“Perfect.” Rachel cradles Walter to her chest, giving him a kiss on the head before she hands over his leash and slides from the passenger seat. “Have a good day.”
“Me or the dog?”
Her gaze catches mine and she grins. “Both. Obviously.” Her bag begins to ring, and she pulls out her phone, all humor draining from her face. She silences her cell and slides it back into her bag.
Protectiveness fills my veins. “Who was that? One of your roommates?”
“No.” She bites at her bottom lip. “Just something I’d rather not deal with. I have enough problems right now, what with being homeless and carless.” Her feeble attempt at humor does nothing to diffuse the worry from her frown or mine. “Anyway, thanks again for driving me, and letting me crash at your place.”
“Yep.” My throat burns with deceit. An odd feeling because I don’t tend to question my decisions. Maybe I should’ve answered Mark’s call with her in the car. But I didn’t, because I don’t want her to know the cost of the repairs. Now more than ever, I want to take care of this for her. Does the end justify the means? God, I hope so. Not that I can ever tell her. Still. I don’t lie. I wouldn’t, but the truth will only hurt her. She has enough on her plate; I won’t add to it. Forcing a casual grin, I raise my hand and wave. “Text me when you’re done for the day.”
“I will. Thanks.” She shuts the door.
I heave a sigh of relief. Jesus. What’s wrong with me? It’s one little fib. I pull from the curb and return the missed call.
“Hey, Jude. I was just leaving you a message.”
“Sorry about that.”
“No worries. I have good news! The LeSabre’s ready. Let me know where you want her dropped, and I’ll have one of the guys take care of it this afternoon.”
My stomach twists with the news. No. Rachel’s vehicle cannot be ready yet. I’ve just gotten her in my place. We’re vibing. She’s letting me in. Bringing back her car will ruin everything. She won’t have any reason to stay at my place, and I’ll have no reason to persuade her to stay. Obviously, I can’t keep it from her forever, but I need a few more days. I need the weekend.
“I’ll pay you extra to keep it until next Monday.”
Mark chuckles. “You don’t need to do that. I can store it in the garage a few more days, no problem.”
“You sure?”
“Of course. It’s not a problem, Jude. Hell, you send me enough business, it’s the least I can do.”
“Thanks, Mark.” I end the call, but my stomach doesn’t settle. It twists with a bit of guilt. Am I doing the right thing? I want Rachel. God, do I want her. But is this taking things too far? I’ve never been one to meddle with fate, but when it comes to her, I’m willing to go to extremes. Besides, it’s not as if this little lie hurts anyway. If anything, it makes her life better. “You don’t want Rachel to leave, do you?” I say to Walter. He blinks up at me from his spot on the seat. He whines a little at the passenger door.
“Of course she should stay.” I hate the thought of her moving back with her horrible roommates. If I fudge the truth and keep her car from her a few more days, is it really such a bad thing?
25
Rachel
Crap. Crap. Crap. I paste a smile on my face and make my way through the lot to the studio. I can’t believe Ethan would call again. And yet, I can. I don’t want to be on his radar. One of the benefits to starting over in a new city was that I’d never have to see him again. Now. Now, I can only hope I don’t run into him when he’s in Los Angeles for work. What if he’s already here? The thought causes me to dig my phone back out of my purse. But before I can check my voice message, a barrage of texts from my brother comes through.
Jared: What the hell, Rae?
Jared: You trying to give me a heart attack?
Jared: Why aren’t you staying at your apartment?
Jared: Is this a new man? Who is he? I need to know everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.
Jared: Wait.
Jared: HOLY. SHIT.
Jared: NO. Please tell me you aren’t with Ethan right now?
Jared: Tell me! OMG this is all my fault.
I let loose a groan. This morning is off to a rough start. Besides the snuggles with Walter, and the fact I have this job, not much is going right. Needing to put my brother out of his imagination-induced misery, I type as I make my way to where I need to clock in.
Me: First. NO I am not with Ethan. Ew. Next. My roommates and I had a falling out and I’m staying with a friend. I’m fine. Don’t worry. Last. Don’t call because I’m walking into work and I haven’t had coffee. LOVE YOU!
“Everything okay, baby doll?” De’Shaun asks, his gaze flicking down to my cell phone.
“Yeah,” I lie, but by his raised eyebrow I must do a poor job of convincing him. It’s probably unprofessional of me, but I could use an impartial opinion. “Actually, no.” I clock in to work using the electronic kiosk and scoot to the side so he can do the same. “Iron Maiden is out of commission, my roommates are thieves, I’m shacking up with a billionaire, and my brother won’t stop blowing up my phone.” Oh, and my cheating ex wants to have dinner. I don’t add that last part. I left Ethan in Chicago. I refuse to talk about him to any of my new friends.
De’Shaun blinks a couple of times before answering. “Honey, you’re living some Days of Our Lives shit right
