“Baby, you have only missed a few days of your life,” I assured her softly. “You don’t have to chase anything or fix anything.”
Once more, she spun to face me, her smile wobbling slightly. “When you’ve lived the life that I have, Superman, missed days can feel like an eternity.”
It was a sucker punch to the gut. I nodded. “I understand that. Maybe not completely, but to some extent, beautiful, I do.”
She stared at me for some time. “When you’re ready to give me that, I’ll be here.” She paused before repeating the words I’d told her when I was buried inside her. “I can’t take it, Hayes. You have to give it.”
Then she went into the kitchen to grab a water bottle before walking down the hall. It was only when she turned the shower on that I released the air in my lungs, a small twinge of panic poking me in my side. An annoying reminder that even though I knew her darkness, she had yet to venture into mine.
Part of me was still unsure whether I should let her.
“Oh, thank God!”
Margo stiffened beside me, immediately leaning in as Sarah’s cry filled the entirety of the bookstore, which was currently filled with angry-looking customers, the scent of burnt coffee in the air. We’d come through the back, and the second I pulled open the door, the awful scent hit us and my woman looked horrified.
All heads turned to us, some poking out from the stacks, curiosity painting their faces as they looked at me and then Margo. A few pairs of eyes dropped down to our joined hands, studying them for a moment. Finally, an older woman in a bright pink knitted cap and baby blue pea coat threw her hands in the air. “You mean to tell me that I haven’t had my coffee tasting right all week because Miss Sass went and found some hunk?” she asked, whirling and pointing a finger at Rossy. He looked up from his book behind the register and assessed the scene. His eyes landed on Margo, doing a double take on her makeup, then flicking up to my eyes. I gave him a subtle nod.
The old lady turned back to Sarah. “Sweet child, it’s time to leave the espresso counter and return to the books. Miss Sass is back, and I can finally have my oat milk Americano.”
I leaned down toward Margo. “Americanos don’t have milk,” I whispered.
“Mrs. Lambknots’ does,” she mumbled.
“Why does she call you Miss Sass?”
Margo looked at me, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Because she wanted me to marry her son, a heart surgeon in Seattle,” she explained. “We went on a date once, but it only lasted twenty-minutes because as we were walking to the car, he tried to grab my ass.”
Now, it was my turn to stiffen. “Excuse me?” I asked, voice low.
She waved me off. “Don’t worry, Top Gun, I handled it. Anyway, I stomped on his foot with my brand-new heels, hit him in the throat, and went back inside. The next day, she came in with a sour look on her face and said, ‘Apparently, you’re too sassy for my boy.’”
I stared at her as she just kept going, ignoring the rest of the store as they either listened or moved to stand in line at the coffee bar, waiting patiently for her magic. She blew out her cheeks on a sigh and shrugged. “I highly doubt he told her what he did to me—and I to him in retaliation—but now she calls me that and I think her jackass of a son is still single. But she is all alone in this town and barely sees him, and I don’t have the heart to tell her about that. So I just let her tease me.” She paused and looked over to the counter. “When she comes in, she always puts a ten or a twenty in the tip jar for me.”
I couldn’t respond because Sarah was there, crashing into Margo, her face wet with tears. Margo shot me a wince as she returned her friend’s hug, both of them shaking due to Sarah’ssobs. Margo put her hand on the back of Sarah’s head, stroking her light brown hair. “I’m okay,” she whispered.
“Promise me,” Sarah demanded. The sound was muffled, but the meaning was there, sharp as a knife.
Margo not wanting to tell her friends about her past was her business, a boundary of her choosing. But I knew she could only go so long before the lies started catching up with her. Now, I was here, watching it in real time as she stood at a crossroads. Bury it and lie or uncover it with the truth and release it.
A voice I hadn’t heard in a long time sounded off in my head like a war cry.
Same goes for you too, asshole.
Grinding my teeth, I tore my eyes from the women just in time to find Dominic stepping through the front door. His dark eyes met mine as he adjusted his hold on the giant duffel over his shoulder. Mrs. Lambknot was now looking at him, mouth open. Then she turned to another local and muttered something. Both women nodded in feverish agreement.
“Sarah,” Margo wheezed, patting her back. “I have to go make coffee before the locals start rioting.”
She lifted her head and wiped her eyes as she smiled at me. “Hello, Hayes.”
I tipped my head to her, returning the smile. “Sarah.”
Her brown eyes lingered on my smile for a moment before she snapped out of it and turned to Margo. “Please take care of that line before I set this building on fire. I need to go take care of the shipment from yesterday.”
“Where’s Cardinal?”
“She had a wedding dress appointment with Pam this morning. Carrie wants Pam to design it for her.”
Margo clicked her tongue, impressed. “Hell yeah to Pam.”