knew it would only get me in hot water.
I was an unbiased source and needed to keep it that way.
But with Liam at the center of the assignment, I was exhausted by the end of it.
By lunch, my phone buzzed from within my purse, and I quickly fished it out. I hated how the sound of it grated my nerves.
It made me wish we witches would just rely on magic-based communication instead.
Catching Sara’s name on the screen, I didn’t hesitate to answer. Bringing it to my ear, I tried to muster enough cheer in my voice not to concern her.
“Hello?”
An exasperated sound came from the other end. “Cora, please come to the Roadbar with me later. I’d dying for a girl’s night out.”
I snickered. “Feeling cooped up at home?”
“Having a little one around is amazing, but I miss going out like we used to. Please say you’ll go with me.”
While it did sound nice, I was feeling run down from the assignment and all the emotional baggage that came with it.
I sighed. “I was planning on hermitting for the night and tucking myself in bed at a reasonable hour.”
“Come on, you’re too young for that!” Sara remarked, putting on her pleading voice. “I’m sure you’re tired, but think about how much fun we always have. Going out and looking hot, dancing, having some drinks—it will be perfect. I think we need to jog your memory.”
Torn between the two choices, I found myself not wanting to disappoint Sara. I could understand where she was coming from, being stuck at home and wanting to go out, yet at the same time, I wasn’t really in the partying mood.
