Frank stared at me for a long moment, recognition lining his features. “Okay.” He nodded, lacing our fingers together.
“You promise?”
“I promise I’ll get help. Just come back.” He inched forward and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. My body reacted instantly. Goosebumps erupted across my skin.
“I have to think about it,” I whispered, completely frozen.
“Can I ask about an ETA?” he crooned.
A muddy laugh escaped my throat. “You’re worse than a toddler.” I pulled my hand out of his heated grasp. “Depends on how upset my mother is when I tell her about this.” I motioned at the door and scrambled out of my seat, needing a little distance. He was too hard to resist.
Be still my heart, be still and don’t let this man ruin the walls you’ve built.
Frank stayed in the Escalade while Roman and I monitored Ashton. It took me a good hour to talk him out of buying a Corvette. My voice was shot from all the arguing and my head started to hurt. I was ready to throw myself on the ground in front of that monstrosity of a car if all else failed. Ashton was like a leprechaun chasing a pot of gold, dead set on the baddest, shiniest ride on the lot. For a moment there, I thought of dragging Frank out of the Escalade to assist me with fixing the loose screws in my brother’s brain, but the idea of having my name and photo in the tabloids didn’t appeal to me.
“How are you going to parallel park this car?” I fumed staring at the bright yellow hood of the Corvette. The color was cheesier than a pizza topping.
“I’ll learn.” My brother grinned from the driver’s seat, stroking the dashboard and the upholstery. He was somewhere between adorable and embarrassing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started to lick the windshield.
“No, buddy. You need to know how to parallel park before you buy a car, not after.” I turned to the sales associate. “Can you show us something…smaller and less flashy?”
Eventually, we agreed on a Z4. The look on Ashton’s face when he got behind the wheel of the BMW was priceless. He beamed brighter than the Christmas tree set up in the reception area. Now I simply had to explain this to my mother, and the mere thought of the upcoming conversation gave me chills.
Once all the paperwork had been handled, I returned to the Escalade. Frank was on the phone but hung up the moment I flung the door open to slide into my seat next to him. Undeniable tension riddled the cool air, but he tried to defuse it with a smile.
“I’m not feeling very comfortable with my brother driving a sixty-thousand-dollar car alone,” I said, scouring his features.
“He’ll be fine.”
A pause.
“I hate you a little bit right now.”
“Only a little bit?” Frank laughed softly. “You two owe me a ride, by the way.”
“I think we can arrange that. I don’t know where we’re going to put you, though.”
“We’ll probably have to go without you.”
“Ahh, I don’t know about that.” I shook my head. “You’re a bad influence, Frank Wallace.”
“I’m trying not to be.” There was no pretense in his voice. He spoke from his heart and he spoke the truth, and as much as I wanted to hate him for putting me through hell this past week, I couldn’t. There was something about him—maybe his vulnerability or maybe his efforts—that made me want to hug him and hold him close until the end of forever.
I loved him that much.
“Frank?” I reached for his hand, my gaze aimlessly roaming over the interior of the Escalade. “I think time apart is good for us.” I wasn’t sure I meant it.
“I think we’ve been apart enough.”
“Things have to change… You understand that, right?”
“Yes. I do. And I promise to work through my issues.”
“Thank you.”
He looked at me with such intensity, my cheeks started to burn. “I’ll call you later.” I slipped out of my seat. “I can’t let Ashton drive that car alone.”
“Okay.” Frank nodded.
I didn’t like how easily I’d forgiven him, but I didn’t like my life without him either.
My mother thought I was on drugs when I told her about the Z4.
“You’re joking!” she exclaimed over the phone.
“Mom, I’m not joking.”
“Well, who is this man?”
“I’ll tell you soon.” I had to. I couldn’t keep this secret from my own mother much longer, especially since Frank wasn’t being careful anymore.
Truth was, in my mind, we were back together. I simply hadn’t told him yet. He deserved to suffer just a bit more.
"Why can't you tell me now?” she insisted.
“I’ll see you in a couple of hours, Mom.”
“Did you have to get a two-seater?” I scolded Ashton as we cruised down Sunset Boulevard with the top down and Post Malone blasting on the radio.
"Sorry," he said in a singsong voice. “I wasn’t planning on driving my entire family around in this car.”
“Watch the road, Schumacher.”
“You need to chill, sis.” He laughed and turned up the volume. The shit-eating grin on his face grew wider.
December in Southern California was just as sunny as the summer months. People on the sidewalks sported shorts and tank tops. Palm trees stood tall and green. The ocean breeze was a pleasant cool against my skin as we pushed through the late afternoon traffic in West Hollywood.
Christmas decor along the streets was the only indication of winter.
The dinner went well, considering the fact that Ashton and I arrived at the restaurant in a brand new Z4. It was a tiny Japanese place that was hidden away in one of the older buildings near the busy corner of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica. We ate an obscene amount of sushi and a cotton-soft cake that literally melted on my tongue. At some point, our mother tried to get Ashton to return the car, but obviously, it was a crapshoot.
I was exhausted by the time we finally got back home. Family gatherings always wore me out, no matter how low on drama they were.
A call from Frank came in the middle of the night. I scrambled for my phone, knowing it was him before my eyes registered his name. My room came alive and my heart nearly beat out of my chest at the sound of his whiskey murmur.
“How did it go with your mother?”
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” I sat up. “It’s late.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I wanted to hear your voice.”
“Well, you just did.”
His soft laugh warmed my trembling heart. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
I contemplated. “Possibly, but I have more conditions.”
“I’m listening.”
“I need you to be open with me, Frank. I’m not your enemy. I’m not out to get you and I would never wish you ill. If you really want us to work, you have to talk to me. You have to tell me what’s bothering you, because I can’t read your mind.”
“What do you want to know?”
I shivered as his words rolled through me. My gaze slid across the darkness of the room and froze on the digital clock on my nightstand that read four thirty.