She launched into work talk, explaining all the things she'd had to do lately for their clients and her manager. Deb chimed in too with related things she was dealing with at the bakery.
They were both one glass of wine too engrossed in the boring details of office and shop life. Melissa seemed to be in a great mood, completely oblivious to the daggers currently being glared in her general direction.
When I glanced over, Kamran was sulking while he watched us. My heart twinged for him. Normally he would just come over and join in but things really were different… I didn’t know how to feel about it.
Finally, I managed to find a moment to back out of the conversation and went to the fridge to collect two more beers before taking them back to the living room where Kamran was still sitting in the armchair, watching everyone.
He had a bit of a cynical sense of humour to begin with, but the man wasn't usually a downer. It was out of character.
So, I handed him a beer and sat across from him, tapping my can to his.
“You okay man?” I asked, quietly enough that I hoped that the girls didn't hear me.
His gaze focused on me sharply and to my surprise, a small, soft smile touched his full lips.
“You always notice everything,” he said softly.
I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was kind of hard to miss. He was easy to read... then again, the others still seemed oblivious, so maybe it was just the type of connection that we had.
He tipped back his beer and shrugged.
“I'm not sure what to say,” he admitted quietly and left it at that.
With so many people around, I decided not to press it, but there was something in his gaze that gave me my answer.
Kamranwasn'tokay. Whatever was happening between him and Melissa was far from over. I couldn’t imagine the kind of stress that would cause. I’d never been in a relationship long enough for that and never with someone that I really wanted to be with.
For the rest of the night, Kamran’s mood was like an ache inside me, an itch that I was desperate to scratch but couldn't reach because it was so deep.
I wanted to fix things for him.
I feltcompelledto make him happy.I only wished that there was something I could do to help.
FIVE
Kamran
“Where are you going tonight?” Melissa asked.
I had already told her twice, but she was distracted, as she usually was lately. Her eyes kept flying to the clock on the wall and I'd seen her check her phone twice in the last few minutes.
She probably didn’t know I could see her in the mirror. I was sitting at her vanity table combing back my dark hair, trying to look somewhat more presentable. A never ending battle.
If I couldn't look like I had been sleeping, I'd at least like to look clean cut. I'd shaved, showered, put on cologne and was just about done and ready to go meet the guys.
Melissa was in bed, her pale blond hair was pinned back in a somewhat casual messy bun, but she'd spent some time styling it earlier. And she'd put some makeup on. She'd kept it light, but I could see it. She rarely wore makeup.
My stomach churned when her phone lit up and she snatched it off the bedside table, typing a reply.
“Who's that?” I couldn't help asking.Digging, more like.
“Hm? Michelle,” she said, absently naming her sister.
I set down my comb, for a moment feeling like I couldn't even breathe, then I stood and before I knew what I was doing, I walked over to her, and sat on the edge of the bed, right against her leg so she couldn’t ignore me.
She glanced up, meeting my eyes, looking surprised andapprehensivebefore setting her phone down.
Despite myself, I glanced down at her screen. Itwasopen to messages from Michelle. They were there on display like she had nothing to hide.
