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“What makes you think he can hurt you?” she asks me. “Surely that would only happen if you let him get too close.”
“I have kind of,” I admit. “I really like spending time with him. He’s funny and he’s charming and he’s as intoGrey’s Anatomyas I am.”
“So you’re friends then.” She nods, as though she understands. I’m glad somebody does.
“Well yeah.”
“With a few benefits.” She wiggles her brows.
“I guess. But he’s not the kind of guy who wants more than one night. That’s why I left so early this morning, to spare us both the embarrassment of him explaining it was all a mistake.”
“You’re still going to have to face him though,” Lauren points out. “Even if you weren’t both Charlie’s godparents there’s a small matter of his daily forecast for the next two and a half months.”
His daily forecast? My mouth falls open. I haven’t sent him one today. I did most of the work yesterday but I’d planned to take another look at the weather systems first thing this morning. I’ll have to message him and ask if it’s okay for me to send it in an hour.
When I pull my phone out of my bag the battery is completely dead. Lauren has some charger cords behind the counter – left by customers who never returned for them – and it takes me a couple of tries to find the one I need. She plugs it into the socket on the side of the counter and I watch as the little loading bar comes up on the screen and my phone finally comes to life.
An alert tells me I have five missed calls and two voicemails. And then some messages flash up in quick succession. All from Liam.
Is everything okay? I woke up and you were gone.
Can you just call me to let me know you’re okay, please?
I’m outside your house. Can you let me in?
Sophie, answer the door.
Okay you’re not here. WHERE ARE YOU?
This is not okay. I’m worried about you. CALL ME, WEST!
Are you pissed at me?
I’m five minutes away from going back to talk to Ava. I’m not kidding.
And I’m going to tell her EVERYTHING.
Okay not everything. But please let me know you’re okay.
“Um, those are not the messages of a man who’s not interested,” Lauren says. I almost jump when I realize she’s reading them over my shoulder.
“He’s just annoyed I left without waking him. I probably hurt his ego.”
Lauren lifts a brow. “Don’t you think you should call him and put him out of his misery?”
“Yeah, I better.” I pull his number up, guilt pulling at my stomach. I shouldn’t have left like that, the same way I shouldn’t have lied. This man just makes me panic every time.
I don’t know how to deal with it.
“Actually, don’t bother,” she says, her gaze fixed on the front of the bakery. I turn around to see him standing in the doorway, his angry gaze fixed on me. A shiver snakes down my spine because even furious, Liam Salinger is glorious.
The mouth that kissed me all over last night is pulled into a thin line as he walks toward me. He’s dressed in jeans and a gray t-shirt – pretty much the same kind of outfit most guys in the bakery are wearing – and yet he stands out so much.
Every female in the shop turns to look at him.
“Sophie,” he says as he stops dead in front of me. “Do you ever check your goddamned phone?”
“I just checked it,” I tell him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.”
