Page 10 of Liberating Love

I swallow around my nerves and quietly admit, “They mean a lot to me, too.”

He smiles softly, his green eyes kind. “They miss you, and they want to know you’re okay.”

I nod. “I know.”I miss them, too.

“Are you?” At my confused expression, he clarifies, “Are you okay?”

I suck a breath in through my teeth because I hadn’t been expecting him to ask that. Not ask it and really mean it, anyway. Most people don’t want to hear about what’s going on in your life, they only ask out of politeness or habit, but it’s clear to me that this man—thisfucking-seriously-off-limits, Aiden, man—is really asking. So many emotions swell up inside my chest at once, but I know I can’t let them out, I know I can’t let him see. So I do what I always do, I push everything back inside the box and lock that fucking thing up tight. Maybe he wants to know, but that doesn’t mean I want to share. “I’m fine.” My voice only cracks a little bit.

He gives me a dubious look, then sighs and nods. “I get that I’m the last person you want to talk to right now, but… if you need something—”

“I don’t.”

He pauses and stares before slowly nodding. “Look, Freckles, I’m moving out of my son’s house soon. I’ll be out of your hair right after Christmas, so you don’t need to worry about it. You won’t need to see me over there. But you have to call them, alright?”

I nod my head after a moment.

“Promise?”

My brow furrows for a moment, but I nod again.

“If you don’t, I’ll just have to show up after every one of your shifts until you do.”

I snort. “You would not.”

He narrows his eyes, but it’s playful. “Do you wanna take that bet?”

A smile tugs at my lips. “I promise I’ll call.”

“Good.” I take a sip of my coffee, and nearly choke when he asks, “Is everything okay at work?”

“Wh-what? Why would you ask that?”

He stares at me, then pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment before peering into my eyes again. “If my son isn’t treating you right, you tell me, okay?”

My brow furrows again for a moment, automatically thinking of Jameson before realization hits me. “Jovany has been great.”

He nods. “That’s good.”

We fall silent for a minute, and I don’t think it could be more awkward.

Delaney clears his throat and asks, “Are you doing anything for dinner?”

My eyes widen. I was wrong, it can get more awkward, this is so much more awkward. “Delaney, I…”

He holds his hands up in a placating gesture. “You’re right, you’re right.”

I pull out my phone to check the time—and to maybe have a reason to look away from him and his intensity for a few seconds—and say, “I really need to get home. I’m going to grab my mom a couple muffins and head back.”

He nods and stands, his giant body towering over me. “I’ll see you around, Freckles.” He shoots me a wink. “Call them.”

“I’ll probably text, but you know, same thing.”

He snorts and rolls his eyes before nodding at me and heading out the door.

As soon as he’s gone, I blow out a breath of relief. Holy shit. I don’t even know what just happened.

With a sigh, I get up, buy the muffins, and head back to my reality.

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