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I perk up. “He’s here? Good.”
“His car isn’t in the drive.”
I match her frown, mine feigning confusion and deep thought. Then, “Wait! Call his number. See if that’s what you heard.”
She does, and as we stand there, my heart slams against my ribs. What the hell am I doing? Why did I hit Ignore? I should have shoved the phone back under the bed, and when she came in, I’d be on my hands and knees fishing it out with, “What is this doing here?”
Right. Yes, because finding her lover’s phone under my bed wouldn’t be the least bit suspicious. It isn’t as if he joked about sleeping with me last night.
My gut told me to hit Ignore, and my gut told me to hide the phone, and my gut dissolves in shuddering relief when she shakes her head and hits End on the call without any sound coming from the bed.
“Apparently, I’m losing my mind,” she says.
“You probably heard a passing car, and it sounded like his phone.” I lean against the dresser. “Is there anyone else you can call to check on him?”
“I tried that. Called one of the partners at his firm—Joaquin.”
“And...” I prompt.
“He hasn’t heard from him. He checked with Liam’s law clerk, who doesn’t know anything about any emergency client meeting.”
“That’s weird.”
“It is, but now Joaquin thinks Liam is spending the day with another woman, so he’s brushing me off to protect his buddy. I’m not going to get any more help there.” She glances down at her phone. “And Joaquin just texted to say that his call to Liam went straight to voice mail. He’s decided Liam’s phone is dead... despite the fact that he literally just told me Liam never lets it drop below fifty percent.”
Celeste sighs and pockets her phone. “So what are my options? Seem like an obsessed girlfriend, calling everyone because I haven’t heard from Liam in a few hours? Or tell myself it’s nothing when I know this is not normal?”
“But if he’s upset about last night, he won’t be acting normally, right? He might even have turned off his phone. That’d explain why his friend can’t get in touch with him, either.”
“I called earlier, and it rang a bunch of times. It wasn’t off then.”
“Is it possible you left a message that made him decide to turn it off?” I hurry on. “Not blaming you. If that’s the case, he’s being childish.”
“I’m overreacting.”
“No, no—”
“I am. This isn’t like me at all. I just... I got the idea that it’s weird, and now that burrows deeper every moment he doesn’t respond.”
“Maybe you should take a drive to Tampa.”
Her brows rise.
I shrug. “Go to his place. Pick up dinner or something, and if he’s there, say you thought he seemed upset and you wanted to talk about it. If he’s not there, maybe someone saw him earlier. Or just check for his car and be sure he’s safely at home.”
“That’s definitely irrational-girlfriend territory.”
“It’s worried-girlfriend territory. At the very least, it’ll give you something to do. Maybe there are errands you can run in Tampa to make it worthwhile?” Errands that will guarantee you’re gone even longer, giving me plenty of time to root through the attic?
Celeste squares her shoulders. “No, everyone’s right, and he’s upset and dodging me. I have work to do. I’m going to do it.”
She turns on her heel and marches back to her office, closing the door behind her.
Celeste doesn’t goto Tampa. I suggest it again after dinner, offering to go with her. That would hardly give me the time I need alone in the house, but I’m not expecting her to take me up on the offer.
No, no. I can’t ask you to do that, Daisy. But... maybe I should. You stay here, and I’ll be back before dark.
Instead, I get a flat no. She’s so afraid of being “that girlfriend” that she won’t follow her gut. I don’t argue.
How did Liam’s phone get under my bed?
