Grant huffed. “As if you ever are.”

James sighed and turned back to the screen. Telling Grant hadn’t halved his problem at all. Now he just felt even more stupid. Gullible, in fact. Twice now, Megan had just upped and run from him.

What was her problem?

One thing was for sure, he didn’t make investigative documentaries because he wasn’t bothered about finding answers. And Megan of Winter Shoes had filled his mind with questions that he would resolve. If it was the last thing he did, he’d find out why she kept taking off and leaving him feeling like the biggest loser in town.

Chapter Thirteen

Megan

Megan placed her palms over her face and groaned. “Just shoot me now.”

“Pull your silly self together.” Brendon rested his arm around her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be all right. Worse things happen in space.”

“How can it be all right?” Megan sank deeper into her sofa. She wanted it to just swallow her up, like a big cushioned mouth, and keep her in the dark and the warm where no one could see her, or hear her or wonder at her stupidity. “I just upped and ran…again.”

“Again?” Brendon placed Gucci on the floor then pulled Megan’s forearms so she had no choice but to look at him. “What do you mean again?”

“Well, we…er…”

“Spill, spill…”

Oh, the shame of it. Twice she’d bolted like a scared deer. James would think she was pathetic and immature at best, messed up in the head at worst.

“In the canteen, at the studio.” She paused. She might as well fess up to Brendon—he’d get it out of her eventually. “That wasn’t the first time I got chatting to James Carter.”

Brendon’s lips parted and he looked stunned. He quickly recovered. “So when? When did you officially meet Hot Guy?”

“The night before, at Frank’s.”

“The night our Georgie got engaged?”

“Yes. I was supposed to be meeting her, you know, for a quick glass of wine, and she called, all excited, and told me her news.” Megan smiled at the memory. Georgie’s voice had been a pitch higher and her words had tumbled over themselves. “And naturally she was otherwise occupied so she skipped our meeting. James came over to me, I don’t know why when I’ve sat there on my own so many times but that night he asked if he could join me.”

“And of course you said yes— Gucci, stop that, stop that… Sorry, he’s always had a thing for your cat doorstop.”

“I’ve noticed.”

Gucci was curled over the black and white sandbag that was shaped like a cat and his furry little body was humping wildly.

“He’ll get bored in a minute.” Brendon tutted. “I thought dogs were supposed to hate cats.”

“Well he likes that one.”