I was not feeling well, and the longer that I was up on my feet, the worse I was getting. My declining health was throwing a huge hiccup into my plans. But I figured it wasn’t such a horrible thing. It was, after all, only a minor setback. I could talk to my boss once I was better. So, instead of what I wanted to do, I decided to focus on what I needed to do, and that was figuring out a way to feel better.
I pulled into the gas station’s parking lot, and I noticed a woman standing against the trunk of her car. She smiled at Guy, pulling in behind me. I frowned. She must have been the woman Guy claimed wasn’t his girlfriend. Yet, with the way she smiled at him, I had even more reason to stay firm in my decision.
The bastard continued to expect me to believe the two of them were nothing more than friends. What a liar. I glared at him before I stepped inside the store. The sooner I can get home, the sooner I can move on with my life. And I was even more of a fool for showing him an ounce of mercy. I should have told him to stay back instead of following me.
The bell chimed as I stepped in. My boss emerged from the office. He was a large man, balding, and had a sweat stain centering around the neck of his shirt. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Stuck at my brother’s cabin, thanks to the storm,” I said.
“You couldn’t have called?” he asked.
“Battery died,” I said. “Didn’t have my charger with me, and this is the first chance I got to leave.”
I beelined to the isle with the crackers, then the one with the Pepto before making my way to the soda cooler and grabbing a bottle of sprite. The quicker I could get this trip over with, the sooner I would be able to slide into my bed for some solid, healing sleep.
“You don’t look so hot,” he said. “Are you okay?”
I cast my gaze toward him and nodded. “I will be soon.”
My curiosity was getting the better of me, and I found myself looking out the front of the store, watching the woman and Guy interact. She passed a bag to him, and then they hugged. While Guy climbed back in his truck and drove off, the woman didn’t.
She stayed and stared at the front of the store with a look of determination filling her face.
I dropped my gaze as my heart skipped a beat and I sucked in a breath. I held my breath as I silently prayed that she wasn’t planning on walking inside. Because, if she did that, then I had little doubts about her approaching me. The last thing I needed was his girlfriend trying to convince me she wasn’t his girlfriend.
No more lies.
And even as I stared at her, I felt a pang of jealousy. She was blond. Pretty. All the things that made me uncomfortable. All the things that only helped prove they were more than friends.
Never mind it didn’t make sense for her to approach me at all. Still, I didn’t want to talk to her. I wanted to go home, sleep off this stomach bug and resume my life.
I grabbed the things I needed and started heading toward the register as the woman entered the store.
“Hi,” she said.
I met her gaze and smiled politely. “Hi.”
“I’m Cassidy,” she said.
I nodded as I sat my things on the counter. “I’m Cadence.”
“I know,” she said. “Guy told me.”
My stomach clenched. I groaned. I really don’t want anything else to do with this woman.
She was kind enough, though. But she didn’t take a hint very well. I wasn’t interested in talking with her. I just wanted to grab my things and go home before I threw up and I didn’t want to go through all of that.
“Not feeling well?” she asked as I leaned against the counter, squeezing my eyes closed.
“No,” I said. “I’m not feeling well at all.”
“That sucks. Well, it was nice to meet you,” she said. “Guy told me a lot about you.”
I nodded. “Uh-huh. I’m sure he did.”
The absolutely last thing I ever wanted to do, especially at that particular moment, was talk about that infuriating man.
“Welp… I hope you feel better soon,” she said and walked out the door.