Page 38 of Delicate Escape

I stiffened. “I’m not the person they should be worried about.”

He shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not, but it doesn’t change that they are. Because theycare.”

“You know,” I mumbled, “I think I liked it better when you refused to talk to anyone.”

Anson barked out a laugh. That action alone showed how much had changed over the past few months. How much Rhodes had changed him. “You’re the one who always wanted to talk about myfeelings. How’s it feel to have the tables turned?”

“Feels like shit. Thanks,” I muttered.

My phone dinged, and I glanced down at the screen.

Mara

I got two tickets to the Design Fest in Roxbury next weekend. Want to come with?

I frowned at the device. While Mara knew plenty aboutconstruction thanks to her job at the hardware store, she found all my architectural design talk boring. She’d gritted her way through it because she wanted to make me happy, but she did a bad job of pretending.

“Why do you look like someone just dropped rotting trash on your phone screen?” Anson asked.

I sighed, flipping the device around to him. “Mara.”

He shook his head. “Were you clear with her that things were done?”

I scowled at my friend. “Of course, I was.”

Anson held up both hands. “I’m just saying that sometimes you aren’t clearenoughbecause you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. It’s better to cause pain in the present to prevent agony in the future.”

“Who are you? The Yoda of Sparrow Falls?” I snapped. “I told her that my feelings for her didn’t run deeper than friendship and that we should leave it there.”

Anson nodded. “That’s pretty clear. But it looks like she might need you to hammer that point home if she’s still asking you this sort of thing.”

I glared down at the phone but knew he was right. Mara and I had broken up in early spring, and she was still trying to maneuver opportunities for us to spend time together, even when I ignored previous messages. My fingers flew across the screen.

Me

I appreciate the offer, but I think it’s best if we don’t spend any one-on-one time together. I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I think you’re amazing, but I don’t see a future for us.

The moment I hit send, those three little dots appeared. Then they disappeared. Then they reappeared.

Mara

Stings that you feel that way. Especially after everything we shared. But I’ll back off.

I winced.

“Ooof,” Anson muttered as he peered over my shoulder.

I gave him a shove. “Nosy much?”

“Hey, you showed me the first one.”

That was true enough, but I didn’t want to think about Mara or her guilt trips. “Come on, I want to show you the back. I’m thinking swimming pool.”

Anson let out another low whistle. “Going full five stars with this place.”

“I think it fits.” I didn’t always go with full luxury. I let the houses and property set the tone for the reno. I had never been one of those builders who put a McMansion on a quarter-acre lot. But this property? It fit. There was a way to blend the luxury into the land.

“Damn,” Anson said as we rounded the corner of the house, and the backyard and surrounding property came into view. “If Rho and I weren’t moving into the Victorian, I’d be making you an offer on this place.”

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