Page 38 of In the Long Run
‘Maybe a raise too.’
‘Is there money for that?’he asks, seamlessly showcasing once again that maybe he really is a great guy.
‘Not yet.’
Knox rolls his lips inside his mouth before speaking again.‘Was that okay?’
‘The run?Yeah, it felt good—’
‘No,’ he murmurs.‘I meant the interview.What I said.It wasn’t too much?Did it sound believable?’
‘Oh.’I fuss with my hair, swiping the sweaty strands away from my forehead, hiding from his eyes as my newfound confidence evaporates.For a second, I’d forgotten what we were really doing.‘Of course.It was great.This is the plan, right?’
He nods uncertainly.
‘Looks like if we can keep it up, this could really work.’
‘Keeping it up is good,’ he says, nodding.
‘I’m sure that’s never been a problem for you.’The words spill out before I can stop them, my mouth taking the reins like it always does when I’m flustered.
Knox’s mouth quirks as my insides liquify from mortification.What is wrong with me?
‘As soon as I said it, I knew what was coming,’ Knox jokes, but his smile only lasts for a second.
‘I’m not normally like this,’ I insist, which is ridiculous because I’m constantly like this around him.
‘Sure.’He lifts his arm like he’s about to put it around my shoulders before dropping it back to his side.God, we’re more awkward than twelve-year-olds at a school dance.‘Should we talk about how all of this is going to go?’he asks.‘You know, set some ground rules?Where the line is, et cetera?I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.’
Boundaries are definitely a good idea or I’ll end up back in the place I promised myself I’d never return to.The one where I look like a fool because I listened to my heart instead of my head.
And falling for the guy who’s only here temporarily?
That’s got foolish written all over it.
15
KNOX
Alizée’s is filled with people.
‘How can I help?’I ask a harried Celeste, who is behind the counter, still in her running gear.Today’s jumper has a giant peach underneath the word ‘Nice’.
‘Get my apron from out the back, please.Apparently, it’s impossible to look at this jumper and not make a face and/or say something dumb.’
The protective beast that lives inside my chest raises its head.‘Everyone being polite?’
Celeste rolls her eyes.‘Yeti’s already told off a couple of dude bros who were being gross.’
‘Good.I’ll be right back.’
I unlock the gated part of the counter and rush down the pale-blue and white chequered hallway to the back room.It’s exactly how I remember.A bank of lockers on the left, a rack for aprons underneath a whitewashed sign that says‘la pâtisserie c’est la vie’and the small wooden table and chairs I used to sit at to do my homework.
I lift Celeste’s apron off the hook with her name above it and freeze.At the very end, the name label faded yellow and curling at the edges, is my old apron.Not that I ever did any baking here.Eug made me wear it to serve customers and clean.He was always adamant that I feel like a member of the team.
Impulsively, I grab it and lift it over my head.I press my nose against the denim, breathing in the lemony scent of Eugene’s washing powder.It smells like home.Like memories.Like there’s no hard feelings, even though I got the hell out of here as soon as I could and, as I’m beginning to realise, stayed away for far too long.But the bit that makes my breath catch is the fact that it’s clean.Waiting for me to come home when I’m ready.
I blink and run a hand under my nose as I clear my throat.In the distance, glass shatters.I shake off the nostalgia and spring into action.
