Page 132 of A Beastologist's Field Notes of Fated Affection
Over the last couple of days, I had called Liam several times, desperate to tell him everything that had happened. To apologize and beg for his forgiveness. But there was never an answer.
Discouraged, I threw myself into renovations, spending most of my free time at the clinic painting, fixing pieces of old trim and ordering supplies I would need. Perhaps he was busy, as I knew his semester was ending around the same time as mine, and knowing him, he was drowning in grading final exams because he probably waited until the last minute.
I laughed to myself as I pictured him in his office late at night, three cups of coffee deep with that unruly hair of his. With those glasses he was always adjusting, framing those emerald eyes that made my heart skip a beat every time he looked at me.
With a sigh, I continued swiping my paint brush on the wall in a small office just off the back room. I’d chosen a dark, dusty rose color, a hue that calmed me and wrapped in a warm hug. A stained glass window allowed in the perfect amount of light. With the addition of velvet curtains, a small desk and a wall of bookshelves, I couldn’t wait for this space to come together.
It was the perfect spot to do paperwork and store mytextbooks about animal healing. My own little escape. There was even room for a reading chair in the corner, which I planned to take full advantage of.
I could hardly wait.
Yesterday had been the last day of the semester and I’d said my teary goodbyes to my students, urging them to swing by and visit the clinic. Most were enthusiastic and several had even asked if I would be hiring. I had a couple of them in mind for the receptionist position and having students work the front desk would be an excellent opportunity for them to have more exposure to animals in a different way. I hoped I’d eventually be able to afford to have an assistant to help me in the back with exams and other tasks.
I hadn’t spoken to my mother since our fight and I wasn’t bothered by it. In fact, I was relieved. Free. Like a weight I had been unknowingly carrying all these years was lifted. It was as if I could breathe for the first time.
I had no plans to contact her and honestly, I hoped she didn’t reach out to me. I’d learned over the years she was likely incapable of change. People like that usually weren’t. In order to change, you had to actually see something wrong with your behavior and she didn’t. She never admitted fault, never apologized or owned up to her mistakes. She would always flip it so she looked like the victim. How could I expect she’d somehow realize she was a narcissist in her sixties? Unlikely.
So I washed my hands of her and let it go.
The bell over the front door dinged, startling me from my task.
Who in the world could that be? I am positive I locked the door.
Setting the paintbrush down, I wiped my hands on a towel and headed through the back room to the waiting area. As I pushed open the door, I said, “I’m so sorry, we’re not open yet. Please come back in?—”
I froze.
Liam stoodthere, a small smile on his face and hands in his pockets as his green eyes landed on me. A beam of sunlight peered through the window, casting a glow around him, as if the world was reminding me how disarmingly handsome he was.
“Hey, sunshine.” His voice was rough, full of emotion and things left unspoken.
My breath hitched. “Hi,” I squeaked.
My feet wouldn’t move. Neither of us spoke, a long silence stretching between us. Liam’s eyes filled with yearning, adoration…pain.
I fidgeted with the collar of my shirt, finally breaking the silence. “How did you get in? That door was locked. The only ones who have a key are me and?—”
“The owner.” His smile grew as he pulled something from his pocket, holding it in the air. A key.
“What?” I shook my head. “I don’t understand…are you saying…”
“That I own the building? Yes.”
My heart would not stop racing as I took a step forward. “Explain.”
“I bought it.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew this was what you wanted and that you couldn’t afford the original asking price. Honestly, I didn’t even want to charge you rent, but we decided that was the best route, otherwise you never would have allowed me to gift it to you.”
“We?”
“Emberly and I.”
My eyebrows shot up. “She knew?”
“Yes. Her wife too. I’d been planning this for a while, but needed their help to pull it off.”
