Page 30 of The Lake House

Granted, she’d always been happy for me whenever something good happened, but her reaction right now is priceless.

When I offer nothing further, she pushes.

“So…”

“So,” I repeat with a smile, turning my face and looking out at the lake. Before she can say more, I ask, “You’ve been feeling okay, Liv? You seem a little out of it lately.”

She smirks again, and I know she’s not falling for my casual change of subject. “I’m totally fine. And you’re funny if you really believe I’m going to let you off the hook that easily and not tell me about what you and Declan talked about?! Come on, woman! Fill me in!”

I chuckle under my breath. “I’m glad you’re good. You had me worried a little bit.”

Liv shakes her head. “Yeah, well, you have me worried a lot, so please stop procrastinating and tell me what happened with Declan.”

I suck in a deep breath and bring to the front of my mind my encounter with Declan. “It was nothing, really. I was coming off from work, and when I was walking to my car, he called to me. We spoke briefly, mostly just about how we’ve been, but nothing else really happened.” I pause for a moment and take in the sight of Liv on the edge of her seat, waiting for me to tell her more. “When I realized he wasn’t going to ask me to hang out, I said that it would be nice if we could catch up sometime.”

Her eyes light up. “You did?!”

I nod.

“That’s good! Well, it’s a good start, but you should have been more forward and actually set a date to hang out. You should have officially asked him out. We’re not back in high school anymore, Giules. It’s okay for the girl to ask out the guy, you know?”

Nodding again, I reply, “I know. I guess I’ll see what happens the next time I see him around town. Maybe this time he’ll ask me out, and maybe I’ll say yes.”

“Maybe?” she questions.

I shrug. “Or maybe I’ll say no.”

She punches me in the arm. “Woman, you better not!”

I give her a smug sideways grin. “We’ll see.”

She shakes her head back and forth. “No, we’ll see, my ass. You need to say yes if he asks you out, and if he doesn’t, you need to ask him out.”

Once again, I repeat the words that I know will drive her crazy for the remainder of the night. “We’ll see.”

ChapterThirteen

DECLAN

Beautiful.

Just beautiful.

The way she moved, the way she cautiously pushed strands of her dark brown hair behind her ear? God, she’s like an angel.

It’s been two days since I spoke to her outside of Abner’s store, and I’m dying to see her again. I haven’t been able to get her off of my mind.

It’s crazy, come to think of it. Just a few days ago, I was going about my business, living my own life, without the past coming into view. Then once she came back, everything changed, and now I’m thinking about her and how things could be with her in my life. Granted, Giules had always been in the back of my mind; I would think of her from time to time, but never thought much else about it because I knew she was taken and that she didn’t live anywhere around here. I didn’t think there was much of a chance.

But now, all that’s changed. Everything I knew or thought I knew went right out the window.

“Nine-thirty?”

I shake my head, as Rog’s voice brings me back to reality. “Huh?”

“The appointment at Charleston and Cinders… that’s at nine-thirty this morning, isn’t it?” he asks again.

“Oh,” I say, bringing up the calendar on my computer to confirm. “Yes, nine-thirty.” Charleston and Cinders is the new account we’re hoping to pick up this morning when we go make our proposals. Wedohave the best prices in the area for demolition and reconstruction, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to do.

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