Free Perfect Together (Canyon Cove Book 5) by Liliana Rhodes

his expression hardened. I slowed down as the guilt from pushing him out of my home sank in my belly. I couldn't help but think he was avoiding me. There was no other reason for his not showing up at work when he was usually there every day.
    Gideon looked at his watch as I finally caught up to him.
    "Are you in a rush?" I asked.
    "I have a meeting to get to."
    "Oh? Is it something I should be at?"
    "It has nothing to do with the South End. You know I was only here for my licensing hours. I finished those months ago."
    I winced from the angry force his words carried. He closed his eyes and shook his head before letting out a long sigh.
    "I'm sorry," he said. "I…"
    His eyes locked onto mine and my breath caught in my throat. He was going to say something big. I knew him well enough to tell, I just didn't know what he was going to say.
    "What? Tell me," I said. "What is it?"
    I searched his eyes. He was going to say something about that first night together on New Year's Eve. I knew it, I could tell. He was going to say something about us.
    His eyes filled with pain before he turned away.
    "I miss my friend," he said.
    That wasn't what he was going to say.
    He turned back towards the door but stopped as I reached out for his arm.
    "You left this," I said, his ring in my hand. "You know, on New Year's Eve."
    He nodded as he plucked the ring from my hand and slipped it on his finger. Without another word, he stepped out the door.
    "I'm sorry," I called out.
    He turned back towards me with a huge grin. Despite his smile, his eyes looked sad.
    "Sorry for what, beautiful? It was just another good time for Gideon Kohl. We both had fun and now we can go back to being friends, just like you always wanted."
    He leaned close but instead of kissing my cheek quickly like he used to, he inhaled before his lips touched my skin. As he backed away from me, he still had the same big smile, but his eyes kept telling me a different story.
    He's lying, I thought .

    ***

    Another week had gone by with Gideon hardly showing up at City Hall. He had been so involved with the revitalization that I expected him to always be there. But my feelings had nothing to do with work. I missed having him around.
    As I walked down the long empty hall towards my office, a woman's footsteps quickly approached from behind. I turned around to find Janice Oliver, the mayor's assistant, smiling as she caught up to me.
    Janice was short, under five feet tall easily. She always smelled like cinnamon, and I never saw her with anything but a smile on her face. She wore her brown and grey hair in a braid twisted around the crown of her head.
    "I'm so glad you came in today," she said. "I need to talk to you."
    "Is something wrong? I thought the mayor approved the last round of changes."
    "Oh no, dear. This is something more personal. Let's go into your office."
    As we entered my office, Janice closed my door behind her.
    "I hope you don't mind my asking, but I haven't seen Gideon around much lately. Is everything okay between the two of you?"
    "Gideon? Of course, he's just busy."
    "So you're still dating?"
    "Dating? Oh no, we never dated, we're just friends."
    "Mmm hmm," she said as she nodded knowingly. "That's a shame. I always thought you were perfect together. So does that mean you're available?"
    I looked at her suspiciously as my nose scrunched involuntarily.
    "Yes, I guess I am. Why?" I asked.
    "Have I ever told you about my son Taylor? He's thirty and I know I'm biased, but he's very handsome." She pulled out her phone, showed me a photo of her son, then looked at me expectantly.
    "Yes, he is a very handsome man," I said.
    "He had a date back out at the last minute for tonight, my friend's niece. And since I set that up, I'm feeling bad that his date canceled on him. Are you busy tonight?"
    "Wait, you're asking me to go on a blind date with your son?"
    "Umm…yes." Her face contorted like she bit into a lemon. "This is weird, isn't it?"
    "A little," I said with a