Sophie toed off her shoes the minute she walked in her front door, slinging her bag to the ground and sighing gratefully. Today was clearly not the day to wear the cute shoes – today was a day for heavy duty sneakers what with all the walking, climbing and sorting she did at work today.
She wandered into the kitchen, half hoping to see Daniel slaving away at the stove – preferably wearing just an apron and nothing else – but saw nothing out of the ordinary. A glance out the window confirmed that no lights were on across the lane either.
Sophie sighed slightly.
She wasn't going to be that girl. The clingy one that wants a phone call or another date within hours of the last one ending.
It was tacky.
Squaring her shoulders, she opened the fridge with a pop, pulling out a bottle of barley water and some leftover pasta. She sat at the table in the half darkness, eating quietly when she started to smile.
Matt had been practically GLOWING when he got back from lunch, she thought smugly. I knew it was a good plan.
At 11:45, Sophie had – very dramatically, she thought – stumbled into the front of the shop and announced that she felt a migraine coming on, and that it would be best if she didn't go to lunch today. But instead, why didn't Matt go so that Kat didn't feel stood up while she went home to take some medicine? No, really, she'd said. I insist…
Matt had agreed, grudgingly and with a little fear of being on his own with Kat, but he'd gone with only a little hesitation.
Sophie had instead locked the shop for lunch and spent a blissful hour ensconced in an upstairs chair, nibbling on a sandwich she'd brought and reading.
When Matt had come back after more than an hour, she knew her plan was a success. He talked a mile a minute, relaying to Sophie all the things he and Kat had talked about, how sweet and kind Kat was…
How… how pretty she was, he had said shyly.
Sophie would have danced a jig in the middle of the store if she wasn't still pretending to have a headache.
Oh yeah, Sophie thought now, the plan was ON.
**
Sophie hated herself as she kept glancing out the window at Daniel's house as she got ready to go to work the next morning.
She really wasn't that stalker girl, but now she was a bit worried. It had been a day since she'd seen Daniel, which wasn't like him at all. With so much to do at the farm, and what with playing hooky the day before, it wasn’t like him to continue to shirk his duties – he had too much invested, too much pride for that.
Sophie jumped a bit as she pulled on her shoes, seeing an unfamiliar car pull into Daniel's front drive, and a short, stocky man get out. He moved around the courtyard with familiarity, getting out an enormous bag of food to feed Dex, tugging on the barn door to check on the animals, and generally bustling around.
It wasn't like Daniel to give away responsibility either, Sophie thought in puzzlement.
Something weird was going on, but unfortunately, she had her own job to worry about this morning.
She'd have to worry about Daniel and his mystery employee later.
**
Every time the door opened with the tinkling of the bell all day, Sophie's head shot up, expecting to see Daniel smiling and waving at her.
But it never was.
Instead, the store was quite busy throughout the day, and Sophie found herself making endless pots of coffee and chatting with customers about potential finds in the stacks, or certain titles that were being sought, how she might be able to help them find that perfect book.
It was all so satisfying, except for that nagging edge of unease she felt all day.
She really hoped this… whatever… with Daniel wasn't over before it started.
To just leave a scrap of paper of a note, and then to disappear… that was a little dramatic, a little cowardly.
She was a big girl – she could handle it.
If it was just a fling for him, then so be it.
She'd still have her dignity.
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