Page 79 of The Secret
Micah:I had a sense of humor. I just didn’t find you funny.
Con:You didn’t WANT to find me funny. But you did.
Micah:Still deluded. Later, babe?
Con:Count on it.
* * *
But of course, the fucking rain didn’t come that afternoon. It didn’t come while I was cutting grass, or when I’d stopped by to re-seed the Osmans’ front lawn. Didn’t come until I’d parked the truck outside the Ross Landscaping office, turned in my paperwork for billing, and jumped in my new car to head back to town.
Thenit had poured.
Of fucking course.
Con:Be there in five. Hope you’re home! lol.
Con:You are still home, right?
Con:Micah?
Awesome. I sighed and slid the phone away.
I drove down the darkened street, past the empty fairgrounds where the market had been, and the yellow, nighttime glow of the shop in the center of town. Jamie Burke had made a comment at breakfast about this being the perfect weather to stay home, and it seemed like maybe the rest of O’Leary felt the same way, especially since the storm that had held off all day was coming down in sheets now.
Shit. Where to park? I sure as fuck didn’t wanna park all the way down at the station; I’d drown on the walk to Blooms. So I drove around the block, down Firehouse, and into the back alley that ran behind the stores. I pulled into a spot behind Spinning Jenny’s and called it good.
I noticed Julian’s old car up on cinder blocks behind his clinic, but his SUV was gone.Likely out with his boyfriend.
Micah’s truck and the van were parked in his spots, though, which meant he’d probably been ignoring me. Maybe he was more annoyed at the change of plans than I’d thought.
Double awesome.
I locked my car and darted through the rain to the back door of Blooms. I raised my hand to knock… and found the door was already open, just a crack.
Okay, so at least he was expecting me.
Shivering, I stepped into the back room. All the lights were off. The metal table in the center of the room reflected the low light from outside.
“Micah?” I took a step into the room, and my sneakers squeaked against the floor. My jeans were damp against my legs and water ran down my hair into the collar of my sweatshirt. “Where are—?”
The door slammed closed behind me and the light from the stairway leading to Micah’s apartment turned on.
I whirled around, my heart racing, and found Micah standing there, arms folded over his chest, watching me. He was wearing jeans and the olive-green t-shirt he knew I liked best—the one that fit across his broad chest like a second skin and made his eyes stand out.
I nearly swallowed my tongue.
I was also so startled I clapped a hand to my bosom like Ihada fucking bosom.
I scowled and snatched my hand away. “Jesus. What’s with the drama?”
“You’re late.”
Heart still pounding like I’d been jump-scaredbecause I had, I riffled my fingers through my wet hair. “Yeah, I know. I texted you earlier that I wasn’t gonna be able to—”
Micah took a step forward. “You’re late.”
I blinked and took a second to finally, belatedly, notice the expression on Micah’s face—the heat in his eyes, the set of his jaw. A chill chased up my spine that had nothing to do with the water.
