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She turned her back on Lucas and forced herself to plan ahead for the next couple of days. They were getting closer to putting in the flooring, and then after that, they’d work on the finishing touches.
There was one thought specifically she avoided. Once this project was done, was she planning on returning home—to her apartment that wasn’t located in Copper Creek?
Ella couldn’t think about that right now. There was far too much to consider.
Like, what was she expecting to happen between herself and the boy for whom she’d started to fall? It really wasn’t fair that all these ideas weighed on her shoulders. But that was just how the world worked for Ella Thompson.
She’d gotten used to it.
Ella scowled as she continued to dive into work. Well, if Lucas was showing his colors again simply because he had a friend back in town, then she was going to make it clear that she refused to play the game. She wasn’t a toy. She wasn’t a fad.
And she absolutely refused to be someone that Lucas used.
By the time their lunch break rolled around, her head pounded. There was a sharp ache right behind her eyes. If she really wanted to, she could leave early. But she hadn’t done so since the beginning of this project and she was too stubborn to stop now.
Ella didn’t leave the building when the rest of the crew did. Instead, she poured over the plans to see what remained. As soon as this restoration project was complete, she very likely could leave and never look back. Lucas might just be a blip on her radar.
“Hey,” Lucas’s voice broke into her reverie. She glanced up at the door where he was holding two lunch bags. “I thought we were going to eat together.”
She turned her dark gaze back to the blueprints and hunched over them. “Oh, we’re still doing that, huh?”
“What’s going on with you?”
This time, she snapped her head up and stared at him with surprise. “Excuse me?”
He moved closer toward her, concern in his eyes. But that emotion was masking something else. She could tell that he was hiding his true feelings at the moment. Fortunately, she didn’t have the patience to dig through all the baggage he was trying to cover up. Lucas put the paper bag on the table. “You’ve been acting distant.”
“I’vebeen acting distant?” she snorted. “No, I haven’t.”
“Yes, you have. Ever since Taven—”
“Ever since Taven got back to town,you’vebeen treatingmedifferently.” She pushed the paper bag off the document shewanted and stared hard at it. “If anyone isn’t being themself, it’s you.”
His dry chuckle grated against her nerves. “If this is because I’ve been hanging out with Taven again—”
Her sharp gaze cut to meet his. “You’ve been spending time with him?”
Lucas froze. He glanced back toward the door, and she didn’t miss the way he seemed to consider his only escape route.
Ella straightened to her full height. “Lucas, are you still friends with him?”
“Of course, I’m friends with him. I’m not just going to throw away a friendship with someone because they moved away.”
Her arms crossed in front of herself, and she took a step back from him. Was it possible that Lucas wasn’t who she thought he was? He’d been wearing a mask this whole time. “No, I wouldn’t expect you to break off a friendship because he moved away. I expect you to break off a friendship because he is a bully.”
“When we were kids,” Lucas emphasized with exasperation. “You can’t say he hasn’t changed because you’re not spending time with him to find out. Sure, he’s still a little rough around the edges, but—”
“Adults have no business being rough around the edges. Our brains should have finished maturing by the age of twenty-three. I can almost guarantee that Taven isn’t the kind of person you should be spending time with.”
Lucas huffed. “Are you telling me I can’t hang out with him?”
Before she could inform him that she wouldn’t dare tell him who he could spend time with, there was movement at the door. Her eyes flitted in that direction just as the one person she never wanted to see entered.
Apparently, they’d said his name too many times.
“Lucas! Your brother said I’d find you here.” Taven was all smiles. His eyes darted from Lucas to Ella. A Grinch-like smirkfilled his face briefly before he let his gaze sweep over the barn they’d been working on. “This is pretty cool. I didn’t know you were working on it.” He stopped when he reached Lucas’s side and slugged him in his upper arm. “You’re holding out on me.”
Lucas rubbed his arm. He didn’t bother looking in Ella’s direction.
