A Case of Extreme Mistaken Identity - Victorine E. Lieske Page 0,62

more than food and shelter when she was homeless and penniless. He’d given her confidence.

She’d been unable to trust him at the time, but now, looking back, she had no reason to think he’d wanted anything from her. If he had, wouldn’t he have kept trying to see her after they went back to LA? But she hadn’t seen him at all, which made her convinced that he had simply been a nice guy, taking in a woman who was stranded.

She couldn’t get Austin off her mind, and when she finally entered her tiny two-bedroom apartment and found her roommate gone, she decided to pull out her phone and send off a message. It wasn’t odd, right? He was a friend. She could text him if she wanted. Right?

She tossed her backpack into the corner of her room and plopped down on her bed. It took another ten minutes of staring at her phone screen before she fired off a quick text.

Hey, I was just thinking of you. How are you doing?

Her heart thundered in her chest as she waited to see if he would respond. When no text came back, she swallowed her disappointment. He might be busy. Or maybe he wasn’t interested in her anymore. He could be dating someone else.

She tossed her phone on her nightstand and stared at the ceiling. It had been a mistake to cut off ties with Austin. She hadn’t really realized it until just now, not hearing back from him, but she missed him fiercely. He had been the nicest man she’d ever met. He was so selfless and kind to her, at a time when she’d been desperate.

And now, thinking that maybe she’d never talk to him again made her ache. She wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes. Austin’s face filled her mind.

Her phone made a noise and she nearly jumped off the bed. Her heart went into her throat as she picked up her phone to check the messages. Austin had texted her back.

I’m doing fine. How are you? Is everything okay?

And that was Austin. Worried about her, as usual. She blinked back tears. Why was she so emotional over that? He was always a nice guy. So what? She didn’t have to get all sappy about it. Still, she couldn’t turn off the tears.

Yes. I’m okay. I just got to thinking about you and started missing you. Is that stupid?

She held her breath, waiting for what he would say to that. His message came in a minute later.

Why would that be stupid?

Well, he had a point. Why did she always do that to herself? She always assumed she was being stupid. Now, she’d embarrassed herself again.

I don’t know. Forget I said that.

Dani’s face grew hot. Why was she always like this? Now he was going to think she was drunk texting him, or something like that. But she had no other intelligent thing to say to him.

She grabbed her pillow and put it on top of her face, hoping to smother out the embarrassment. Why did she even text him? He was probably with a girlfriend or something. How lame could she be?

Her phone alerted her to another incoming text. She held her breath, pretty sure it was Austin saying he was busy and please don’t text him again. But when she read his text, her heart did a small leap in her chest.

I miss you, too.

She touched the words, which blurred as tears formed once again in her eyes. He missed her. Did that mean he wasn’t dating anyone else? That he might want to talk to her?

She gathered up the courage and texted back.

Maybe we could get together sometime.

She waited ten minutes for an answer, but none came. Her heart sank as she realized that no answer was probably the answer. He maybe missed her, but he didn’t want to see her again. He had gotten over her and moved on. And that probably was for the best. She had told him she didn’t want to date him because of his fame. If she saw him again, she would be opening up that world of cameras and paparazzi. The world she hated.

But if she were being honest with herself, she was hurt that he didn’t want to see her.

Dani wiped down the counter as there was a lull in customers. She’d been working since eight that morning, and right now was the first break in the steady stream of people coming in the door,