Chapter Three

Hazel's POV

The soft pillow I’d put out for Josie lay at my feet. The pillowcase was on the floor, marked with a gray streak where the door had rubbed against it.

“Get me what?” Josie was still waiting for me to finish.

“A softer pillow. Don’t worry about anything. Go ahead and board. Call me when you land.”

I hung up and bent to pick up the pillow. The bed now had pink sheets, with a teddy bear propped against the headboard. The nightstand drawer was half open. Callie’s student ID was inside.

I heard her laughing downstairs.

“If I get into another argument with my roommates, you’ll take me back to that place for lemon tarts, right?”

Julian told one of his men at the door to take the car back. When the two of them came upstairs, he was carrying a white paper bag.

Callie stopped when she saw me standing by the guest room door. Julian acted as though everything was perfectly normal, stepping aside so she could put her coat in the room.

“She’s not getting along with the girls she lives with at school. She wants to move out, so I had the driver bring her things over. She’ll move out once she finds a place.”

“Where’s Josie supposed to sleep tonight?”

“She’s coming today?”

I looked at him for a moment. “Last week, before she booked her flight, I asked if we could keep this room free for her.”

He’d been eating breakfast. I stood beside the table waiting for an answer while he turned a page of his newspaper. He told me to invite whoever I wanted and stop bothering him about sleeping arrangements.

Julian glanced at the pillow in my arms. “I forgot.”

He held out the paper bag. “Picked this up for you on the way. Leave work early on Saturday. I’ll take you there. They’re better fresh out of the oven.”

The bag was sealed with a blue lemon sticker. I’d sent him the reservation link for this place three times. The last time, he’d told me to go with a friend. He didn’t have time to drive halfway across Philly for a pastry.

I took the bag. He looked down to unbutton his coat. Before he’d undone the second button, I’d stepped on the trash can pedal.

The bag dropped inside. His hands stopped moving.

Callie quickly picked up the bear from the bed and patted the space she’d cleared.

“This is my fault. I should’ve asked first. Hazel, your friend can take the far side. I don’t need much room.”

She’d already pulled back the covers on her side, as if she actually expected Josie to get off a plane and climb into bed with a stranger.

I set my pillow on the windowsill and pulled the sheet off the bed. Callie’s pajamas tumbled into it, along with the bear she’d just put down. I bundled everything up and set it outside the room.

“What are you doing? Where am I supposed to sleep tonight?”

“If you like sharing a bed, ask Julian. He never gives me a heads-up before booking a room.”

His men hadn’t gone far. Callie glanced toward the stairs, her face turning bright red.

“If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave. Did you have to say that about me in front of them?”

She grabbed her coat and ran downstairs. The front door shut, but Julian stayed where he was.

“At the clinic, you told her to have me stay over. Now we’re home, and you’re doing it again. Hazel, all she did was change your sheets. If you need the room, just tell me. I’ll get her a hotel room.”

“Could you have told me before you brought her here? So I could find Josie somewhere to sleep?”

“Her father’s still in the prison infirmary, and nobody at school wants to live with her. She asked me where she could go tonight. Was I supposed to leave her standing on the curb while I called to check with you?”

He buttoned his coat back up.

“It’s two nights. I didn’t make you get my permission before inviting Josie.”

I almost reminded him that Josie was flying in from Seattle because I needed someone to take me home after surgery tomorrow.

I was about to say it, but held back. He could clear out ten rooms right now. I’d still be leaving the day after tomorrow.

“Fine. From now on, I’ll make my own decisions.”

His brow relaxed.

He was probably only thinking about tonight and the guest room. I was thinking about the job in Seattle, the engagement ring on my finger, and the baby he still knew nothing about.

“Go check on Callie.” I opened the door for him. “At least ask her which hotel she wants to stay at.”

I went back to the main bedroom and took the suitcase down from the top of the closet. I folded two sweaters and put them inside. I still hadn’t heard his footsteps on the stairs.

Then a hand pressed down on the suitcase lid. When I reached for another piece of clothing, Julian caught my wrist.

“Callie’s twenty-two. She can book her own hotel room.”

His gaze shifted from my face to the now-empty hangers.

“Hazel, where are you going with all those clothes?”