Page 63 of The Lake House

She shakes her head. “Me neither, but he was always strange and rarely made sense to me.”

I nod.

She tilts her head and sighs. “So, what are you going to do now? I don’t like the thought of him just showing up unannounced like that and you being here by yourself. I know I’m right down the block, but still. I don’t trust that dickwad.”

I think for a moment before responding. “I guess. I need to change the locks on all the doors. Probably the windows, too. I don’t trust him, either.”

This time, she nods as well. “Look, why don’t you just come stay with me for a few days just to make sure he doesn’t pull some type of shit like this again? I have a spare bedroom that you could stay in and make your own for as long as you like. You know Dave won’t mind, and Josie would be over the moon.”

I smile at her words. It would be nice not to be alone all the time. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I should stay with her so that I’m not here by myself. I hate to think how far he could have taken things had she not shown up when she had.

“I hate to inconvenience you,” I say in a low voice.

She places her fork down and wipes at the corner of her lips. “Nonsense. Inconvenience me… are you crazy? You’re coming to stay with us, and that’s final.”

I push back from my seat. I haven’t been able to eat more than a few bites. “Maybe just for tonight. I’m supposed to see Declan tomorrow. Maybe I can see if he knows a good locksmith in town.”

She chuckles.

“What’s so funny?” I ask.

“Woman, you don’t know your man at all, do you?”

I furrow my brows. “What in the world are you talking about?”

She shakes her head back and forth, still chuckling. “If you hadn’t told me about you and Dec, by this situation here alone, I definitely would have known you hadn’t had sex with him yet.”

I blush at the thought itself. “What do you mean?”

“If he had already laid the pipe on you, you would know he’s great with his hands.”

My mouth drops. “What?! Stop it!”

She guffaws, letting her head tilt back.

“You’re terrible!” I roll my eyes and then giggle. Her laughter is contagious. Then I eye her sideways with a smile. “But how do you know that?”

Her eyes bulge out of her head and she shakes her head furiously back and forth. “No, no! Nothing like that! Ugh!”

I burst out into a laughing fit, and then she laughs, too.

Once she catches her breath, she says, “Not that I wouldn’t have slept with him if I were single, cause let’s face it, he’s hot, but I’m just saying, woman. Declan knows how to change locks and all that handy stuff. He’s great when it comes to home improvement projects.”

I chuckle as she still shakes her head at me with a wide smile.

“Let’s give him a call in the morning. But for tonight, let’s pack you a bag so you can stay with us.”

“Shit!” I rise from my seat and walk over to my purse, fetching my cell phone.

“What’s wrong?” Liv asks.

“I was supposed to call Dec when I got here.”

Liv chuckles. “Ah. Young love.” She sighs, placing a hand under her chin, inhaling deeply.

I see a few missed calls and texts from Declan. Shit. His last one says that if I don’t answer within two minutes, he’s coming over to check on me. I hit the send key on his number without reading the other texts from him.

“There’s my baby.” Declan picks up on the second ring.

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