Читать книгу She's Got It Bad - Sarah Mayberry - Страница 8

ZOE SAT IN HER CHANGE ROOM for a long time after Liam had left.

Slowly she began to gather her things. She didn’t bother putting on the rest of her makeup. She simply packed her kit and folded her stage clothes into her gym bag.

She could hear the band talking and laughing in the band room when she entered the corridor. They’d want to keep partying, go grab a burger and some beers in the city like they usually did after a gig. Even though she’d give anything to be able to walk away without talking to another soul, she forced herself to duck in and make her excuses before escaping.

Cool rain misted her cheeks when she stepped out into the night. She raised her face and closed her eyes and let it wash over her. Only when her tank top and jeans were soaked did she cross to her car and throw her gear on the backseat.

It took her ten minutes to drive to her apartment in the inner northern suburb of Essendon. She was shivering by the time she let herself in the front door. She told herself it was because of the rain.

A weak mewl drew her attention to the corner of her small studio apartment and she crouched down to run a hand over the distended belly of the tabby cat she’d found collapsed in her doorway two nights ago.

“How are you doing, little miss? You hungry again? Huh?”

The cat had a collar but no name tag or address, and she’d consumed everything Zoe had put in front of her over the past couple of days. Zoe had no idea when her kittens were due—soon, if the size of the cat’s belly was anything to go by. Zoe had made a bed out of an old box and some shredded paper and handwritten some notices and posted them in her neighbors’ mailboxes. She hadn’t heard anything yet, but surely someone would be looking for their pet? Or had the cat been abandoned when it fell pregnant?

Zoe took the time to open a can of tuna for the cat before shedding her clothes and stepping into the shower. She washed herself carefully, making sure every trace of Liam Masters was removed from her skin. She wanted no reminders of what had happened between them tonight—no traces of his aftershave, nothing.

She hadn’t had time for dinner so she opened another can of tuna and ate it straight from the tin. She smiled at the cat as she collected both empty tins and dumped them in the garbage.

“Dinner for two, hey? It’s all glamour around here, don’t let anyone tell you any different.”

The cat simply stared at her with big, unblinking eyes. Zoe crouched beside it again and smoothed her hand over its warm, full body.