Hitting send,I gnaw on my lip, praying he doesn’t take me up on my offer.I set my phone down, figuring it will take him a bit to get back to me, but it dings a second later.
Kian:No.See you tonight.
I smile,relief washing over me like a wave.
Larsen:Okay, see you tonight.
I tuckmy phone into my purse and smile as I finish my lunch.
“What are you doing tonight?”Blair asks.
“Um, I don’t know.Why?”
“Want to come over and feed the horses?We can make dinner and hang out,” she offers.
“As tempting as that is, it’s too cold to be standing outside trying not to get attacked by a giant animal.”
She snorts.“Oh, my god.”
“It’s true!”
“All right, another time then.”She laughs.“Or you can just come for dinner.”
“I took out some ground beef already.Raincheck?”I ask as I clean up.
“Of course.You’re always welcome, you know that.”
I smile, bumping my shoulder against hers as we leave the breakroom and get back to work.
“Why don’t one of you head home?”Robert asks.“It’s going to be a slow day.No point in both of you standing around.”
“Are you sure?”Blair asks.
“Yeah, go on home.”
Blair turns to me.
“Go ahead,” I say.
She gives me a grateful smile.“Thanks!I owe you.”
“Nah, it’s no big deal.I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” she says, already darting into the back to grab her things.
I wave as she leaves, then sigh as I lean against the counter.Looking at the gently falling snow through the window, I try not to think about how cold I’ll be on my walk home tonight.
I spend the afternoon cleaning up the bank.I dust, wipe down counters, vacuum the floors, clean up the break room, and wipe fingerprints off the doors.Then I go back to leaning on the counter and staring outside.
The hours pass slowly, and by the time six pm rolls around, I’m ready to bolt out the front doors.
“See you tomorrow, Larsen!”Robert calls as he locks up and walks to his car.
“See you, boss!”
I navigate the icy sidewalk carefully as the sun starts to set, pulling my hat lower against the cold.
Lost in thought, I’m about to cross the street when a car slams on its brakes next to me.I look up, startled, and stare in shock as a furious Kian hops out of his truck and stomps around the hood toward me.
