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“Wait, what?” I stop halfway down the stairs.
“Montana,” he says. “The airport—”
“I heard you. I thought you said you wanted to spend time here—with me.”
“Liv, I’ve seen it. It’s not that grand of a tour.” He checks his watch, only adding fuel to my firing irritation.
“In a hurry?” My jaw clenches.
“Well, we—”
“Knock. Knock,” sings a woman. A stranger—who just walked right inside Amelia’s house. She didn’t even think of knocking.
“Hello?” I say, addressing the woman. I have no patience for overly friendly Rendezvousians today. “Excuse me? Who are you?” I tug at the ends of my Pooh Bear pj top, forcing it to stretch farther over my stomach.
She twirls, her eyes scanning every corner of the living room. Is this normal for Rendezvous? Is this some crazy neighbor Logan forgot to warn me about?
“You must be Olivia.” The woman adjusts the collar of her red, tattered suit.
I know who I am! “Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?” I cannot deal with crazy neighbors right now. No, I need to deal with my joy-killing boyfriend.
“You mean Amelia’s house,” Ben says, a strange lack of concern in his voice.
Why is he so calm? Is it not obvious that this woman is a stranger to me? That she’s breaking and entering?
“Sheila Forester,” she says in a high sing-song tone. She extends her hand as if I’ll willingly take it. “Jonathon said you’d be expecting me.”
Dad?
“We are.” Ben walks around me to where Sheila stands and takes her hand waiting for mine. “I’m Benjamin. We spoke on the phone.”
“Yes. Lovely,” Shelia says, shaking Ben’s hand.
“I don’t understand,” I say, but my heart is sinking. Like it knows more than my head, and we aren’t going to like what’s going on here.
Sheila turns from Ben to me. “I’m your—”
There’s static in my ears, drowning out her title. I don’t want to hear it. As if she knows I blocked out the word, she dips her head, making eye contact with me once more.
“I’m with Northwest Realty. Will you be clearing out the house yourself?” Sheila’s head wags from Benjamin to me.
“No.” The impossible words come from Ben’s lips. “We’re hiring out.”
“Great.” Sheila claps her hands together. Twirling on her heels once more, she gapes at the space, at my house.
If only she were an intruder, then I could justify an attack.
“Here, babe.” Ben reaches down for the duffel next to the door. He holds it out toward me and has the gall to smile.
But my limbs freeze. I don’t reach for the bag, and I don’t go She-Hulk on Shelia. My insides ache as if I’m suddenly suffering from the flu. I zone out, only blinking with the ring of the doorbell. Some of the feeling comes back into my icy body when one hot tear runs down my cheek.
Ben drops the duffel to the ground and opens the door, coming face to face with Logan.
“You must be Benjamin.” My friend is welcoming and pleasant, but his dimple is absent. He holds out a hand toward my backstabbing boyfriend.
Ben steps back, his mouth in a flat line. He gazes down at Logan’s hand before grasping it. “Yes. You are?”
Oncoming tears blur my vision. My worlds are colliding and crumbling all at once.
