“Good riddance,” I reply and Shaun scoffs.
“Sure, you keep telling yourself that, girl.”
“Gigi just called and said she’s running ten minutes late,” Roger says from his spot at the counter. I sigh.
“So you need me to hang around?” I ask and he shakes his head.
“Nancy is already here and we aren’t too busy so you can go ahead and clock out whenever.”
Releasing a breath, I nod and head into the back before grabbing my time card and clocking out. Grabbing my purse, I say good-bye to Roger and Nancy as I head outside, pulling my coat tighter around me. I consider just going to my apartment but decide against it. I haven’t been back there since the night Detective Rodriguez knocked on my door and I have no desire to go back. I’ll need to find someone to take over my lease, though.
Whatever.
It’s not something I want to deal with tonight.
As I walk away from the diner, I sense someone behind me just before I hear footsteps. My heart rate quickens as I reach into my bag and wrap my hand around the bottle of pepper spray.
“Tate!” a deep voice calls and I peek over my shoulder, groaning. Table thirteen.
“I was hoping you’d left.”
He laughs, closing the distance between us and his golden eyes look even more intense under the glow of the streetlight.
“Do you need a ride?” he asks, ignoring my question and I shake my head.
“Nope, I’m good.”
I start to back away from him and he arches a brow. “You gonna walk home at this time of night? In the cold?”
“That was the plan.”
“Let me give you a ride.”
I scoff. “Not going to happen.”
“Please?”
“If you’re looking for money, I don’t have any,” I announce, looking him square in the eye as the envelope full of cash feels especially heavy in my bag.
“Yeah, think I gathered that from your place of employment, Darlin’. And I’ve got plenty of my own money.” His eyes seem sincere but it goes against everything I’ve ever been taught.
“Then what do you want?”
He smiles, a soft smile that strangely puts me at ease. “Just want to make sure you get home okay.”
I release a breath and stare at him as I reach for the phone in my purse. On the one hand, this is exactly what the stupid girl is not supposed to do but I don’t really feel like walking tonight and he doesn’t feel threatening.
“Why would I accept a ride from you after you were such a dick?” I ask. I’m going to get a ride from him but there’s no reason I have to make it easy for him.
He nods. “I am sorry about that. It was that damn voice and callin’ me Darlin’. It really threw me off.”
Oh, I see.
He’s a player and the second a girl doesn’t follow one of his scripted conversations, he hasn’t got a fucking clue what to do with himself. It’s sad, really.
Pursing my lips, I pull my phone out of my bag and unlock it, typing out a message to Mia before meeting his gaze again.
“Okay, you can give me a ride but I’ve just texted one of my best friends and if she doesn’t hear from me in exactly thirty minutes, she will call the police. I should also mention that I have a twin brother in the Navy who will hunt you down and gut you like a fish if you try anything. Oh, and one more thing, you try to touch me at all and I’ll stab your junk with the knife I keep in my purse. Are we clear?”
He bites his lip, holding back laughter as he nods. “Crystal, sweetheart. My car’s this way.”
I follow him as he leads me through the parking lot to a matte black Camaro that makes my heart race for a whole other reason. Since I was a little girl, I’ve always had a thing for muscle cars and any guy that drives one, really. There’s just something about those bad boys and I’m sure my mother prayed I would grow out of it but to this day, this car gets me a little wet.
“Gorgeous car,” I say, running my finger along the hood. He grins as he opens the passenger door.
“Glad you like it. Your chariot awaits.” He extends his hand to the seat and I scrunch up my nose.
“Don’t do that.”
His brow furrows. “What?”
“That chivalry thing. You’re not selling it well and I’m definitely not buying it.”
He chuckles, shaking his head like he can’t quite believe the things that are coming out of my mouth and I wonder if my brutal honesty is too much for him. I walk over to him and brush past him as I slide into the car, enjoying the quick intake of air and the stiffening of his body. This is exactly what I needed after this past week.
As he closes the door, it crashes down on me – the realization that Mom is dead, the pain I was able to escape for a few hours and the guilt that I managed to go even one moment without thinking of her. God, what kind of daughter am I? Who flirts with someone one week after their mother died?
He slips behind the wheel and I suck in a breath, discreetly wiping away the few tears that managed to escape. The engine rumbles to life and I run my hands over the leather interior, appreciating the quality. All my boyfriends in the past were hard on their cars, driving the piss out of them, and living life to the fullest inside them but this one is damn near show quality.
“I’m Lincoln, by the way,” he says as he pulls out of the parking lot and I nod.
“Tate. But you obviously knew that already.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” He glances over at me. “Where am I going?”
I rattle off my mom’s address and he nods. We’re quiet for a while, my mind running with questions from the last few days. Each time we learn something new, it feels like a hundred more questions spill out and at this point, I think I’d like to just grieve in peace.
“Can I ask you a question?” he asks as we near Mom’s house.
I nod. “Sure.”
“Earlier, you said this has been the worst week of your life. What did you mean by that?”
Sucking in a breath, I sit up straighter in the seat and clear my throat. “Uh, my mom died eight days ago.”
“Fuck, I’m so sorry,” he says and I nod, fighting back tears again. It’s nice but it’s just something people say and no one really knows how this feels unless they’ve lost a parent, too.
“My dad died when I was a kid,” he admits and I turn to him, surprised. “I know what it’s like.”
“Oh,” I whisper. “It’s a bitch, huh?”
He chuckles, nodding his head. “Yeah, it is.”
“Does it ever get better?” I ask, not sure that I really want the answer but I’ve never lost a loved one before and I hate not knowing. He sighs.
“I don’t know that better is the right word. Some days are easier and some days are like it just happened or I’ll think of something I want to tell him before realizing that I can’t.”
“That’s kind of what I figured,” I mutter as he pulls up in front of the house.
“Nice place.”
I turn and look up at the southern cottage. “Thanks, for the compliment and the ride.”
“Not a problem.”
Reaching out to grab the door handle, I look back at him. “Well, see you…probably never.”