Page 14 of Captured Heart

The day he passed, it felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. I remember holding his hand, cold and lifeless, and making a promise to him, to myself, that I would dedicate my life to finding answers, to understanding the science that had failed him.

It’s why I’m here, why I work so hard.

Why I can’t afford any distractions.

We reach the counter, and I order myboringiced coffee while she gets her pumpkin muffin and a caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream. As we move to the pickup area, I decide to change the subject before she lumps me in with Zayn as the co-conspirator of her bad mood.

“So, Corey and I are going to—”

I’m cut off when my phone buzzes in my pocket. One glance at the screen, and my heart does a ridiculous jump, trying to leap straight out of my chest. I freeze for a second, and for some reason, I’m nervous to answer.

“Who is that?” Karmani asks. “Why are you blushing?”

“I’m not blushing. It’s just hot in here.”

That sets off her bullshit barometer because her mouth drops open and her brown eyes light up with glee. “Who is that?”

“Shhh!” I give her a warning look before stepping away to answer the call. “Alex?”

“Katie.” His thick, raspy voice wraps around that single word tight enough to fluster me on the other side.

“Hi!” I immediately notice how high-pitched my voice is and try to tamper it back down tonormal. Not giddy. Definitely not giddy. “How are you?”

“Good.”

The curt reply is oddly something I expect from him. The man does not smile. At. All. He didn’t smile when I met him. He didn’t smile when I thanked him for fixing my car. He didn’t even crack a smile at my engine light joke. And yeah, it was corny, but his lips barely twitched at that.

“I haven’t heard from you, so I take it your car is running fine. No trouble?” He’s cold and direct, like he has no time for pleasantries.

“Yes, it’s been running fine. No issues.” My escalating nervousness makes me clutch my phone even tighter. “Thanks again for fixing it.”

“Happy to help. Just wanted to make sure. Let me know if anything comes up.”

“Yes! Thanks!” There’s that overenthusiasm again, and I clear my throat to bring my voice down to something less than an excited screech. “Thanks for checking in.”

“Take care, Katie,” he says, and the line clicks off.

That’s it? I don’t want to admit this...even to myself, but I’m feeling veryunderwhelmed right now. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I guess I just wanted more...thanthat.

Why, though?

I don’t even know this guy. I just met him yesterday.

I lower the phone slowly, but Karmani’s already watching me with the intensity of a hawk stalking its prey.

“So, I can conclude two things after that call,” she says, her grin widening as she hands me my iced coffee. “That was a guy. And you aresointo him.”

“I am not,” I protest, though I know my face betrays me because I feel another traitorous blush rise to my cheeks.

It’s ridiculous. I shouldn’t be acting like this. I’m not into him. Granted, I’m the tiniest bit intrigued, and now that I’m thinking about him, I’m sorta...kinda...veryflustered.

“So, what’s his name?”

“Alex.” I shake my head. “No, wait. His name is actually John. I just call him Alex.” I nudge her into movement, and we walk out of the coffee shop.

“Aw! You guys are already at the cute nickname phase. No wonder you’re swooning.”

“I’mnotswooning,” I take a sip of my coffee. “I swore off men, remember? Besides, I’m too busy to swoon. Do you know how much work I have this week?”

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