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“It’s different when I’m on my own. I don’t have the band and all the loud music to hide behind. Anyway, it would be great if you came.”
I looked at him, trying not to let my eyes drop down to those full lips that had been kissing me only moments ago. Every time I tried to remember why I didn’t like Callum Jones, I was drawn into him again. He was being so kind to me and seemed genuinely interested …
That’s exactly what you thought last time, I told myself. As a teenager, I had thought he cared about me. But he had proved otherwise. Plus, there were all those girls I saw him photographed with on the covers of magazines. Callum Jones had his pick of women. There was no way he was seriously interested in me.
“Maybe,” I said. I wasn’t ready to commit, but I was also trying to get him out of the store.
“Liz will be there.” It was clear from his eager expression that he wanted me to say yes. If that was what it took to get him out of the store, I would do it.
“Alright, fine,” I said. “I’ll be there.”
“Great.” His smile seemed genuine. I watched him push the hair out of his eyes and wondered if he was going to say something else. But then he nodded and cocked his head toward the door.
“I’ll get out of here. See you tonight.”
“Yeah. See you tonight.”
I followed him to the front door so I could lock it behind him. The last thing I needed was any more unexpected guests wandering into the store. On the sidewalk, Callum smiled at me before turning right and heading back into town. I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched him walk away.
With an irrational fear that Callum might change his mind and come back, I rushed back to the counter to grab my purse and my blazer before returning to the front door. I closed it and locked it, turning both the lock and the dead bolt just to be sure. I checked down the street and saw the figure of Callum getting smaller and smaller in the distance. And then, making a break for it, I rushed across the street to our real estate office.
I pushed my way through the door with the colorful ‘Dream Home Realty’ logo we had recently revamped. I felt a strange sense of panic as I closed it as quickly as I could and turned the dead bolt behind me.
“What’d you do, rob a bank?”
I spun around, shocked to hear someone behind me. Liz sat at her desk, papers set up all around her and an iced coffee in her hand.
“My god, I thought you left,” I said.
“I wanted to get this paperwork finished up. Eric’s picking up the kids. Why do you look so spooked?”
“Nothing,” I said, crossing to my own desk. But I knew Liz wouldn’t let me off the hook that easily. As I slumped down into my chair, the whole story came tumbling out.
“Callum came into the store. I don’t even know how he found it or how he knew I was in there, but things got … interesting.”
“What does that mean?” Liz rolled her office chair over to my desk as I dropped my head into my hands.
“We kissed,” I groaned through my fingers. I heard Liz squeal in excitement next to me.
“That was fast! How did that happen?”
“I don’t even know! We were talking and all of a sudden, he was right there in front of me, looking adorable. And then the lights went out in the place, and we had to find the fuse box. And he was just there, right behind me. It just happened.”
“This is amazing!”
“No, it’s not. I ran away from him again. I literally pushed him away from me and ran away.”
“Oh, Darcy …”
“I know. He must think I’m a total freak.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing! Of course, he was the one apologizing. I couldn’t even look at him.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing, Liz.” I said, turning to her. I felt like I might explode if I didn’t figure out all the feeling swirling inside of me. “The man’s a celebrity. It’s not like he’s looking for something long-term. He has his pick of whatever woman he wants.”
