Page 115 of Love What's Left
My mouth falls open slightly at the audacity. I laugh and scrunch my nose. “Really? Weird.”
I watch him squirm and tilt my head to the side. “I took the locker with the sticky latch, farthest from the door, to leave the better ones for you guys. Why would you move to the worst locker here?
The nearly purple hue of Rob’s face and neck can’t be safe. Dude looks about to stroke out in front of us. “I liked being closer to the window. Amelia wanted my locker.”
“I wish you’d told me that before. I’d have happily traded. It would have been a good motivation for me to have the latch replaced. It was one of those things.” I lean forward and plant my elbow on the counter and my chin on my palm. “Irritating, but I could never be bothered to do anything about it. Do you know what I mean?”Do you hear the threat, Rob?
Rob grunts an acknowledgment.
I splay my hand on the cool counter and inhale through my nose slowly, focusing on the sensory input. “Well, Rob, go ahead and walk me through these changes you’ve made. You can explain why they function better than the old way. You know I’m all about progress.”
“Oh my God, the new guy at the deli downstairs is so slow—”
Right on time, the woman who just walked through the door halts abruptly when she realizes Rob isn’t here alone. “Oh.”
Gabriel and I both turn to face Amelia Webster.
39
Gabriel
“Hi, Amelia,” Sydney says.
Amelia freezes, her gaze dragging over my wife. Then she plasters on a happy smile and throws herself at Sydney with a squeal. “You’re back at work? Really? You should have told me you were coming.”
Amelia bounces and rocks Sydney in her arms.
I knew when Sydney told me she’d try to keep her co-workers at arm’s length that this was a possibility. Sydney can’t reject her hug without looking suspicious. And if Webster catches on to us, she could turn on her in a heartbeat.
If Amelia attacked on a fair playing field, Sydney from a year ago would have wiped the floor with her. But this Sydney needs a nap after ten minutes of soccer with the niblings.
My wife eases out of her arms.
“Are you back for good?” Amelia asks.
Sydney shakes her head. “Not yet. Just thought I’d stop by and say hello since I was in the neighborhood.”
Rob scowls and opens his mouth to call her out for lying to him earlier, then shuts it with a snap when he catches sight of the warning in my eyes.
Amelia throws out her arms like a performer on stage. “Well, hello there. And, sorry I had to leave your birthday party early last weekend. Rob was my ride, and you know what a stick in the mud he is,” she says, lowering her last words by an octave, teasing censure in her laughing head wobble and singsong voice.
Sydney glances at Rob, then back at Amelia. “You missed some drama at the end.”
Amelia’s face doesn’t show a hint of genuine surprise. “Oh, no. You had a relapse? I knew the party was going to be too much for you. You shouldn’t push yourself so hard. It’s not worth it.”
“I’m okay. Come here, you,” Sydney says.
Dave and I both tense as she pulls Amelia back into one of those rocking hugs.What the fuck is she doing?It’s one thing to have been unable to refuse her without raising suspicion. It’s another thing entirely to deliberately step into danger. I move close enough that I can rip Amelia away from her if it becomes necessary and meet Sydney’s eyes over Amelia’s shoulder. “You promised to be careful,”I mouth.
Sydney gives the tiniest hint of a cringe.
Amelia visibly relaxes in her arms and sniffles. “I’ve been so worried about you since everything happened. Don’t feel like you have to push yourself to come back here too soon. It’s not like you have to work.”
“That’s so kind of you,” Sydney says in a choked voice.
Jaw ticking and eyes narrowed, I keep my attention on Amelia and Rob. Assess their posture. Evaluate the threat.
Amelia laughs wetly through a small sob. “I know I’m being sappy, but my friends are important to me.”