Page 20 of The Focal Point

“Hey, you all right?”

I jerked my head toward the door to find Thomas leaning in the doorway, eyebrows beetled in concern.

My cheeks heated even as I stumbled for a response. “Oh, yeah. I just stabbed myself with the needle. The fabric is thick.”

“Ouch,” Thomas echoed and crossed the room to his desk. He rummaged in a drawer for a moment before pulling out a Band-Aid, which he handed to me.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, ripping open the paper and wrapping the bandage around my thumb. If my client noticed the pink on my cheeks, he didn’t comment. Instead, he stuck his hands casually in the pockets of his chinos and lounged back against his desk.

“Hey, Liam’s grilling tonight. He makes an incredible burger.” He grinned as he said it, perhaps a nod to the fact that making a hamburger wasn’t exactly brag-worthy. “Seriously, though, it gives the best restaurants a run for their money.”

“Oh, I—”

Was my client actually asking me to stay for dinner? I’d had clients gift me dinners at nice restaurants, even one with a waiting list a mile long, but I’d never had one ask me to stay. It seemed like a strange breach of etiquette.

Thomas seemed genuine about the invitation, though, his face open and relaxed as he waited for my response. He and Liam didn’t exactly seem like the type to stand on ceremony anyway. What would it be like to share the evening with the two? I was sure it would be full of inside jokes and stories of teenage antics. It might, possibly, be something like fun.

Thoughts of their laughter echoed in my mind, and my mouth formed on the word “yes.” But the actual sound caught in my throat, held back by what felt like an inviable barrier. I swallowed it instead and smiled apologetically.

“Thank you for the offer, but I have a ton of work to do tonight.”

Even as I said the words, disappointment swirled through me, and that same little voice in the back of my head, the one that sounded like Kristen, yelled at me.

But Thomas simply nodded and straightened. “I get it. No worries.”

I watched him leave the room and nearly called him back to change my mind. But I didn’t. Instead, I finished the small bit of curtain and hurriedly packed my things, needing to get out of the house.

The house was quiet as I made my way down the stairs and across the expansive entryway, and I breathed a sigh of relief that I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. But something caught my eye as I passed the arch to the kitchen—Liam bent over a sheet pan of raw burgers.

He raised his head at the sound of my heels, his eyes finding me immediately.

“Hey, Tom said you can’t stay for dinner?”

For a moment, I thought I detected a plaintive note, but I knew I had to be imagining it.

“Yeah, sorry. I have a ton of work to finish tonight.”

“Oh.”

Now I was certain I heard disappointment. At least, I thought I had. But the smile Liam offered me was warm.

“Well, good luck with everything. Hope you don’t stay up too late.”

I returned the smile but was already turning to leave, suddenly desperate to get out of there. “I won’t. Thanks.”

The breath I had been holding came out in a rush as I fell into the driver’s seat of my car and let my head hang for a moment, trying not to feel guilty. I had just run from the house and the two guys who had offered me a friendly meal.

As I drove home, the guilt and disappointment grew heavier, becoming loneliness as resounding as the quiet of my car without the bright laughter from downstairs.

What had I been running from?

Fun with friendly people? An evening to relax? A night not spent staring at a computer screen or fabric swatches? It was true I had a lot of work at home, but nothing that couldn’t have waited until the next morning. Had I forgotten how to have fun?

Or was I scared of it?

Because if I was candid with myself, the reason I didn’t have friends anymore was me. It was my fear.

I should have stayed and hung out with Thomas and Liam, even if they were my clients. I could have made a connection outside of work, but I had blown it. I had ruined it for myself yet again because I couldn’t get out of my own damn way and stop being so afraid.