Page 36 of Home Brewed (The Perfect Cup #1)

Beck

S omething is wrong.

I can’t put my finger on it, but between the time I left for work and when I got home yesterday, ready to tell her everything, something drastically shifted with Hazel.

I don’t want to make a big deal about it, she just lost the feeling of safety in her home, and she has to be feeling displaced.

While she was moving rooms, I decided to wait a few days to tell her.

I don’t want to give her any unnecessary stress right now.

I had set the table for dinner, and just when I was about to go looking for her, she came down to eat.

We didn’t sit at the island. Instead, Hazel set places for us at the kitchen table across from each other. It felt weird, suddenly having a wall between us that I didn’t know she’d been building.

Hazel keeps her cards close to her chest and she doesn’t let anyone in easily, but it still hurt.

Whatever happened caused her to pull away.

Trying to wrangle her back would only make things worse, I would have to do what I promised and give her the space and time to work out the things she needs to in her head.

It pained me to kiss her goodnight in the hall before she closed herself in the spare room, especially when my pillows still retain the smell of her perfume.

I know that I have to let her do what is best for her.

Or at least what she thinks is best for her in those moments.

I spent far too long laying in bed, wishing she were next to me, wondering if she was sleeping as crappy as I was.

She got up earlier than me this morning, sporting a sunshine yellow sundress with a flowy skirt and tiny white daisies on it that had managed to survive Justin’s wrath, with her hair twisted up on top of her head.

Hazel’s cheery demeanour was almost convincing as she greeted me, having made us both coffee and breakfast, and announced she was going into work with me.

Luckily, her laptop was still safe in the office, so that hadn’t been damaged.

When we get to work, she blows right by the front counter, giving the briefest hello to Stella I have ever seen, and locks herself in the office to work the day away.

Stella casts me a questioning look, and I shake my head, not quite sure what to say.

“Morning. Mind if I work up here with you today?” I ask as I set up.

“Umm, sure? I figured you might be working in the back with Hazel after what happened with Justin…”

“Why would you figure that?”

“I don’t know if you know this, but you’re sort of insanely overprotective of most people. Her especially. Don’t think I didn’t notice the little cameras you put up. They’re discreet, but not that discreet.” She arches a brow and eyeing up the small black domes tucked away in corners.

“Well, after what happened to her apartment, I don’t trust that he wouldn’t come here and do something similar, or harass her. At least this way we can catch it all and press charges.”

“Plus, it’s nice to have an incentive not to kill him, right?” Stella jokes brightly, and it’s a little startling.

“Yeah… that too…” I decide to try to really focus on what needs to be done and what I can do up here while giving Hazel some space. No matter how hard I try to focus, though, I can’t stop the nagging feeling in the back of my mind .

Lunchtime has more than come and gone, and Hazel still has yet to venture out of the office.

I happen to know for a fact she didn’t bring a lunch with her today.

I decide to check in on her and see how her work is progressing and, for brownie points, bring her some lunch.

Stella made us some paninis—seriously, this kid keeps me alive at work some days—and a new fall drink we just added, Maple Honey Latte.

It’s not her usual order, but it’s very sweet and has little maple sugar crystals on top, so I’m pretty positive she’ll love it.

Her voice carries into the hallway, talking to someone as I approach the office. Unsure of whether to interrupt her or not, I slow my pace until I’m standing just outside the door, raising my hand to knock when she shouts.

“Mother fucker !” I hear a slam and a crash and quickly push myself into the room.

Hazel has her hands in her hair, completely undoing the bun she had put it in this morning. Her face is cherry red, and she’s panting when she looks over at me and freezes in shock. I look to where she had been facing and her cell phone lies on the ground, the case having cracked and popped off.

“I am, oh my god, I’m so sorry, I just, I lost it, I- I-” She’s not making any sense, in her rattled state. I quickly put our lunch on the desk and walk to stand in front of her.

“Hazel, what happened?” I don’t know if she wants me to touch her. She’s been distant since last night and I want to respect her boundaries. Even so, my hands itch to smooth her hair, to hold her, to tell her it will all be okay.

“I just got off the phone with the insurance company,” she sighs. “They’re denying my claim.”

“Are you kidding me? Didn’t they see the surveillance tape?” My mind races to figure out how they could have possibly denied it.

“Yeah. That’s what made them decline it.” That stops my thoughts in their tracks.

“What do you mean? ”

“Someone let him in! On the tape it shows that someone let him into the building. They asked the manager, and he said Justin lived there. So, despite the fact that he’s not on the lease and hasn’t lived there in months, it wasn’t a ‘break in’.” She puts air quotes around the last two words.

Realization dawns on me. “There wasn’t forced entry.”

“Nope.” Hazel collapses into the desk chair, body slumped, staring off into the distance. “The good news is that the building manager doesn’t want any more trouble and would like me to please move at my earliest convenience.” Her half-hearted smile doesn’t quell my anger on her behalf.

“What the hell?” After everything Hazel has been through, with this on top of it? I have no idea how she’s still standing.

“Yup, and all my stuff is destroyed anyway, so he said he’d get someone to take it all to the dump for me in the next few days. I only have to drop off my keys.” As far as evictions go, it’s not the worst, but holy crap. She cannot catch a break.

“Hazel, I don’t know what to say. Of course you’re welcome to stay with me for the time being,” or forever , but I leave that part out. “We’ll get you back on your feet, I promise.”

She looks so lost when she peers up at me.

“I’m just so tired.” She doesn’t need to elaborate. It’s not the horrible sleep she got last night, it’s the absolute clusterfuck of her life right now. I come to stand in front of her and she leans her head into my stomach.

“I know, baby,” I say, crouching doing and scooping her into my arms, sitting us both onto the chair.

“I know it doesn’t feel this way, but it’s going to be okay.

” If nothing else, holding her in my arms is keeping me from freaking out on her behalf.

I want to be a steady place for her to land, a calm in the storm.

She deserves someone looking out for her the way she looks out for everyone else.

Hell, she’s looking out for me by helping with this project, making sure I take breaks, getting me out of the house, keeping me lighthearted for the first time in years, the least I can do for the woman I love is comfort her when she needs it most .

“You can’t promise that.” Despite what she thinks, I know better. I know how strong she is, and I know she’s going to make it out of this.

“Watch me.” I hold her tight for a moment, feeling her heart racing against mine, before pulling away and smoothing back her hair to see her gorgeous face.

“Is there anything I can do to make it better right now? Temporarily?” I place a soft kiss on her cheek where a rogue tear has strayed.

Her eyes search mine for something she doesn’t seem to find before she nods slowly.

I would do anything right now to take her mind off of this, to give her some sense of peace. I just need to know what she needs.

It almost seems like she wants to ask me a question.

Instead, her hands slide their way down my chest slowly, leaving a trail of fire in their wake as she drags her nails, her breath hitching.

My own catches at her brazenness. This is something I am more than willing to provide.

Truthfully, I’ve been thinking about it since the night we slept together, but it is definitely unexpected.

I have to admit, I love seeing my pretty girl take what she wants.

She’s always looking out for others, if this is what she needs, I’m going to give it to her.

“What do you want, pretty girl?” She starts to fumble with my belt buckle, her eyes still fixed on my mouth, a hungry look in her eye, but I catch her wrists, bringing one up to kiss her palm, “Use your words, baby.”

“I don’t want to think,” she gasps, our noses brushing against each other as her eyes flit between mine and my mouth. That one sentence snaps something in me, the leash on my desire for her entirely gone.

“I can do that.” I tighten my grip on her, bringing her arms around my neck.

My hands coast down her sides, rolling her body closer to me as she brings her lips down to mine.

I groan as her fingers thread through my hair and grip tight.

Her teeth graze my lip and every thought empties out of my head.