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“Just so you know,” Chantara said softly as she took her debit card back and tucked it in her wallet. She slipped the handle of the bag through long slim fingers. “When I bring you that latte, I’m going to get the barista to write, Master of Deception, in that little name section.”
Callie was so startled she almost slammed the till drawer on her fingers. She recovered enough to giggle. Chantara always knew just what she needed. She never gave up on her. Ever. “You could try, but I don’t think it would fit. Those little spaces are pretty tiny.”
“You’d be surprised.” Her best friend winked and walked to the door. “Oh, by the way… I promised myself I wasn’t going to tell you, but I know you’ll want to know. Matt looks horrible. He always has these black smudges under his eyes like he isn’t sleeping. I know you didn’t mean to. I know it might be amazing for you to hear it, but I think you really did a number on him. That’s all I’m going to say.” She held the bag in the air like a trophy and grinned. “Thanks for the dress.”
The jangle of the bell on the door handle lasted for only a few seconds, but it resonated with Callie for the rest of the afternoon.
CHAPTER 21
Matt
The bell on the door that opened up into the little vintage store made a little jingling noise when Matt stepped inside. He paused, his eyes doing a quick sweep of the store. He didn’t want to be there if the place was full. He’d come back in a few minutes when there weren’t customers, but he was lucky. The place was empty.
He wasn’t even sure that Callie would be working, but then she appeared from the back. She never failed to take his breath away. Her hair was swept up on top of her head, piled up and tied with a sweet little scarf. She had on a vintage green dress that fell to her knees and a pair of white high heeled, platform boots that nearly reached to the hem of the dress. She looked like she’d stepped right out of the past, obviously a look for the boutique, and she was absolutely adorable.
Matt couldn’t help the way his heart raced in his chest. He didn’t want to hope, but he couldn’t help how he felt.
Callie froze when she saw him. Those cornflower blue eyes that he adored, widened prettily. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
“Hey,” he said softly. “I know I said I’d leave you alone, but Chantara told me to come. She told me where you are working and when you’ll be on shift.”
“Oh… I- she- she shouldn’t have…” her stammering trailed off right around the same time her hand snaked out and gripped the edge of the counter for support.
“Maybe she shouldn’t have,” Matt admitted. “But I’m glad she did. I need to say something to you, and it’s been bothering me for quite a while. Will you please hear me out?”
He half expected Callie to tell him to get lost and was almost surprised when she nodded. “Alright.” Her voice shook.
Matt took a deep breath. He knew he ran the risk of really offending Callie and of losing her for good, but he had to try. Nothing else had worked. “I just wanted to say that I know the past might have been shitty for you. Okay, it was shitty. But it wasn’t all roses and what not for me too. Having money doesn’t fix all your problems. Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s the rich people in the world who are the loneliest. Every single person I’ve ever been with used me for my money. They were only ever with me because they could get something from me. I might be successful and have a good job and a house and a car and all those things that you already know about, but it doesn’t mean that I’m happy or that I can’t be hurt. So, I want you to stop using that as an excuse to stay away from me. I don’t care that we come from different income levels. I- I might have been spoiled, according to you, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have feelings.”
“Matt, I-”
“No, just let me finish.” He felt like gripping something of his own for support, but he didn’t think that the mannequin to his right was going to do the trick, so he stayed right where he was, braced in the front entrance, his hands tucked against the suit he had on, since he’d just come from a meeting. “That night that we were- uh- together, you used me for something different than anyone else has. You used me for- for therapy. As a way to make yourself feel better. A way to try and move on from your past. Which I wouldn’t have minded, if you hadn’t run, but you did it, knowing that you’d never see me again. What we shared that night- maybe it was only me who felt it- but it was incredible. It was amazing. I’ve never felt anything like that in my life. And then you left. In the middle of the night. You couldn’t even face me to tell me the truth in the morning. Honestly, it hurt, Callie. It really did.”
