Page 77 of Your Place or Mine

Eventually, she stood up and stretched.

“Okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna take a long shower, wash the paint off, and cry if you need to. Then you’re gonna come back here, and we’ll eat something carby and cheesy and probably microwaveable. And then we’ll decide if we want to keep with the white primer or start on the color.”

I let out a wet, sobby laugh. “Thank you.”

“It’s what friends are for.”

I stood too, slowly, and gave her a long look.

“Thank you, Riley.”

She met my eyes. “Anytime. Seriously. You’re not alone here.”

And for the first time in weeks, I believed it.

Chapter Nineteen

Callum

I wiped down the kitchen counter at home even though it didn’t need it.

Again.

Third time in fifteen minutes. I’d merely poured myself a cup of coffee, and boom, I was on it like it was my bar. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Lydia.

Why the hell did I say that to her?

Why did I always do this?

Push. Pull. Bite. Burn. Regret.

I kissed her like I’d die if I didn’t and then shoved her out with the kind of words that had no business coming out of my mouth.

"I don’t know how to want you without resenting you for it."

Jesus.

That wasn’t just a foot-in-mouth situation. That was full-on jackhammer-to-the-heart. And the worst part? It was onlyhalftrue. I didn’t resenther. I resented the circumstances. I should have had the first dibs on buying the place.

But worse, I resented how much I wanted her. How much I liked having her here. How she’d wormed her way into my head without permission and started turning the place upside down.

I wasn’t ready for someone like Lydia.

She was bold and bright and full of this impossible mix of fire and hope, and every time she looked at me, it felt like she saw more than what I let the rest of the world see.

And I hated it.

Because I didn’t know what to do with that kind of attention. With someone who looked at me like I wasworthknowing.

I never had.

When my dad got sick, I didn’t talk about it. I just worked harder, closed ranks, learned to pour a perfect drink, and said we werefinewhen we weren’t. After he passed, I kept the bar running because it was the only thing that made sense. When my wife got sick, I clammed up even more and focused on the only thing I knew how to take care of.

People were messy, and emotions were messier. But if you put enough elbow grease into a business, it will give back. There were rules, routines, and inventory.

But Lydia?

Lydia was the opposite of routine.

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