“You okay, hun?” Barbs eyed me with concern. “You’ve been unusually quiet all day.”
“Yep. Just stressed about the bar.” I forced a smile and refilled my coffee mug. I shouldn’t be drinking caffeine this late in the day, but I wouldn’t be able to sleep regardless. Max’s directive to steal Josh’s painting had kept me up every night since I received his text three days ago.
“I’m sure you’ll do great.” Barbs opened the fridge and handed me a Saran-wrapped plate of apple pie. “Here. Pie always makes things better.”
My smile was more genuine this time. “Thanks, Barbs.”
“Anytime, hun.” Barbs winked and left, her mug of beloved Earl Grey tea in hand.
I sipped my coffee and grimaced at the bitter taste. I loved a lot of things about the clinic, but its coffee wasn’t one of them.
While I choked down the drink, I stared at my dark phone and waited for it to light up with another text from Max. It never did.
He’d been clear. I had one week to steal Josh’s painting or it was game over for me.
Three days had already passed, which meant I had four days left.
My next sip went down the wrong pipe. I erupted into a fit of coughs, shaking so hard some of the liquid splashed out of my cup and scalded my hand.
“Fuck!” I wheezed. I placed the remaining coffee on the counter and ran my hand under cold water, all while coughing my lungs out.
“Everything okay?”
I jumped at the sound of Josh’s voice behind me. I knocked over the mug in the process and spilled the rest of my drink down the front of my dress.
“Fuck!” I repeated, more emphatically this time.
I reached for the paper towels, but Josh beat me to it. He yanked a handful off the dispenser and mopped up the coffee running down my leg while I tried to salvage my ruined outfit.
It wasn’t happening. The stain had already settled deep into the fibers and turned a substantial portion of the blue skirt a deep, ugly shade of brown. I finally gave up and tossed the paper towel into the trash with a small scream of frustration.
“I guess that answered my question.” Josh eyed me with concern and the tiniest hint of amusement. “Bad day?”
“How’d you guess?”
“My deductive powers are one of my many impressive talents,” he quipped. “Coffee spill aside, you’ve been distracted all day.”
“Stressed about the bar.” I mumbled my go-to excuse. To be fair, I was stressed about the exam. It just wasn’t my main stressor.
My stomach cramped with guilt.
I’d spent the past three days brainstorming over how to extricate myself from my Max dilemma, but I couldn’t think of a feasible solution that didn’t involve revealing the truth about my past.
Perhaps my friends wouldn’t judge me, but I was terrified of how Josh would react. For years, he’d thought I was a horrible person, or at least a horrible influence. The last thing I wanted was to prove his initial impressions of me right when we were finally making progress in our relationship.
“Well, if you need a study partner, I happen to know a devastatingly handsome and intelligent one.” Josh paused. “I’m talking about myself, by the way.”
Despite my tension, a small laugh rustled my throat. “Of course you are. I appreciate the offer, but you’ll distract more than you help.”
“Understandable. My looks have distracted many a student. It’s one of the pitfalls of having this, I’m afraid.” He waved a hand in front of his admittedly spectacular face.
“It is uniquely hideous.” I patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they weren’t judging. People are much more open-minded these days.”
His chuckle settled on my skin like a rich velvet blanket. “God, I want to fuck you so bad right now.”
I wasn’t a prude by any means, but heat cascaded down my neck at hearing him state that so directly in the middle of the clinic kitchen.
“Josh.”
“Yes?” He lifted one eyebrow. “You need to get out of that dress soon anyway. What better—”
“Am I interrupting something?” Ellie’s voice cut into our conversation.
We hadn’t even noticed her arrival.
I immediately stepped back and winced when the hard kitchen counter dug into my lower spine.
“I was helping Jules with her spill.” He gestured at my dress without missing a beat. His features were a mask of professional civility, but the devilish gleam in his eyes remained.
“Oh, wow, that sucks.” Ellie wrinkled her nose. “I hope it’s not a new dress.”
“It’s not. Hot date?” I quickly switched subjects.
The office closed in ten minutes, and Ellie had already changed out of her business-appropriate blazer and pants into a dress and heels.
Pink stained her cheeks. “I’m, ah, going to the movies with Marshall.”
I hid a smile. She’d finally gotten over her crush on Josh and switched her attention to Marshall. I wasn’t sure whether my and Marshall’s kiss spurred that along—we always found people more desirable when other people found them desirable—but I was happy to see she’d moved on.
For entirely unselfish reasons, of course.
“Speaking of which, I should head out. I just came to grab my charger. Left it here during lunch. Good night!” Ellie plucked her phone charger from the outlet near the microwave and rushed off.
“We should head out too, but at different times so people don’t get suspicious.” Josh’s eyes sparkled with playfulness. “Meet you on our corner in twenty.”
“We don’t have a corner,” I pointed out.
“We do now.” Josh’s dimple made a glorious appearance. “Twenty-third and Mayberry. Twenty minutes, Red. Be there.”
He left before I could argue.
I shook my head, but I closed out my desk with deliberate slowness until the office emptied and Barbs and I were the only people left.
“C’mon, hun, I’m not getting any younger.” She motioned me out the door with an impatient hand. “And you’re too young to spend a minute longer in the office than you have to.”
“You always tell me what I want to hear.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” She waved. “Good night.”
“Night.”
It took me only five minutes to walk to Twenty-Third and Mayberry. As promised, Josh waited for me on the corner. He leaned against the light pole with his hands tucked in his pockets, but he tapped his watch when he saw me.
“Nineteen minutes. Almost late, Red.”
“Good thing I wasn’t,” I said, too distracted to come up with a witty response. All I could focus on was how to bring up his painting without arousing suspicion.
Maybe I could convince him to get rid of it? It was still deception, because I knew the painting was valuable and he didn’t, but it was better than stealing from him.
“So, I was shopping online the other day and came across some nice art,” I said casually. “Better than that monstrosity you have in your bedroom.”
“Monstrosity?” Josh placed a hand over his heart. “Red, I’m offended. That painting is the epitome of taste. I bet it would fetch a pretty penny if I put it up for auction.”
If only he knew how right he was.
“And yet, you bought it for cheap at an estate sale.” I forced myself to inject lighthearted snark into my tone. “So excuse me if I don’t believe you.”
“Not everyone knows the value of what they throw away.” Josh wrapped an arm around my waist. “One day, you’ll grow to love it as much as I do.”
My heartbeat drowned out the echo of our footsteps. “You don’t really love it, do you?”
He gave me a strange look. “Not in the sense that I’ll run into a burning building to save it, but I have a soft spot for it. Reminds me of art camp.”
Surprise coasted through me. “You went to art camp?”
“Yeah, for one summer when I was eight.” Josh winced. “Figured out that art is, uh, not my strongest suit, so I switched to basketball.”
“Wow.” Suddenly, it all made sense. “No wonder you love terrible art. It reminds you of you!”
I laughed when Josh slapped my ass in retaliation.
“I can’t believe you admitted you’re not the best at something,” I said as we arrived at his house. “Remind me to mark it down in my calendar. It’s truly a historic moment.”
“Funny.” He unlocked the front door and waited for me to enter first before following me inside. “Don’t spread it around because I don’t let just anyone see my weaknesses. My lack of artistic talent is a very sensitive topic.”
“Is that so?” I smiled despite myself. “I feel special.”
“You should. Even though you can be fucking exasperating and a pain in my ass—”
My smile disappeared. “Hey!”
“You’re one of the few people I trust.” His face softened as he looped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. “Never thought I’d say that, considering our history. But even when we couldn’t stand each other, I could always count on you to be honest with me. After what happened with Michael and Alex…” His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. “That means more than you know.”
Our earlier lightheartedness grew heavy with poignance.
Oh God.
“I…” Guilt rocked my stomach like storm-tossed waves. Tell him. “Josh, I…”
I’m being blackmailed by my ex. I have a sex tape where I let some random guy do obscene things to me so that said ex could steal from him. I’m a thief and a liar and you were right about me all along.
The words sat on the tip of my tongue but refused to leave. I wasn’t hiding some small secret. I used to be a criminal, and I had a sex tape with a virtual stranger.
I wouldn’t blame Josh if he walked away after finding out.
My chest cramped at the thought.
“You know me,” I finally managed. “Honest to a fault.” I summoned what I hoped was a passable imitation of a smile.
“Emphasis on fault,” Josh teased. “It’s okay. We can’t all be as perfect as I am.”
He brushed his mouth over mine before he cupped the back of my neck and deepened the kiss.
I kissed him back, trying to engrave every detail in my mind.
The warm whiskey taste of his lips. The firmness of his touch. His clean, intoxicating scent and the way his muscles molded against my body.
I cherished the kiss like it was our last, because depending on how the next few days played out, it might just be.
