But he only said, “I’m heading out.”
Emmeline gave him a curt nod of her head, turning her attention back to her notes. In her peripheral vision, she saw him leave; the front door dinged after him. Her shoulders sagged, and she frowned.
Releasing a groan, she snapped her notebook shut. She might as well leave now, too. Throwing her notebook into her purse, she went to the office to grab her coat. Luke’s words rang in her ear:“I don’t think you want to talk about what’s fair.”
Emmeline’s pulse quickened. He thought she hadn’t been fair in her treatment of him all those years ago, but he had broken her little sister’s heart, and so she had broken his. She had always stood by that decision, but now, a needle of guilt pricked her at the memory.
Releasing a long breath, she looked around the empty office. She spotted his thermos on one of the small tables. He must have forgotten it because it was the one she had drunk from.
With a frustrated groan, she thought of the chai he had brought her this morning, how she couldn’t quite get a good read on him, or her own emotions. Frowning, she glared at the thermos.
As she walked past, she collided into the edge of the table, hitting her knee.
Before she could swear in pain, she watched as the thermos tipped and the last few sips of her now cold chai spilled over the front of her dress. Liquid seeped through the lacy fabric.
Along with irritation, shock went through her. She had been clumsier these past two weeks than she had been all year, and she knew it was because of Luke. He was getting under her skin.
Appalled, she dabbed at the front of her dress with a napkin. Luckily, she always had a spare riding outfit on Torch. Emmeline left the bookshop, calling down her dragon, who arrived a few moments later.
Grabbing her spare bag, she went back into the bookshop. She would quickly change before heading to her parents’ place.
She headed for the bathroom, only to see there was a line. Glancing down at her stained dress, she frowned. She looked around, trying to think of another solution, when her gaze fell to the closed office door.
She could just change in there.
Turning on her heels, she went to the front desk. Minh wasn’t in today, but Ola, the bookshop manager, was at her usual spot behind the desk.
“Ola,” Emmeline said. “I managed to spill chai on myself, so I’m just going to change in the office quickly.” She held up her bag while Ola gave her a sympathetic look.
“Oh dear—yes, do get changed,” Ola said. “If I need anything, I’ll knock.”
Nodding, Emmeline headed for the office, shutting the door behind her. She released a long breath, looking down at the stain on her dress again. Glaring at it, she kicked off her long boots.
Standing barefoot on the rug, she quickly pulled up her dress, wanting to get out of it as soon as possible.Unfortunately, it seemed her bad luck hadn’t quite finished. As she tugged the dress, the lace fabric caught on her bra hooks. She yelped, tugging again, but the fabric was fully stuck, her arms entangled in the dress.
“Ugh!” She tried to pull the dress again, hoping the force would pull the fabric from the hooks, but the dress only snagged on her hair clip, tugging at her hair. Pain shot through her scalp.
“Ow!” She cried, swearing. “Fuck!” She tried pulling free again but lost her footing, stumbling sideways. Her knee knocked into the table, and she swore again, the words lost to the commotion of things falling to the floor with a crash. She released a groan of frustration.
This situation couldn’t get worse, could it?
Then, she heard the door open. It must have been Ola, checking in.
“Thank goodness,” Emmeline said, turning in the direction of the door. “Ola, you need to help me.”
She heard the door shut, then the sound of a raspy response: “Um.”
Emmeline’s heart rate spiked. That deep voice was decidedlynotOla. Swearing to herself, she turned around—though that wasn’t exactly protecting her modesty, either.
“What are you doing?” she seethed. “I thought you left!”
She desperately tried to pull the dress off, not caring if the fabric tore at this point, but she (unfortunately) only bought things of quality, so it would not rip that easily. Her arms were entangled in the fabric above her head, unable to reach down to free the dress.
“I came back to...” Luke paused. “I heard a commotion.”
“So you just barge in here!”
“Who uses an office as a dressing room? I didn’t know if you were okay or not!”
