“That’s bullpucky, and you know it, Wrench.”
“It can’t work.”
It was the same line he’d used when he first broke things off—a conclusion without a reason.
“And why is that?” I challenged. “Tell me why. I dare you.” He never walked away from a dare.
But he did just that. He turned away and reached for the door handle.
“You pussy,” I spat. “What are you afraid of?”
He stopped.
It was time to play dirty. “I thought that eagle tattoo meant you didn’t back down from anything. But I guess it’s just a lie you tell yourself.”
He turned back, with fire in his eyes. “I’m not scared; I’m pragmatic. The odds against us are a million to one, and I’m smart enough to see it.”
“I’m calling bullshit.”
“It’s just reality.”
I stomped my foot. “It fucking is not.” Nothing was stopping me now. Dad had said I had to know what I wanted, and goddammit, I did. “You’re playing to the Titanic script. You think you know the future. Well, you fucking don’t.”
“You don’t either,” he shot back.
“Abso-fucking-lutely I don’t, but I’m not afraid to aim for what I want. And Luke fucking Carver, you’re what I want. I drove three thousand miles to rent this shop for us and make you my man. So stop fighting it.”
He laughed. He fucking laughed at me.
“What’s so funny?” I demanded, hands on hips. This wasn’t funny; this was my future, our future.
“It takes two to tango, darlin’, and who says I want you as my woman?”
That cut me to the bone, and my jaw dropped. I’d based everything on him holding to his Titanic view of rich girl and poor boy not working out. I hadn’t contemplated for a second that maybe I’d just been a temporary plaything to him.
I laid my entire future on the line. “Tell me you don’t care for me, then. Say it. I dare you.”
He turned and left.
Dad’s letter didn’t tell me how to handle this.
My world imploded.
Luke
It was loud at Pete’s that night. I’d already taken ten bucks from a newcomer in arm wrestling. Cliff was playing pool and hadn’t challenged me to another match.
Spencer had made a quick appearance, finally back from his road trip, but right now he was probably balls deep in Nell, getting what he’d missed for weeks.
Cindy patted Cliff’s butt on her way to my table. “I’m on break. Mind if I sit?” she asked when she reached me.
Normally I would have declined, but today wasn’t a normal day.
“Girl trouble, I’m guessing,” she said.
I shrugged. “Is there any other kind?”
“That hottie you were in with before? The redhead?” She didn’t have to mention Debbie’s hair color. I hadn’t brought anyone else here.
I nodded. “Debbie.”
Cindy helped herself to one of my chips and some sour cream. “I heard she got kidnapped way back when.”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “Taken as a little girl by a pair that couldn’t have kids of their own. Pretty sick.”
“Not for ransom?”
“No. They just wanted a girl to call their own.” I shook my head. “If they’d wanted a ransom, the family would have paid it in a nanosecond, and she wouldn’t have lost all those years of her life.” When I summarized it like that, Debbie’s ordeal didn’t sound half as terrible as it had actually been for her.
Cindy took another chip. “They could afford it? Lucky them.”
I nodded. The Bensons were a lucky family. They could afford anything they wanted.
“They’re loaded,” I told her. “She’s the niece of the guy who owns Benson Corp. in LA, a pretty big deal out there. Filthy rich bastard.” I emphasized bastard.
“No shit. The kidnappers sound like idiots, if you ask me. They should have gone for the cash.”
“Sick fucks is more like it,” I told her. “They put her through hell.”
“So what’s your problem if she’s so rich?”
“She’s back here, but it can’t work between us. She just doesn’t get it.”
She scooped up some cheese with another chip. “You’re the idiot if you’re not all over her like stink on shit.”
I took one of the chips and scooped up a few beans. “I’m not the idiot here. It won’t work. Trust me.”
Cindy checked the time and stood. “I’m back on. I still say you’re an idiot.”
I shrugged a nonanswer. “How about more nachos?”
“Coming right up.”
Debbie
“He cares, and that scares the shit out of him. Don’t give up,” Brooklyn told me over the phone. “He’s stubborn with a capital S.”
“Tell me about it,” I lamented.
I’d called her as a last resort, and Brooklyn had talked me through my funk and agreed to help me convince Luke to give us a chance. It seemed I needed all the help I could get.
“Should I camp out at his house tonight?”
She hesitated. “I’m not sure I’d push quite that hard at first. Doesn’t he hang out at that bar most nights? Pete’s, I think.”
“Yeah, Pete’s Country Club.”
“I’d go there. He’s less likely to make a scene with everybody around, and that’ll give you a chance to at least state your case.”
I liked the idea. “I just need him to listen to me.”
“Persistent, but not super pushy, I think.”
Serena had given me pretty much the same advice when I’d called her earlier and explained that I was done waiting for Luke to make the first move. At least these two women were in my corner.
“I’ll try.” We hung up, and I brushed out my hair before putting it into a ponytail. The last item was to fix my makeup before heading out.
Persistent, but not too pushy. I could do that.
I took an Uber to Luke’s favorite bar, because I planned on getting a ride back home with him. He was enough of a gentleman to not leave a girl stranded.
Pete’s was louder than I remembered as I pushed open the door.
It only took a moment to spot Luke, one table over from where we’d been the night he’d arm wrestled Scarface. He had nachos in front of him, and the look on his face told me he was listening.
I stopped by the bar and ordered a margarita, which I thought would match the chips at his table.
I almost puked when the pushy waitress, Chesty Cindy, from our previous visit sat down with him before the bartender served me my drink.
Was Luke hooking up with that slut?
Was I too late?
Did this explain why he’d been so cold earlier?
Chesty didn’t see me, but I stared daggers at her. When she stood and headed to the pool tables, I could breathe again.
Fortunately, I hadn’t detected even a hint of chemistry between them while she sat across from my Luke. So he was still my Luke to lose, it seemed.
I smiled as I picked up my drink. Holding my head high, I zeroed in on my man.