Page 55 of For Fake's Sake and other stories

“Um, Noah, there’s someone here to see you.” Chloe pops her head around the stock room door.

“What? Who?” I look at my watch. My lunch hour is about to start. “It’s my break. I don’t need to see anyone. You can deal with them.”

But something on her face tells me that’s not going to happen. “What? Just say it.”

She thumbs over her shoulder to the shop floor. “It’s the guy from yesterday. He’s asking for you. He looks different from yesterday and also kinda pissed off.”

Fuck!

What could he do to change how he looks? To me, he was perfect. I’m not even sure what he was wearing. All I remember was how gorgeous he was.

“Fine.” I put the box of new products down, push up from the floor and, and follow her out. “I’m taking my lunch now.” This way I can walk out of the shop, and whatever it is he wants to say, he can tell me away from my friends.

Honestly, I never expected to see him again. I stood him up. That’s enough to make most men walk away, disappearing from my life.

I didn’t want to do that. I met a man who’s exactly my type, a man I even cried myself to sleep over last night, but I had to turn him down because of my home life. All I wanted was to spend some time with him. He looked at me like no one ever had.

With a nod to Jess and Chloe, he pushes away from the cash desk and steps in front of me. “Have you got time to talk?”

Chloe is right about how he looks. Today he’s even hotter. He wears heavy-duty work boots and a pair of thick work trousers. His polo shirt has a logo and the name of one of the biggest home developers in the area. He rakes dark and sad eyes over me. Maybe he’s as disappointed as me.

“It’s my lunch hour.”

He nods, then… Oh, my.

He takes my hand.

“How was your date?” Phil asks over the phone before I’ve even said hello. How can I tell him it didn’t happen? That the first guy I’ve liked enough to ask out didn’t show up. That when I got home, I was more disappointed than I should’ve been. That one interaction with the beautiful auburn-haired man has left me feeling lonely. That I’m on my way to the shop he works in to speak to him.

Not bloody likely.

So instead, I say, “Sorry, Phil. I’m stuck in the middle of something. I’ll call you back.” Job done. A quick and simple brush-off that will annoy him, but I’ve got more important things to worry about. Mainly getting Noah to talk to me.

When I step through the door, I don’t see Noah. It’s not a huge shop, so there are not many places he could hide. Maybe he’s in the back. Or maybe he’s not here at all. Is he ill? Is that why he didn’t show?

“Are you looking for Noah?” the girl behind the counter asks. “I can get him for you if you like.”

“Yes, please.”

She scuttles off to the side of the room and through a door.

Any disappointment or annoyance disappears when Noah follows her onto the shop floor. He looks pale, tired, andwell… sad. His failure to turn up last night wasn’t due to a change of mind or lack of interest. Something serious happened.

“Have you got time to talk?” I ask. Please let him say yes.

“It’s my lunch hour.” Well, it’s not a full-out yes, but it’s not a no either.

Without thinking, I take his hand in mine and give it a gentle squeeze. He’s trembling. “Let’s go and get some lunch. Then we talk about what happened. Would you like that?”

Noah nods. It seems he’s struggling to understand what’s happening. “I didn’t think I’d see you again,” he says, his voice sad but with a flicker of hope. I like to believe we can fix this.

“I don’t give up that quickly, Noah. I’d like an explanation, though. Because looking at you now, I don’t think you wanted to stand me up.” I stop at a small café and look inside. It’s not too busy. “Is this okay?”

“Yes, the food is good here.” He shrugs, still not giving anything away. Maybe I got it wrong, and he doesn’t want to see me. But he would’ve brushed me off at his work, wouldn’t he? And for sure he wouldn’t have let me take his hand.

I choose a table in the corner where we won’t be overheard. I order coffee for myself and a tea for Noah, along with some toasted panini. “So, what happened? I waited for half an hour, Noah. I was worried about you.”

He fiddles with his fingers, twisting them together, not looking at me. “Noah,” I say his name again, a little more forcefully this time.

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