Chapter Three

Victor

Five hours into the shift after the long weekend and Nese had been unusually quiet towards me. Had something happened between her and Denton? She was usually really chatty about what they'd been up to, especially as she'd had four days off.

There was definitely something off with her, she wasn't acting like her usual self around me, and I'd racked my brain to figure out why.

Stomach acting like I'd poured a whole jar of jumping beans down my throat, I coughed to draw her attention when we had a lull, deciding to take the initiative. "You okay, Nese?"

She picked up an empty tray and gave me an abrupt nod before disappearing through the door into the kitchen area.

Okay then, something was definitely up.

What had I done to piss her off?

It had to be me. I couldn't interpret it any other way when I heard her laughing in the kitchen with Leeson no more than thirty seconds later.

Unable to follow as Leeson and Garrett didn't like the shop left unattended, I took the time to replenish some trays, working on not letting my hurt feelings overwhelm me. Therapy and gaining back my independence had gone a long way to help me not take life's shit so personally after Davey's treatment. However, that didn't help with this type of situation.

I chewed my lower lip between my teeth as I added more popular chocolates to the display that we kept under the counter. It had been a busy morning but as usual, getting towards the mid-afternoon, things had died down. We'd shut in an hour, then sort the email orders that needed to be boxed for shipping. Would Nese talk to me then?

Circling around the reasons for this change in Nese's behavior, it didn't register right away that someone had come into the shop until I glanced up, nearly dropping the box I held in my hands when I met a pair of attractive dark eyes that gleamed with humor. Today, he came in dressed in his EMT uniform of black combat trousers and navy and black short-sleeved cotton top. There was no sign of his jacket and I couldn't tell if he'd just finished his shift or was heading to work.

"Hey. If you're looking for Nese, she's out the back," I mumbled, blushing as I placed the box down. My fingers trembled at the lazy smile that hit me in ways that kept the oxygen in the place from moving where it needed to be.

Denton leaned on the counter next to the cash register looking windswept and so damn attractive it actually hurt to look and restrain the urge to reach out and touch the way I wanted to.

He belongs to Nese.

He belongs to Nese.

Listen and behave.

It was hard to pretend there wasn't a desperate edge to my inner voice. Why did I have to fall for the guy who was already seeing someone, and a female, to boot? I'd asked myself this countless times, ever since I'd taken an interest in the possibility of dipping my toe back in the dating pool again. Three years and so much had changed. I had changed and maybe the dating app Ollie, Lesson's original flatmate and now mine, had encouraged me to sign me up for would help. I was getting desperate enough to try anything.

"Nope. How was your weekend off?"

His words stopped any other thoughts, and I blinked at him in confusion. Nope? Did that mean he'd come in for another reason? Brain playing catch up with how I was jumping to all sorts of conclusions to the reply when married with Nese's behavior, I repeated like a fool, "How was my weekend?"

If it was possible, the grin he wore got bigger, drawing attention to his full, dark pink lips and white teeth. "Yeah, your weekend. Did you do something fun?"

It got asked so casually, only it didn't quite match the look of expectation he wore. It was almost as if he was… concerned about my reply when the crinkles sat at the sides of his eyes deepened. Although besides that, I couldn't say why I considered he was concerned about my reply. It wasn't like I could report I'd got hot and sweaty doing naked gymnastics or anything. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd done anything exciting.

Why am I thinking about naked gymnastics in front of Denton?

Nervously, I scratched my head, then noticed I was wearing the plastic gloves we used to touch the chocolate with. I groaned, blushed, and peeled them off to throw them into the bin.

I shrugged and walked to the bin for something to do, and to hide my embarrassment while I confessed, "I went over to the Gallery to help Ollie set up for the exhibition of the new artist that they're previewing from tomorrow."

Movement out of the corner of my eye drew my attention back to the gorgeous guy who came a little forward, his forearms bulging as he rested on them on the counter, showing more than a causal interest in me. Or that's how it came across.

Desperate.

Totally and utterly desperate.

I hated that the inner voice was right and glanced back to the door, worried Nese would come back any second and see… what?

"I've seen the flyers for the opening for tomorrow… are you going?"

Again, his appearance was all casual… but it wasn't, and the pause was very noticeable. I'd gotten to know him. Study him—in a totally non-stalkerish way. Was I reading too much into this after Nese's odd behavior?

"Yeah, Ollie got me a ticket. You know, for helping him out. Should be cool. The artist has never done a public show before, but he's really popular online selling his stuff. Ollie says he's been a recluse for over a decade."

Denton frowned as he rested more fully onto his arms, getting close enough I could scent his cologne. "I'd not heard that. I wonder what changed?"

"Not sure. But his artwork is stunning. He doesn't just work in one medium. He paints, sculpts, and does glass work. There is this small blue-green glass bottle. So small, I'm not sure what you'd use it for, but it's absolutely captivating when the light hits it. Every time I look at it, I could see different, unique patterns." A blush heated my cheeks when Denton tipped his head to the side, giving me a thoughtful look.

"Are you going to buy it?" he asked after a long moment.

I shook my head. "It's an entire month's pay, and I got to save up extra cash now I'm going on the wedding cruise."

"You got an invitation to the cruise wedding of the year? How cool. Should be fun."

The door creaked behind me and I glanced over my shoulder, offering an over bright smile to Nese as she appeared.

Her gaze traveled between me and Denton and something that looked akin to pain flashed in her eyes before it was gone.

"Hi," she murmured, not moving from her position in the doorway, letting all the heavenly scents waft into the shop, along with the sounds of Leeson and Garrett chatting.

"How are you?" Denton asked, standing straight, no longer appearing comfortable as he tugged at the hem of his cotton top as if to straighten it.

Was that a weird question to ask his girlfriend?

"I'm okay, you?" Nese's gaze moved once more between us and lingered a little longer on me before it returned to Denton.

"Was a busy one which no one in my business can say is good. But no one died, so there's that." His deep voice changed, and the timbre reflected the somber response.

"At least there's that," Nese responded, looking awkward as she remained in the doorway.

It became my turn to look between them, assessing what I was missing. Because evidently I was missing something by the way they were behaving towards each other. Almost like… strangers.

"I suppose I better head off," said Denton, glancing at me with a look in his eyes I couldn't fathom.

"Oh…" I looked at the counter and the sweets. "Did you want something?"

He shook his head. "It can wait." He waved at us and a second later, disappeared out the door.

An uncomfortable silence followed as I reached for more plastic gloves, hoping someone would come into the shop and help shift the strange atmosphere.

As I moved to continue what I'd been doing before Denton's arrival, I gave Nese a sideways glance. "Are you… alright?"

My timid question got an arched brow in response, then Nese's shoulders slumped and she wore a defeated look. Her eyes gleamed with tears as she spoke, "We broke up."

Oh shit!

"I'm so sorry," I said, going to slip an arm around her shoulder in a move I'd done a hundred times before. Only this time, she moved away and went in the opposite direction. I dropped my arm and felt my lips tremble at the obvious rejection.

"Yeah, well…" She picked up another tray and headed back towards the kitchen. "It happens. There's not much to say, is there! He doesn't love me and he made no promises."

She dashed through the door, making it swing closed as I stared open-mouthed.

Oh…