“Ben! Oh, shit.” She reached out to help him up, embarrassed that she’d gotten out of control. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that to you.”
Ben laughed, coughed, and laughed again. “And that, ladies, is how you follow through on that move.” He held up his hands as if to keep Aggie away. “Great job. That was perfect and now you’ve shown everyone the next move. You may as well take over the rest of the lesson. Looks to me like you already know what to do.” He groaned.
Aggie grinned, blinked the tears away, and stood with her hands on her hips feeling prouder of herself than ever before. She wasn’t going to be the victim again. That Aggie was gone; from tonight on, she was dead and buried. This Aggie was stronger.
As the words went through her mind, she hoped she could live up to her new affirmations.
Chapter 16
After he finished work the next day, Liam went to his training session.
Ben was already working with the free weights when he walked in. “Hey. How did the first lesson go?”
Ben lowered the weights onto the bar rest and sat up. “Great. They did well. Got myself a knee in the crutch for my efforts though. Aggie did a brilliant job, if that’s what you wanted to know. Froze a bit to start but performed well enough to put me on the ground.”
Liam grinned and Ben told him the full story. It made him ridiculously happy as he headed to do his own workout.
After Liam worked up a sweat, he went home to shower and change before going back out. As he suspected, Aggie’s car was at the bakery. He got out and banged on the back door, calling out at the same time. “It’s only me, Aggie. Your part-time assistant.”
She came to the door, her lips pressed together in annoyance. “What now, Liam?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you have a few jobs for me. I’m bored sitting at home by myself.” It’d been well over a week since the morning he’d last seen her and he missed her.
She didn’t open the door. Instead, she stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him from behind the security screen. “I don’t need looking after. You need to do better than that.”
Time for him to be honest then. “Okay. I’m scared, all right? I’m worried about what the coroner’s report is going to say and I don’t want to be alone. If Drew was here, I’d talk to him but he isn’t, so…”
“So you figured I’m it?” A small muscle twitched at the corners of her lips.
He tried his best not to look needy but from the gentle smile she gave him, he figured he’d failed.
“Fine, come in, but don’t go getting any ideas about you and me.”
If that was what it took, then he’d agree to whatever she wanted. “Thanks. I’m fine at work because I’m so busy, but once I get home, the doubt creeps in. Couldn’t seem to brush it off tonight.”
Aggie locked the door behind him. “Well, if you want a couple of hours of work, feel free to help me. I’m not a good counsellor, but I’ll stop you feeling sorry for yourself.”
“That’s exactly what I need.” He took the apron she handed him.
“Has Drew been contacted?” Aggie leaned against a large mixer stand while Liam did up his apron.
“I sent him an email but I can’t see him even looking at anything yet. They’ve still got another week to go, and I doubt what’s happening at work is high on his priority list now that he has April all to himself.”
“True, and you can’t blame them. Now, just so we’re clear here. You’re not staying all night and we’re not discussing you and me. There is no you and me. Got it?” Aggie glared at him and Liam held back a smile. She was tougher than she knew. And so damned beautiful when she was trying to act angry.
“Yes, ma’am. Point me at the first batch of dough.”
It took a couple of hours for Aggie to let down her defenses and act normal with him in her space. When she set a cup of coffee in front of Liam, he looked at the clock. “Wow, that time already.” Midnight came around fast when he was with the one he loved and keeping busy.
“Yes. And time you went home, Dr. Davidson. You have work tomorrow and I’m sure your patients don’t want to see you falling asleep at your desk.”
He picked up the mug. “No, I’m sure they don’t.” He sipped and closed his eyes as the caffeine trickled down his throat. “Thanks for taking pity on me.”
“No problem.” Aggie leaned on the stainless steel workbench. “You really shouldn’t worry, Liam. It’ll be okay; I’m sure of it.”
Something had changed in her manner. She seemed a little calmer, more sure of herself. It looked good on her. “Yes, I believe you. I hear you roughed Ben up a bit last night.”
She laughed, a sound he wished he could hear more often.
“He was so funny.” She snorted and held her hand over her mouth until she got herself under control. “I didn’t mean to hurt him, honestly. It just happened.”
“That’s good. It’s what you’re there for. If you need to practice on Ben, go for it. He’s a big guy and can take care of himself.”
“That’s what he said. I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself. But back to you. When’re you going to stop blaming yourself? It wasn’t your fault.”
“No matter how much I tell myself the same thing, I can’t help but think I could’ve done more. And we don’t know I’m in the clear yet. I might not be, and that’s what’s scaring me
