Love Me Sweet (Love Me book 1)

Chapter 32

"Will we see you tonight?" the fourth person of the day asked.

Lia was at a loss as to what was going on, but she guessed that it was taken for granted that she knew what it was all about after the first person talked about how lucky she was and that she had to be so proud. The only thing she could think of was that it had something to do with Ben, but if it did, Ben had forgotten to tell her about it.

Lia was exiting a patient's room and headed back towards the nurse's station when Silas stopped her.

"Are you going this evening, do you need a ride? I'm taking Chloe and Faye."

Lia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she knew she could trust him, so he was the one to ask. "What's is going on tonight, everyone keeps asking me about it, but I'm clueless." She smiled at one of the nurses across the floor who was watching them closely then turned her attention back towards Silas.

He was looking at her without expression, he had his bad news doctor face on, the one that you knew you could trust. "Ben didn't tell you?" he summarized.

"He doesn't tell me much lately," Lia admitted, mostly out of frustration. Even Chloe and Faye didn't know how bad it had gotten.

"He has a book signing tonight." Silas watched her as she lost all color.

"Here, in Savannah?" she asked, managing to keep her voice steady. Why hadn't Ben told her?

"Yes, he's having it at E. Shaver," he said the name of one of the last remaining privately owned bookstores left in the city. It was in the heart of the downtown district and was next to one of the squares. "It's a private event and tickets are required, they sold out in under an hour."

"Well, that's me out then, I don't have a ticket, do I?" she tried to joke. "Thanks for letting me know." She squeezed his arm to let him know that all was fine and then moved towards the stretcher that the paramedics were unloading. She needed to keep busy, it was the only way that she would keep from breaking down.

Somehow, she managed to get through the shift, and she was ready for the next person who asked if she was going to the event. Her response was that Ben had requested that she skip it and wait for him at home. That he would be worried about her getting bored waiting for him to finish. It was a thin excuse, but everyone seemed to buy it.

She managed to keep the smile in place and make it to her car. She even managed to get all the way home, but as soon as she closed her door to the world, she fell against it and slunk to the floor as sobs escaped her throat.

Huck padded over and sniffed Lia before he settled down next to her.

This was it, she would cry, get it all out, and then get on with it. She had her answer. Ben could not have been any clearer about not wanting her if he had slapped her in the face as he said the words. After what felt like forever, she pulled herself up, forced herself to eat, and then took a shower. The motions had saved her when Chance had left, maybe they would save her this time too.

Lia hooked her leash onto Huck's collar, put on a warm pullover, and started on her walk. She knew where she was going, and she couldn't have stopped herself if she had wanted to, she needed to see the truth with her own eyes, hoping it offered her some sort of closure.

The church bells chimed seven and it was well past dark. The city was lit up and since it was a Friday night there were still plenty of people out on the streets. She only had a few squares to navigate before she could hear the buzz of conversation which meant that the event was an outdoor one. When she rounded the corner, the square was tented and lit up, champagne was being served, and everyone was laughing.