“I’d like to think so. Haven’t we always been friends?”
“Didn’t seem that way when you stood me up for dinner.”
“Is that what this is about? You’re pissed at me for something that happened a few years ago?”
She looked at me with a stunned expression. “Are you for real right now? Pot meet kettle.”
“So is that a no on the yogurt?” I asked in agitation.
With a roll of her eyes, she put her signal on to head into the plaza across the street that had a frozen yogurt place.
When we walked in, I said, “My treat.”
“No, thanks. I don’t want any.”
I looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “You’re seriously turning down frozen yogurt? I thought it was your favorite.”
“Not anymore.”
“Oh.” I rubbed the back of my neck and motioned for her to head back out the door. “We can go ahead and leave then.”
She looked confused. “I thought you wanted yogurt?”
“Nah, I just thought maybe you’d like some. I remembered you used to love it anytime we came across it.”
She studied my face before she shook her head. Her expression lost some tightness, and she lifted the corners of her mouth a little. “I don’t eat it anymore but thank you.”
Before we got back to her car, I took her by the wrist and made her stop.
“You look more than fine, Paige.”
Her face screwed up in confusion. “What?”
“Earlier, in the kitchen. You asked if I thought you looked sexy and I said you looked fine. I didn’t mean it that way. You are a beautiful woman with an even more beautiful body, and any guy would consider himself damn lucky to be yours. Honestly, you looked fucking hot this morning. That’s all I’m trying to say.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she worked her mouth open and closed a few times before finally speaking.
“Thank you. And you look…fine, too.” She winked, and I loved that her cheeks turned pink. I also loved that she seemed to warm a little. It had been my comment to her in the kitchen that made her upset. I hated myself for making her feel that way. Paige hadn’t ever been the type of girl who worried about her looks or her body. But something told me that this Paige, the older Paige, the one whose heart I had broken, was more sensitive. I needed to keep that in the back of my mind. Especially since she had compared herself to Bianca. Which was laughable. Bianca couldn’t hold a candle to Paige.
I laughed. “And just to set the record straight some more, he’s not average.”
“If you say so,” she said, unlocking the car doors.
“I can show you, if you want.”
“No, thanks. I’ve seen my fair share,” she replied with a smile.
And there it was. The smile she had given the douche at Home Depot. I fist pumped internally. I had a feeling chasing Paige out of this house was going to end up being more fun than I thought. Seeing that smile reminded me that a small part of me didn’t want her to leave. Yeah, I was losing my mind for sure.
Paige
THE LOUD NOISE caused me to bolt up in my bed. I sat perfectly still as I tried with all my might to hear where it was coming from.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
My eyes went to the window.
I squeezed them shut and whispered, “It’s a tree branch, that’s all.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Snapping my eyes open, I flew out of bed. Picking up the small baseball bat my brother had given me for self-defense, I walked over to the window and pulled the makeshift curtain back.
I was ready to scream, but laughed instead. “Well, who are you?” I asked, opening the window and letting a black and white cat in. She rubbed against my legs, looked up at me and meowed. Then she jumped on my bed and made herself comfortable, turning in three circles.
“Okay. Welcome home Oreo.”
The cat opened her eyes and meowed. “Is that your name? Oreo?”
I decided if this cat was going to invade my home, I had the right to name it.
“We’ll take you to the vet in the morning and see if anyone has lost you, sweet girl.”
Clink. Clink. Clink.
I froze.
That was not the window. This sound was coming from downstairs.
With my trusted bat still in hand, I slowly made my way down the steps. Oreo ran ahead of me. Clearly, she knew the layout of this house, and I wondered if she might have belonged to William.
Another noise came from the kitchen. Where in the hell was Lucas? Why wasn’t he investigating? Then I remembered his stupid comment about the house being haunted. I smiled. Was he really going this far? I chuckled to myself, but still kept the bat firmly in my hands.
Slowly I made my way into the kitchen. There was a shadow in the corner and I froze. It looked like a woman. A younger woman. Oreo walked right over to the shadow and it disappeared. Goosebumps instantly raced over my body, and I began to shake.