Page 54 of The Damaged Hearts Bargain

She shook her head and blinked, seeing George holding out a paper bag. “Yeah, sorry. How much do I owe you?”

“Three pounds even,” George said. “Um, none of my business, but are you alright? You look like you might have had a bit of a shock or something. Do you need to sit down? Oh, are you diabetic or something? Here, come on, have a seat.”

“No, no,” Cal said. “No, I’m fine.” She smiled, the smile feeling natural. “Actually, I’m really quite great now that I come to think of it.”

George stared at her then shrugged. “Well, alright, if you say so.”

“I’m, uh, going to eat this on the run, need to go and get myshirt changed,” she said, anxious suddenly to see Lucy, anxious to see if this comfortable feeling changed around her, if it went away, or if, just maybe, it expanded.

“Right,” said George. “Off you pop then. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

Cal smiled wider. “Right, yeah, probably. And if you see…” She was about to say Lucy, but then she laughed. “If you see my paramour, tell her I’ll be back at the house in half an hour.”

“Will do,” George said with a mock salute.

SHE PRACTICALLY RAN into the pub, half-eaten sandwich in hand, dodging around the corner, eager to make her way up to her room and change.

“You’re in a hurry,” Rosalee said from behind the bar.

Cal slowed her step. She had a feeling that Rosalee was thawing to her, and if she was, she didn’t want to do anything to freeze her again. Not that she was planning on sticking around, but it never hurt to be hated by one less person in the world.

“Just, um, came to get changed.”

Rosalee smirked. “Nothing to do with impressing a certain woman?”

“No, I just…” Cal looked down at her shirt which was clean but wrinkled after a morning of sorting through kitchen equipment. “I just needed a new shirt,” she said lamely.

“If you’d been here a couple of hours ago you could have had a bit of help changing that shirt,” said Rosalee, leaning back against the bar and folding her arms.

“Help?” Cal asked, confused.

Rosalee laughed. “I just mean that Lucy was in here earlier, that’s all.”

“Huh? Weird. She knew I was at the house.”

“Did I say she came in here looking for you?” said Rosalee, raising an eyebrow. “Though she was in here giving me the third degree about you.”

“The third degree about me? Why? What about me?” Calcould feel her mouth getting drier and she wasn’t sure why. The comfortable feeling in her stomach had gone.

“Why do you think?” Rosalee said. She rolled her eyes. “You’re known for exactly one thing around here, Cal. Did you think she wouldn’t find out about it? Wouldn’t be curious about it?”

“She’s… she’s asking questions about…” Cal gulped and couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Rosalee shrugged. “Wouldn’t you?”

So much for being believed. So much for being defended. Cal felt sick, so sick to her stomach that for an instant she thought she might throw up right there. She gritted her teeth. Maybe she’d been wrong about Rosalee thawing to her. “What did you tell her?”

Another shrug. “Nothing that wasn’t true.”

And maybe she’d been wrong about Lucy too.

Cold sweat was sticking her shirt to her back.

For what felt like a long time she couldn’t move, couldn’t force herself to live with a new reality, one in which Lucy didn’t believe her. One in which Lucy was asking questions, coming to her own conclusions.

“Cal? You alright?” Rosalee asked, leaning forward with a look of concern on her face.

Cal sucked in a breath. “Fine,” she managed. “Just fine.”

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