Page 21 of A Lonely Road
Winking at her, I added, “Some more than others. Anyway, Sam does our marketing, but you’ve seen her energy level—she thrives on being busy all the time. Like, really busy. Plus, she loves what she does. She’s a good judge of character and gets a kick out of pairing people up with the house of their dreams. It’s like matchmaking, but with real estate.”
She hummed in response. “Being a good judge of character seems to run in the family, too.”
“Why, Ms. Cassidy, was that a compliment?” When her hand shot out to give me a playful shove, I grinned. Conversation,compliment, and physical contact? Seemed like my lucky day.
“No, but I’m not oblivious,” she said tartly.
I waited patiently for her to continue, but the silence stretched. Finally, I said, “No, you’re not oblivious, but you were wrong.”
“About what?”
We had reached the stairs to her apartment, so she turned and lifted a brow. I didn’t touch her, but I let my gaze whisper across her features like a caress.
“When you said you weren’t good at being friends. You’re doing just fine in the friendship department.” I gave her a little salute. “Have a good night, Nora.”
She blinked at me in surprise before murmuring, “Goodnight, Jake.”
Our gazes locked, held, and I barely managed to keep myself from reaching out to tuck a wisp of hair behind her ear. Her lips parted, her breath hitched, then she turned to jog up the stairs, leaving me staring after her in the quiet night.
One step closer,I told myself, but damn. It felt like a big one.
Chapter Eleven
Jake
ThoughIwasdisappointed,I wasn’t particularly surprised when Nora didn’t show up to The Mermaid for a few days. Maybe she just needed time to fortify her defenses.
I decided to give her space the first day, sent a friendly text that went unanswered on the second, and began to worry—soul-deep, heart-pounding worry that seemed a little excessive when I thought about it logically, but which I couldn’t deny—by the third.
When Sam called to ask if I’d done something to make Nora ignore her texts, I was unable to quell the rush of fear pulsing through my veins.
“I haven’t heard from her either,” I admitted. “She doesn’t always come in every day, though.”
“I’m worried. I asked how she was holding up after the incident with that guy, and she brushed it off like it was no big deal.”
Fuck. It was a big deal and Sam knew it, even if I hadn’t given my family the details on Nora’s reaction during our walk home. What if Nora started having flashbacks and avoiding the restaurant completely?
With the reassurance that I’d check in on her, I hung up with Sam and left The Mermaid immediately. Thankfully, I’d brought the truck to work, so I could get home quickly to figure out just what the hell was going on. Nora’s car was parked in the driveway, exactly where it had been for the last few days.
I jogged up the stairs, my gaze catching on a bundle of tiny flowers in front of her door. They lay in a loose clump, withered and dry, shifting in the breeze.
Had she picked them herself and dropped them here? Why wasn’t she answering?
Ignoring the flowers as I stood outside the apartment, I texted her one more time and waited to see if she would answer. When that proved fruitless, I called her phone, though she’d told me how much she hated talking on it. Faint ringing drifted to my ears from inside the apartment.
The sheer curtains were just opaque enough to prevent me from seeing inside, so I knocked lightly at the door, pressing my ear to the glass.
“Nora?” I called, then knocked again, louder this time.
The apartment wasn’t that big; she should have heard me. Unless she was asleep in the middle of the day. Or unless she’d fallen and cracked her head open. Christ, what if I found her lying in a pool of blood?
My heart clenched painfully in my chest. It had been stupid not to try harder to reach her these last few days. Regret and fear warred within me.
“Nora, I’m going to get the spare key from Mr. Jenkins’ house. I’ll be right back.”
Fortunately, Mr. Jenkins had plants that needed watering in his absence and the old man had left me with his house key. The spare apartment key was in one of his desk drawers, in case of emergencies.
This was definitely an emergency.
