“Are you ready?” he asks, keeping his eyes on me.
“Let’s go,” I say.
He nudges me to walk in front of him and he keeps a hand on my waist the entire way to the sidewalk. He opens the door to his 4Runner for me when I look back at the restaurant.
“What is it?” Liam asks with concern. “Did you forget something?”
I lightly shake my head. “I was going to leave our server some extra cash. I saw Ruby in the restroom, and I knew that meant Stefan was there too. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.”
He nods in understanding, maybe in confirmation that he saw Stefan, and doesn’t press about what happened in the bathroom.
“I left her a tip,” he promises, gently guiding me into the passenger seat but I stand firm.
“I know,” I say. I never doubted he would. “I feel bad for sitting at her table for so long.”
His lips tip up at the barest amount, only on the right side. The soft expression in his eyes screams,you’re so cute. Internally, I melt a little but cross my arms and dig my heels in.
“Yeah, that’s why I left her a hundred.”
My mouth drops open and I look back at him. “You left her one hundred dollars?”
“On top of what our bill was, yeah,” he says easily.
That’s probably what she makes on an average day here. I remember how one customer like Liam could turn my entire week around when I was a server.
“Okay then,” I say weakly. “Thanks.”
He chuckles and winks at me. “Get in, honey.”
Without a fight, I slide into the passenger seat and connect to his bluetooth. On the way back to Brighter Daze, we skip through a few different genres of music, still learning what the other likes. I bask in the growing familiarity of his presence, knowing I won’t see him again until tomorrow.
Suddenly, that feels far too long.
Chapter Thirteen
Calypso
The last two weeks have been normal, calm even. At least whatever I can consider my current normal; Liam comes to the bakery every morning, with the exception of Sundays when we go to the farmer’s market, and we spend most evenings together.
Well, nottogetherinthatway. That line has still not been crossed. He was serious when he said the ball was in my court—I kind of wish he wasn’t.
It’s probably for the best. I’m not scared to make the first move with a man, especially when I’m certain he’s attracted to me, but it would complicate things. This whole scheme is going too well to rock the boat now.
We have dinner together at least four nights a week—always in a public place, like The Loop or Bella Donna’s. Usually my siblings or his cousins are there, but the last three times were just the two of us. We’re even starting to get dinner requests. His Aunt Willa and Pippa have each invited us over, and we have only so many excuses.
I expect every call from my mom to be the one where she demands I bring him for Sunday dinner.
On this sunny Monday morning, I’m no longer at the bakery with Liam. Instead, I’m at a local bridal boutiquelooking for bridesmaid outfits. Vivi is letting us pick the style—Lexi, Blake, and me—but chose a silk, sage-green fabric. Lexi will choose a jumpsuit, preferring pants over a skirt. I think it works with her being the maid of honor and all.
When Vivi told me she asked Lexi to be the maid of honor, we both felt the guilt for weeks. She felt bad for choosing her childhood-enemy-turned-best-friend over her older sister. Little did she know, relief rushed through me immediately.
It didn’t take long to start morphing into guilt, but it was slow. The longer I enjoyed the lack of responsibility, the longer I stood still in the quicksand of my own mind. By the time I even acknowledged it, I was being pulled down, too deep to wiggle myself out.
I would have been a horrible maid of honor, and quite honestly, a bitter one.
Maybe Vivi saw that and wanted to save us both the headache; maybe she just wanted her best friend, who has been by her sideeveryday since they were eighteen, to be standing next to her. Either way, it worked out for the best—but that pesky bitch named Guilt has permanently taken place in my soul.
From the way my sister keeps side-eyeing me, I think Guilt has a twin who lives with Vivi now.
