Calling really late on a Tuesday evening and Colin lying about it.
CHAPTER TEN
The seconds passed. The silence between us thickened, and he seemed to sense it. His expression softened in concern, but I couldn’t look at him too long—not when my stomach had gone cold.
If I understoodwhyhe’d lied, maybe I’d ask. Maybe I’d call him out.
Instead, instinct told me to play along.
“It’s okay,” I said, voice too bright. “Thank you for a lovely evening.”
The longing I’d had minutes earlier for a kiss dissolved, leaving something heavy and uncertain behind. I leaned in for a brief hug. It was polite, awkward, and a far cry from how I’d imagined our goodnight.
“Thank you for being you,” he said softly. “I haven’t had such an enjoyable evening in a long time.”
I forced a smile, knowing I probably wasn’t very good at being disingenuous.
“Are you going to get out of every compliment I give you?” he asked as he took a couple of steps back.
“I suppose we’ll find out. Will you come by my desk tomorrow to say hello?”
“Definitely,” he said. “See you tomorrow. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” I said, and as soon as he got into his car, I rushed inside.
What the fuck?
My first instinct was to call Grant, but when I took out my phone and noted the time, I figured it was way too late, especially if he was sick. Though he’dappearedhealthy that morning.
I sent him a text anyway. Whether he received it now or tomorrow morning, it didn’t really matter.
Me:I have to tell you something about Maggie.
I set the phone down and got ready for bed. When I looked at it again, there was a message.
Grant:I have something to tell you, too. Meet for coffee in the morning?
Me:OK. 8 AM.
I barely slept.That lie from Colin replayed on a loop until dawn.
I arrived at the coffee shop harried and out of breath. I was a couple of minutes late and didn’t want to cut into the time that Grant and I had carved out to relay our news to each other.
He smiled at me when I found him in the horde of people waiting in line and around the pickup area. It was a big change from his attitude toward me of late.
“I already ordered for you,” he said.
“How do you know what I want?” I asked, my hands on my hips.
“You don’t exactly scream variety. Every single time we’ve gotten coffee together, you ask for a caramel macchiato.”
“You think you know me so well, huh?”
He probably did. Sitting beside each other for five years, we’d learned each other’s likes, dislikes, quirks, annoying habits, pet peeves…
He elbowed me gently. “You won’t believe what I found out about Maggie,” Grant said.
Maggie. Always Maggie. Granted, I had news about her as well.
