Page 61 of Meet Me in Ivy Falls

‘Hey,’ I said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

‘Hi, yourself. What are you doing?’

‘I finished laying the tile in the master bathroom. It looks pretty close to the original.’

‘How long did that take?’

‘Not too long. It needs to set before I can finish it up with the grout.’

‘You’re amazing. Do you know that?’

My cheeks heated like a starry-eyed teenager. ‘Thanks but this is just what I do.’

‘Well, I think you’re pretty damn special. You’re not only restoring part of Ivy Falls’ history, but my history too. That means more to me than words can say.’

My insides lit up like a damn Christmas tree. He saw that I loved what I did. How hard I’d worked to prove myself in this town. That was more respect than a lot of people had shown me lately.

‘Listen, about dinner.’ The downturn in his voice quickly extinguished my good mood. ‘I’ve had a little hiccup here and need to push it to next week. And I may not be able to come by the site for a while.’

A small throb started at the back of my head and worked its way toward my temples. Why was he being secretive again?

‘Whatever, Beck.’ I couldn’t keep the hurt from my voice. ‘It’s not like I have time for dinner right now anyway.’

‘I’m not blowing you off. It’s…’

A female voice spoke in the background and I dropped the tool in my hand. He was with another woman. I could be one of many in his life. It wasn’t like us having sex was a promise of fidelity, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

Dammit. Why was I letting him do this to me again?

‘I need to go,’ I said, my voice too damn shaky.

‘Torran, I’ll make it up to you. I promise.’

‘We’ll talk later,’ I said before hanging up.

I forced my mind to focus back on work even though that cavern in my chest I thought was closed now began to crack open again. All my instincts that had screamed we should keep things professional were right. This project could be the only focus of my life. I needed to keep my mind on that and not worry about all the promises Beck made to me about this deal. Whether he’d up and disappear one day again.

That familiar heat of anger buzzed through me and I chucked my phone out the bathroom door. It skipped twice before crashing into the bedroom wall. It should have given me a sense of satisfaction, but all that raced through me was a swirl of nausea and a sick sense that I’d already lived this moment once before.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

BECK

Make Sure You Seriously Grovel.

I dialed Torran’s number over and over. Each time it went directly to voicemail. I pocketed my phone and sped around the condo, opening cabinets in the family room and then moving to my bedroom.

‘Problem?’ Piper said from the threshold.

‘I fucked up.’

‘Again?’ she teased as I searched the top of my dresser and then knelt to check under the bed.

‘What are you looking for?’

‘My car keys,’ I said rushing past her.

‘Who or what have you fucked up?’ She moved to the counter and sat on a stool as I checked every nook and crevice in the small galley kitchen. Opening and closing more cabinets with a loud bang. ‘Beck, stop! What is going on? How can I help?’