Page 39 of My Grumpy Sweetheart
Sighing internally, I put on a smile and headed over to her. “Hey, Julia, how are the kids?”
She smiled and tucked a strand of her dark, curly hair behind her ear. “Oh, they’re fine. I’m supposed to thank you profusely for sending that poster of the shifter girl book home with me.” Shaking her head, she laughed. “Kaila adores it — and the book.”
Suddenly, smiling was a lot easier. “I’m glad. That girl on the cover reminded me of her, so I wanted her to have it.”
“She said the same. She’s planning on dressing up as that girl or a panther for Halloween.”
“I definitely want to see a photo.”
Julia grinned. “I’ll make sure to show you one. Anyway, that actually wasn’t why I called you over.”
Raising my brows, I cocked my head. “It wasn’t?”
“No. There was this guy asking for you about an hour ago.” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “He was very… demanding, bordering on rude. He insisted I let you know he’s here and to call you down to the lobby, but I firmly explained that I couldn’t even tell him if you were in the building, and I couldn’t help him without him having an appointment. He really wasn’t happy about that at all.” She sighed, shaking her head again. “I know this TikTok thing is all the rage — trust me, Kaila tells me all about it and how funny and entertaining you are — but I really don’t like the attitude of some people. He wasn’t the first one to show up here, but he was… I don’t know. Usually, I wouldn’t even tell you about them, but he was so… demanding. He only left after I threatened to call security on him.”
I laughed. “Julia, we don’t have security.”
She winked. “He doesn’t need to know that. Anyway, he left, but I have a bad feeling like maybe he’s waiting outside for you. He was giving me major murderer vibes.”
I perked up. Dakota’s profile picture appeared in my mind with that axe and his impressive glare. It was a ridiculous thought because I hadn’t told him where I worked in the first place, but this silly seed of hope started to take root inside my chest even though I tried fighting it as best as I could.
“Murderer vibes, you say?” I asked, my voice sounding a little thin and a little too high to pass as regular interest. “Maybe… axe murderer vibes?”
She blinked at me, then raised her brows. “Uhm… I guess so? He was wearing a flannel, now that you mention it.”
My heart jolted in my chest. “A flannel? And maybe a rust colored beanie? Did he, by any chance, have strawberry blond hair?”
Was it really possible that Dakota had tried visiting me at work?
What would he even be doing here? By not answering my messages, he’d made it very clear that he didn’t want a second date after all.
“Yes… oh my god, do you actually know him?” Julia reached out, placing her hand on my forearm. “I’m so sorry, Bailey. I really thought he was one of those uber TikTok fans. Next time just let me know you’re expecting a friend to pick you up.”
I blinked, trying to make sense of what was happening. Dakota was here. Well, he had been here. But… why? And how? And… what could he possibly want after a week of just… disappearing off the face of the world?
But those questions didn’t concern Julia, so I smiled at her and shrugged. “I didn’t expect him at all. I think he wanted to surprise me.” If it was a good surprise or not remained to be seen. “Anyway, thank you for protecting my privacy.”
She smiled. “That’s literally my job description, but… my pleasure. And have a great evening with your axe murderer.” She snorted. “I would’ve never, in my wildest dreams, imagined that you’d go for such a, uhm… serious type.”
I laughed even though there was a pang in my chest.
“He’s… just a friend.”
“Mhmm.” Julia waggled her eyebrows. “My husband used to bejust a friendonce, too.” Swallowing heavily, I flipped her off, but she just laughed, shooing me away. “Go see if your friend is still waiting for you!”
I swallowed hard, still fighting with the sliver of hope growing stronger with every passing second. Maybe it’d all been a mistake. Maybe… Maybe I had the wrong number and the person on the other hand just hadn’t bothered to inform me about my mistake?
Oh my god! Had Dakota thought I was ghosting him the whole time? If that was the case, I needed to find him.
“Will do. Bye, Julia,” I said, rushing towards the glass front doors, my eyes already firmly on the steady stream of people passing by outside.
As soon as I stepped outside, I craned my neck, eyes searching for my mountain man in the middle of the businesspeople crowd. He was tall, so it should be easy to find him, right?
Probably, if I wasn’t so damn short. Usually, I didn’t mind, but in moments like this a couple of extra inches would be incredibly helpful.
“Bailey!” The sound of his deep voice sent a shiver down my spine. It was gruff and rough and filled with emotions I couldn’t decipher.
“Dakota.” Turning my head, I finally found him, leaning against the white exterior of the building, right next to the gleaming metal sign that declared it the home of Greenfield Publishing. “What are you doing here?”
