She's in love with me? That's why she's leaving? That's why she looks so sad when she looks at me? Because she's in love with me and doesn't have a clue I feel the same way about her?
I'm an idiot. Or whatever comes after idiot. All this time, all it would have taken to make her happy was to tell her that I'm crazy about her. Instead, I've made us both miserable for months. Made her want to leave.
"Summer, I–"
"I got the coffee pot, boss!"
Summer jumps at the sound of Tomas's voice, her cheeks flushing bright pink. I spin around to tell him to get out, but before I can, he's in front of me, shoving the box into my hands like it's the Stanley Cup.
"I got red because the last one was red," he says. "I hope that's okay. I can exchange it if you don't like it. I made them give me a receipt. I also had them email one."
Summer hops off my desk and squeezes past me, hurrying from the office.
I toss the coffee pot on my desk to go after her, but Tomas thrusts the receipt in my face, waving it like it's a winning lottery ticket. And as much as I want to tell him to get the hell out of my way so I can claim my girl, I can't. Because Summer was right. Tomas has crippling anxiety and developmental delays. He's close to thirty but has the mentality of a teenager. Despite it, he went out on his own and bought me a coffee pot because I asked him to do it. He deserves my appreciation and two minutes of my time.
I give it to him, telling him how proud of him I am and how great of a job he did.
"Thanks, boss man," he says, smiling from ear to ear when I give him a fist bump.
"Here." I grab the coffee pot off the desk and hand it to him. "Why don't you take this to Eva and ask her to help you get it set up? Since you got the pot, you get the first cup."
"Awesome!" he says.
I follow him out of my office, heading left while he goes right. I have to fight the urge to run to Summer's office and walk normally. Once I get there, I shove the door open without knocking. The lights are off and she's not inside. My heart sinks at the sight of the packing box sitting on top of her desk with half her shit in it. Her purse is missing from its customary hook.
"She's gone."
I spin around to see Liberty standing in the doorway to her office, watching me. My heart pounds, genuine fear pumping through my system. "Is she coming back?"
"She said she'd be back tomorrow," Liberty says.
Fuck. I have to find her. I have to tell her how I feel about her. And then I'm spanking her ass for running from me. And then I'm getting her pregnant and marrying her. Maybe not in that order, but those things are all definitely going to happen even if it takes me forever to win her forgiveness for not seeing what was right in front of me.
"Are you going to let her quit?"
"Hell no."
Liberty nods like she expected that. "She lives ten minutes from here," she says and then arches a brow, "but you already know that, don't you? You follow her home every day to make sure she gets there safely."
I nod, not bothering to deny it. Making sure Sumer is safe and happy is my job. Well, I want it to be my job. I may have already screwed up the making her happy part, but I haven't failed on the keeping her safe part.
"You're in love with her."
"Since the day I met her," I mumble, not denying that either. Liberty may be quiet, but she isn't the timid mouse everyone thinks she is. She has the courage of a lion when it counts. She's also observant and smart as hell. It's part of the reason I hired her.
"I know." Liberty smiles at me. "Everyone knows."
"They do?" I ask, surprised. No one has ever said anything or even hinted that they know I'm completely gone over the little redhead who made this place what it's become. I thought I was doing a good job keeping it under wraps. Apparently not.
"Yeah," Liberty says. "You're not as subtle as you think you are. Summer is the only one who doesn't know that you're crazy about her."
"I'm going to fix it," I promise.
"You better," Liberty says and then gives me a small smile. "Good luck."
Chapter Three
Summer