Page 55 of Designs on You

Are you okay? We said six thirty, right?

Taking a deep breath, she got up and went outside with Grizelda, who did her business and fruitlessly chased some birds. She checked her phone.

No reply.

Damn. She dialed his number, but after a few rings it went to his voicemail.

Maybe he’d gotten involved in something, and he was just in the shower. Still, he would have called or texted her to say he was going to be late.

Wouldn’t he? Eugene didn’t strike her as the kind of guy to just let her sit and stew in worry.

Would he?

Then again, how well did she actually know him?

Deciding to calm herself, she sent another text:Hey, we had a date tonight. Call me when you get this text so I know you’re okay.

She’d leave it at that, refusing to worry about him.

Except that shewasworried about him. But she’d hold off doing anything about it for a while longer.

She made herself a snack that she didn’t even want to eat, ending up picking at some raspberries while wandering the house, periodically looking out the front window to see if he’d pull up in the driveway. In the meantime, dark clouds gathered, mirroring her mood.

Worry mixed with anger as one hour became two. She tried calling him again, and again his phone went to voicemail. Her stomach knotted, and she didn’t know whether to be concerned or pissed off.

Finally she called Hazel.

“Hey, Nat,” Hazel said. “What’s up?”

“So I had a date with Eugene tonight,” she started, letting it all spill out in what felt like was one breath. “He was supposed tocome over at six thirty and he didn’t show. I tried texting and calling and he’s not responding and now I’m worried. Does Linc know where he might be?”

“Oh, honey, I don’t know. Let me ask.”

She waited, hearing the conversation between Hazel and Linc. Finally, Linc got on the phone.

“Natalie.”

“Hi, Linc.”

“Tell me what happened.”

She told him exactly what she’d told Hazel.

“That’s not like Eugene. He wouldn’t leave you hanging like that. Let me try and get in touch with him and I’ll call you back, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks, Linc.”

Linc would find his brother. He had to. And when he did, Eugene would be fine.

And then she could yell at him for scaring the hell out of her.

• • •

“It’s still not right, dammit.”

Eugene and a few members of his team had run into a critical error, one they’d been working on since yesterday. He’d been at the office for over twenty-four hours, not even going home last night. He hadn’t slept, and the only food he’d had was a couple of donuts and a half a sandwich. He was hungry, cranky, desperately needed a shower, and he was totally pissed off about the glitch that had ground their progress to a halt.

“It’s like we get just so far and the program hits a wall.” Heath,one of his programmers, dragged his fingers through his hair, looking as haggard as Eugene felt.

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