Page 57 of The Design of Goodbye
“Fridays too. Sometimes, Sundays.”
I increased the temperature again.
“Eighty degrees?” he exclaimed, swatting my hand away from the thermostat.
“I’m cold!” The warmth of his brief touch lingered.
“Adjusting your thermostat to scorching hot won’t make your car heat up any faster.”
“Oh.” I turned the heat back down to a semi-chilly seventy-three. “So, do you work with your dad?”
“Sometimes.”
“How mad was he last night?” I asked.
I kind of already knew the answer. I’d heard yelling as soon as Liam had walked inside the auto shop. While my dad had been mad at me plenty of times, he’d never yelled at me like Liam’s dad yelled at him.
He snorted and looked out the window. “Pretty mad.”
“Because you were late or because I dropped you off?”
“Both,” he confessed. “At first, he was pissed I was late but then he woke me up this morning, freaking out because he thought you were going to tell people I work there. Before last night, only my dad, Gary, and a few other employees knew.”
I turned onto Main Street. “I promise I won’t tell anyone, but why do you need to work there? You’re still in school and have another job. That seems like too much.”
“Why else?” he answered. “Money.”
* * *
“Finally!” Taylor practically attacked me when Liam and I arrived at Invisible Thread ten minutes later. She noticed Liam hovering behind me and grinned. “Liam, hey.”
“Hey,” he said. “I didn’t know you girls worked together.”
“We do,” said Taylor.
A smile tugged at my lips because she sounded proud. “I hope you don’t mind I brought him along.”
“Of course not!” She gestured at us to follow her. “Liam, I hope you’re okay with being put to work.”
“I don’t mind. But,” he added seriously, “I can’t sew.”
“That’s no problem. I’ve got the perfect task for you.” She stopped in front of The Magic Room and opened the door. “We work in here. There’s a tea table in the corner with everything you need. Steep yourself a cup if you want. I have to ask Madison something...”
As soon as she closed the door, my heart sped up, and my palms got sweaty. I’d tried to prepare myself for her anger, but it was impossible to prepare for something like that.
“Explain.”
“I-I don’t know what happened,” I said, rubbing my palms over my tights. “I totally forgot about the bridesmaid dresses. I know it’s not an excuse, but I was really stressed this week with Jules and a math test and—”
“I don’t care about you forgetting the order,” she said casually as she adjusted her hair wrap. “It’s okay. I’ve forgotten plenty. We’ll get it done.”
I frowned. “Then, what did you want me to explain?”
She pointed to the closed door. “Uh, Liam? And the fact he’s here. With you.”
“Oh,” I said, taken aback at her interest. “It’s nothing.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Saying ‘it’s nothing’ means it’s definitely something.”
