Page 80 of Beat around the Bush
“Hm,” Lennon hummed in thought.
I faced him, setting my hands on his chest. “Hm, what?”
He wrapped his arms around my waist, tugging me closer. “What was the gift?”
“Something stupid that I’m just going to throw away. It was nice of him, but I really don’t want it.”
His brows pulled together. “Not fond of gifts?”
“Oh, I love gifts. Just not from strangers like that,” I stated. I’d always dreamed of having a guy who’d bring me things like flowers or leave notes for me or take me on cute dates as a surprise. Gifts from someone you loved just felt different than gifts from a stranger. I was thankful for them regardless, but knowing your significant other thought of you enough to surprise you was so wholesome.
“What are you doing this weekend?” he asked.
I licked my lips like I was thinking about my nonexistent plans. “Hmm, that depends. Why?”
“I want to take you on a date. A proper one.” His hazel eyes were clouded with hope and something like anxiety, like he was nervous about what my answer might be.
“That sounds like something I could find time for,” I said with a smile.
The corners of his mouth tipped up as he leaned down to press his lips to mine softly, his tongue darting out at my lips. I welcomed him, parting my lips to let him in. Reluctantly, he pulled back. “I’ll pick you up on Saturday at ten a.m.”
I smiled. “It’s a date.”
31
Lennon
The week felt long and short at the same time, but it was finally Friday. Working in retail, Fridays lost all they were talked up to be, becoming just another day of the week for me. But this Friday in particular was one I had wanted to skip since I woke up this morning.
I’d scheduled Leo and I together today, and at the time I’d made the schedule, I had no idea I was going to have to have a conversation with him about leaving Oakley here alone the night of the break-in.
I had one rule.
Don’t let anyone close alone.
You leave at the same time, together. None of thisI need to leave early, so you’re going to be alonebullshit. Iunderstood that things came up, but at that point, you call someone else in. I don’t care if it’s five minutes or two hours before the store closes.
You call someone in to cover or you keep your ass here.
Leo knew this. I instilled it in him the day he started working here.
So the fact that Oakley was in danger, and he was nowhere to be found when he agreed to cover me? That wasn’t going to fly.
I’d blamed myself for leaving her here, then I’d blamed Leo, and eventually, I finally came to the realization that it was no one’s fault but the person that broke in. Leo being here or not would not have stopped it from happening. Or, it could have, and whoever it was that broke in had been waiting for someone to be alone here. Or they sought out Oakley on purpose.
I could run through a million scenarios and all would come back to the conclusion that regardless of how or why it happened,Leo should have been here.
We’d just closed and I’d already taken care of counting out the money in the register when Leo walked by my office door in the direction of the break room.
“Leo, come in here, please,” I called out to him.
We’d kept it professional all shift, not bringing up the fact that he’d left early that day. But you know what? That kind of pissed me off even more. The guy hadn’t apologized to me or Oakley, and that shit didn’t sit right with me.
Leo came around the corner, slipping into the chair across from me. I set my elbows on my desk, casually folding my hands together. “I assume you know what I want to talk to you about.”
He leaned back in the chair like this was some kind of buddy-to-buddy chat. “The other night?”
“We can call it how it is. Someone broke into the store, and you left early,” I stated, keeping my tone as calm as I could, when in reality, I was doing my best to keep the rage simmering deep below at bay.
