“And I can see why. You’re a great lady and I don’t say that just because you’re my girl. You’re a go-getter, a great friend, and a hard worker. What’s not to love about you?”
The fact that I’m soiled goods.
The words stuck in her throat. She couldn’t say them, no matter how much they rang loud in her mind. “You’re biased, but I love you anyway.” She walked over and leaned on the kitchen counter watching as he poured the eggs into the pan. A good meal might make her feel better, and improve her current mood. Might even go some way to ditch the headache from hell. “Let me deal with my own relationships, okay? I don’t meddle in your love life, so please leave mine alone.”
He held the spatula in his hand and stared at her, a smile on his face. “I don’t have a love life.”
“Well, maybe it’s time you did. We’re all grown up now. We don’t expect you to be sitting here waiting for us to need you.” Aggie picked at a nail, chipping the pink polish she really must remove before work tomorrow night. “Look at Gigi. She’s at least trying to have a life of her own. You should do the same. Start dating again, Dad. Find someone to make you happy.”
He leaned on the counter in front of her. “You kids make me happy. I’ve never wanted more than that.”
A door slammed, Forbes, and one of the twins, padded down the hall in boxer shorts, scrubbing at his face with his hands. “You making me breakfast, Dad? I’m starving.”
“I didn’t think I’d see you at this early, Forbes. You boys didn’t get in till some ridiculous hour.”
“At least I came home.” He glanced at his sister and grinned. “Fun night out, sis?” He wiggled his hips and pretended to croon to her.
She swiped at him but he swerved out of her way.
“Mind your own business.” Aggie missed the boys, but that didn’t give them the right to question or make fun of her.
Forbes laughed and took a glass from the cupboard over the sink and filled it with water. He leaned against the counter and drained it before refilling it. “Great wedding. Wish we could’ve talked Liam into singing more. That guy can belt out a tune.”
Their father shared a glance with Aggie. “He can. Always been great at parties. Drew was lucky to get him to move back here when he bought the practice. That boy had a stellar future on the mainland.”
She squirmed under her father’s gaze. “Dad, stop trying to sell me on him. I know he’s a super guy, okay? Just maybe not for me, not now.”
“How’s the bakery going, sis? Still making lots of dough?” Forbes chortled with laughter, oblivious to the death stare Aggie gave him. Her brothers could be so not-funny sometimes. Luckily they hadn’t changed because as much as they were annoying, familiarity was comforting. Not that she’d tell them that.
“If that’s all you’re learning in college, Dad’s wasting his money.” She grinned when a hint of pink washed over her little brother’s cheeks.
“I’m doing fine. My grades are good. What more can you ask for?”
Aggie shared a glance with her father. “Maybe an indication of where you plan to go from there would be good. You only have a year left, if that. Don’t you think it’s time you settled on a plan for the future?”
He bristled under her words. “No. You didn’t; why should I be any different?” Forbes put the glass in the sink. “You worked in a pub. I might do the same or I might go travelling. Take a year off.”
“I wouldn’t be counting on me to fund that, son. Paying for college is my limit. You want to go travelling, you’d better have the money in the bank. As for working in a pub like your sister did, I have no problem with that either but your brain needs more stimulation than that. Computer science is too good a career choice to take up a job in a pub because you can. I’d hate to see you waste your education pouring beers.”
Forbes pushed his hair from his face. “So it was okay for Aggie to do it and then end up making bread instead of having a life, but I can’t do the same? That sucks.” He stormed off to the bedroom and slammed the door.
“That went well.” Aggie poked at a scratch in the countertop. She couldn’t look her father in the eye. “Is that what you all think? That I have no life?”
“It seems to be the truth, honey. Last night was the first time you’ve been anywhere with anyone since you came home, and I’m betting if it wasn’t for the wedding, you never would’ve gone out at all.”
“That’s not true. I went out with Liam before the wedding.”
He held up the spatula like a baton. “Ah, but that was only because Drew wanted to discuss wedding plans. Admit it: it’s time you did something about your life.”
As much as the words pained her, Aggie knew they were true. She’d enjoyed the wedding. Even catching the flowers hadn’t fazed her as much as she thought it would. In a small corner of her heart, she’d held those flowers and the dream they inspired until reality had set in. Before she could get too emotional over them, she’d handed them to her Aunt Gigi.
“I like doing what I’m doing. I’m a successful businesswoman. What’s wrong with that?” She was being defensive and it irked her that she couldn’t control her attitude. “Would you rather I was still cleaning up after drunks?”
Her father turned off the stove top, moved the skillet off the heat, and looked at her. “What I would like is for you to stop locking yourself away and have more than your job. You’re too young to be turning your back on life, Aggie. I want to see you happy, not merely surviving.”
“I’m fine, Dad. There’s nothing wrong with me.”
Even as she said the words, Aggie wanted to scream out her frustrations. Here she was, two years later, and still she was punishing herself for one man’s deed. It wasn’t fair but no matter how much she dissected it, discussed it with April, she couldn’t move on and let the past be that. The past. It leaked into every single facet of her life, making her wary of even those she loved. It wasn’t fair and Aggie had no idea how to move on with her life.
Chapter 12
Liam walked the beach, his mood as gray as the clouds heading along the coastline. Last night had been amazing. Things couldn’t have gone any better if he’d planned it, and heaven knew he’d tried. The one thing he hadn’t allowed for was sleeping with Aggie and now he had to try and figure out how to make amends. She must be angry with him. Why else would she have snuck away before he woke up?
No note, no kiss goodbye. She must have been unimpressed with how the evening had gone. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, wondering if he should call her or send a text. He typed a message before he could overthink it.
Liam: Meet me at the beach. I have something I need to say to you. Please.
He clicked send and waited. And waited.
It wasn’t until he was giving up on her and in his car ready to go home that he got a reply.
Aggie: Okay
Liam put his head on the steering wheel. Thank goodness. He didn’t know what he’d have done if she didn’t answer. Maybe go to the house and call her out? Not likely.
He waited until he saw her walking down the road toward him and got out of his car. By the time she made it to the beach, he was leaning against his vehicle, hoping he wasn’t coming across as needy.
* * *
“What did you want to say?” Gosh, she sounded bitchy this morning.
Sweat beaded on his top lip and he gripped his fingers together. “That I’m sorry. I never should’ve taken advantage of you last night.”
For goodness sake. It wasn’t him; it was her. She was the one who’d insisted on going to his place and having her way with him. “You didn’t. If anyone took advantage, it was me and you know it. This is your sweet nature trying to take the blame for something you had no control over.”
He straightened his shoulders. “No. I want to apologize for last night regardless.” He held his hand up. “Let me say it, please, Aggie. I should never have gone along with you no matter how much you insisted. I know you were only doing it t
o try and prove to yourself that you could. Not because you love me like I love you. I was your test subject and as much as I didn’t protest at the time, I don’t appreciate being used. I want to mean something to you, Aggie, like I used to.”
“What?”
He held his hands out to her. “I love you and you love me. Admit it.”
She stared at him with her mouth open. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? And suddenly she could barely breathe.
“Is that it?” She really was such a bitch but Aggie couldn’t help it. He was saying all the right things and she hated that he knew her so well. Had she always been so transparent?
“No, that’s not ‘it.’ I love you; I always have and you know that. That’s why you got me to take you back to my place.” He gazed at her with pleading eyes. “You feel safe with me, I guess. I want to know what happened to make you change. I need to know so I can help you heal. Because I want the old Aggie back.”
That Aggie was gone.
“The cheeky girl who would always stand up for herself and take what she wanted. The one who didn’t let anyone stand in her way when she wanted something.
“And last night you wanted me as much as I wanted you. Even if you refuse to admit it today. I want that Aggie back. Not the woman you are now, hiding away in the bakery because that’s easier than facing the world or her problems. I want the woman you were last night if only for a moment. Not the one who couldn’t wait to rip my clothes off as if she had to prove something. I want the one who made love to me when her defenses were down and I could see the real her. The soft Aggie, the scared and vulnerable Aggie who looked into my eyes last night when we made love and showed me how she really felt. The Aggie who loves me.”
“She doesn’t exist anymore.”
He got right up so close she could see the individual hairs in his eyebrows and the flicker of brown in his gorgeous blue eyes. “Why? Tell me why.”
“No. It doesn’t matter. None of that matters anymore.” God strike her down for lying to him but the alternative was worse.
Liam grabbed her arms and pulled her against his chest. “It does. It all matters to me. I want you back, Aggie, and I’ll do anything I can to get you.”
He kissed her hair and she wanted to melt against him, let him take away all of her troubles. But nobody could fix her—not even Liam. She was too broken.
She whispered into his shoulder, hating herself for saying the words out loud. “She’s gone. That girl is long gone and this one doesn’t need anyone.”
His arms fell to his side and a chill shivered over her body. She’d lost him in that moment and it was like another piece of her had been stolen.
The ache in her chest was only surpassed by the pain in his eyes. She’d dashed his dreams, torn his heart out, and she’d never forgive herself for being so mean when all she wanted to do was beg him to make her feel better.
“I’m sorry, Liam. You’ll never know how much.” She turned and ran up the path toward the Hope family home, turning her back on his anguish.
Chapter 13
“I don’t feel well, Doc. Thought I’d better come in and see you, get a check-up.”
“Let’s take a look at you, Mr. Drummond. We’ll start with your vitals and take it from there.” Liam stood and grabbed his stethoscope as his patient undid his shirt buttons. “When did you start to feel unwell?” He listened to the man’s heartbeat. Sounded perfectly fine to Liam. All within normal boundaries.
“Last night. Had my dinner and sat down to watch the television and I got a headache. Thought it’d be gone by this morning but it’s still there, like a steel band around my head.”
“That’s not good.” Liam put down his stethoscope and picked up the otoscope to look into the old man’s eyes. After that, he took his blood pressure and waited for the figures to come up. “Everything looks normal. Have you had a fall or tripped over anything lately? Lifted something heavy that might have given you a sore neck or back pain? The headache could be related to an injury somewhere else in your body.”
“Not a thing.” The old man shook his head and winced before doing up his shirt buttons.
“No cold or flu-like symptoms?”
“No.”
Liam thought fast. “I think we might run some blood tests and see what comes up. Take some pain reliever and if it’s not better tomorrow, I want you back here again, okay? An X-ray might be the next step but I’d like to see what comes up in the blood work first. I need to rule out viruses like the flu as well.”
“Sure thing, Doc. Thanks.” Mr. Drummond shook Liam’s hand and walked out. With no other patients listed for the day, Liam sat down at his desk to put notes into the man’s file and look over his past medical history for anything he may have missed when he heard a dull thump and the receptionist screamed his name.
He bolted down the hall to the front of the clinic to find Mr. Drummond in a heap on the floor. Liam rolled him onto his back and checked his vital signs. No sign of breathing, nor a heartbeat. He started CPR. “Call the ambulance.”
Paramedic Amelia Blue put a consoling hand on his arm a short time later. “Sorry, Liam. There’s nothing we can do. He’s gone.”
“But he just walked out of my room minutes before he collapsed. I don’t understand it. I checked everything.” Surely he’d missed something. Liam couldn’t think of anything; he was so shocked to lose a patient like this.
“I know you did. You’re always very thorough, and I believe you did your best. But we’ll have to wait and see what the coroner says. You tried to revive him. We both did, so don’t let that derail you. It might be something that nobody could have predicted. It’s possible nothing would’ve saved him.” She patted him on the back.
It didn’t make him feel any better when the man who’d come to him for help lay dead in front of him. “I understand, but I feel terrible. Like I missed something obvious.” He ran his hand over the back of his head and paced the room as the other paramedic took the stretcher out to the waiting ambulance.
“According to what you told me, you did everything right. There wasn’t anything else you could’ve done. Even if you wanted to admit him to hospital, which you had no reason to do, he wouldn’t have made it.”
“Thanks but none of it makes me feel any better.” Liam held out his hand and shook hers. “Thanks for coming so soon.” He glanced at the door as Officer Ben Symonds walked in.
“Liam. Amelia.” Ben nodded to the receptionist too.
“Come in, Ben.”
“I would’ve been here earlier but I was on a call. Heard you lost someone.”
Amelia waved and headed to the door. “I’ll leave you guys to it. Talk later.” She walked out, leaving Liam to discuss the death with the policeman.
“Come on down to my office, Ben.”
When they were sitting down, Ben pulled out his notebook. “Tell me what happened.”
Liam began to talk and when he was finished, Ben said exactly the same thing as Amelia. “Don’t rush into laying the blame on yourself. We need to wait for the coroner’s report. I’ll go and see Mr. Drummond’s wife and give her the bad news. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No. I’ll be all right, but thanks.”
Ben stood and paused before he walked out. “You be at home later?”
“Yeah, I guess. Why?”
“Thought maybe we could have a chat.”
“Look, if it’s about my conduct, can we do it now?”
Ben looked around. “No. It’s personal. Not sure this is the right time though.”
Liam ran a hand over his head and blew out a breath. “Spit it out, dude.”
“So, you and Aggie finally got it together, eh?”
Liam shook his head. Ben knew Liam’s feelings for Aggie. “Not a chance. As much as I wish it were so, apparently not.”
Ben cocked his head. “I don’t get it. She was all over you when you guys left the wedding and I happened to see her walking home early the day after
. I would’ve offered her a lift but Bradley started talking to her and I left it alone.”
“Seems it was just a fling. Emotions high and all that crap.” Liam sat back in his chair. “Something happened to make her the sad person she is, Ben, and I don’t understand it. It’s like she’s hiding from someone or something and I can’t get through to her.”
“Can’t Drew talk to her, or April? They’ve been besties forever.”
Liam shook his head. “No. I doubt that would help. April knows, and is keeping whatever it is close to her chest.”
Ben slid his notebook back into his pocket. “I don’t get it. I thought you two would end up together. Seemed like you were made for each other.”
“I thought so too but I guess I was wrong.” Seemed to be his lot lately.
“Did you know she’s signed up for the classes? I saw her name on the list.”
“Good. At least I’ve managed to do something right then.”
Ben raised an eyebrow.
“I told her it would be a good idea and apparently it must have made an impact, unlike my attempts to tell her I loved her.”
Ben smiled. “Don’t give up, Liam. Not if you really feel that way.” Ben put his pen in his pocket. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Sure. Thanks.” Liam leaned back in his chair as the policeman walked out and closed the door behind him.
Chapter 14
Lauren called out to Aggie, who was changing out of her work gear in the back room a few days later before going home. “You have a visitor.”
Aggie wiped her hands on her apron, threw it over a hook, and walked out to the front of the shop. “Bradley, I was about to leave. What’re you doing here?”
He gazed into her display cabinet. “Deciding which one of these lovely pastries to take up to your father for morning coffee. What’s his favorite?”
Don't Let Go (Hope Harbor Book 3) Page 9
