Page 97 of The Ones We Fight For

Tal, I’m kind of obsessed with you. Nope, that sounds really creepy. Why don’t you just tie her to the radiator in your basement and feed her through a tiny slot in the wall while you’re at it?

Talia you are... incredibly hot. Can I please, for the love of God, take your clothes off now? I’m also in love with you, so there’s that. Nice. Real smooth.

Saved by the nonexistent bell, Walker pulled up to Talia’s driveway. It was empty. She wasn’t there. He let out a slow breath and pulled back out, turning in the direction of Lydia’s. Between the store and Amala's, there were only two places Talia frequented when she wasn’t with him.

The second time was the charm when Walker found Talia’s Lexus in the grocery store parking lot and pulled into the spot next to hers.

Lydia’s was closed, and the door was locked when Walker tried to pull it open. He peered inside of the dimly lit store and spotted Talia standing in an aisle, looking at the wooden clipboard he recognized as the one she used to track inventory. She had headphones over her ears, in true Talia fashion. Walker was more surprised she didn’t have the music playing over the intercom. He pounded against the glass to grab her attention, but she didn’t hear. Her head was bobbing back and forth to whatever song she was blaring into her ears. Adorable, but irritating.

“Talia!” Walker shouted. “Let me in!” He continued beating his fist against the glass for a while and watched, defeated, as she walked to her office with her back turned toward him. “You can’t hear me, but you really need to be able to hear something! What if someone broke in while you were here and you had those damned headphones on? That’s really fucking dangerous, Tal!”

There was no response, of course. Walker was just berating the door. If anyone passed by, he’d resemble someone on drugs, strung out and having a full-on conversation with themself.

Frustrated, he yanked out his phone and dialed Talia’s number. No response.

“You have got to be kidding me. She would make it impossible to tell her I love her,” Walker muttered.

Amala’s number was next. He tapped the call button and pressed the phone into his ear to wait for the dial tone. It rang once before someone picked up, and not the voice he was expecting to hear.

“Walker!” Jayla screeched.

“Hi, Jay, I really, really need to talk to your mom. Can you please pass the phone to her?”

“Mom!” Jayla shouted even louder than the first time, and Walker flinched, pulling the speaker away from his face so he didn’t permanently damage his hearing.

“Hello? Who—” Amala started, but Walker cut her off, getting right to the point.

“I need you to let me into the store.”

“Going late night shopping, Walker?” Amala asked, sounding patently amused.

“No. Talia’s in there and she can’t hear me, even though I’m pounding on the door,” Walker explained. “You guys have some sort of alarm system, right? Because she wouldn’t even notice if someone broke the freaking glass when she has her headphones up that loud.”

“Yes, we have an alarm system. Why do you need to talk to her right now?”

“I need to—” Walker swallowed before restarting with confidence, “I need to tell her that I’m in love with her and I want to be with her.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.” The phone call ended before he had a chance to say anything more, and he started to pace in front of the door, occasionally peeking inside to see if he could spot Talia. She wasn’t visible anymore, which probably meant that she was still in her office.

It bothered him that when Talia was out in the main section of the store, he could clearly watch her while she was none the wiser. Anyone could see her if they were passing by, realize she was alone, and take advantage of the situation. As usual, Walker’s head ran through a list of possible disasters ranging from robbery to much, much worse. Next time Talia planned on staying at Lydia’s late with her music cranked up to a hundred, he was going to park his ass out front and wait for her.

Amala showed up a few minutes later and hopped out of her car wearing an obvious smirk. Without saying a word, she walked up to the front door and stuck her keys in the lock.

“You’re not going to say anything?” Walker pried. Amala was never silent.

“What do you want me to say? It wasn’t like I didn’t know you were in love with her. You’re not so slick about it. Plus, Tal and I are joined at the hip. She told me all the dirty things you whispered in her ear.” Amala grinned, and Walker’s mouth fell open.

“She told you that?” he hissed, looking over both shoulders as if anyone was there to eavesdrop. “Jesus.”

“No, I don’t think Jesus would have approved of that,” Amala joked.

“Are you any less annoying when you’re not pregnant? You look like you’re about to pop. I’m hoping this baby reels you in a bit,” Walker retorted.

“Not less annoying, just more tired.” Amala laughed and pulled her key back from the door. “Go get your girl.”

“Thank you.” Walker reached over and pulled the woman into a hug, one separated by her large, protruding belly. “I’m going to buy your kid so many obnoxious toys.”

“And I’m going to make sure Cooper goes home with them,” Amala said snidely, giving him a wink. “Good luck, Walker. I’m sure I’ll hear about this tomorrow.”

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