Harold clears his throat, sitting up a little straighter. “Yes?”
“I’m Rae Montgomery.”
He splutters, coughing. Pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket, the old man pulls himself together and dabs at his mouth.
“Excuse me,” he says. “I wasn’t expecting…” He swallows. “We did everything over the phone and email. I didn’t know you were so young and…” he trails off, staring at Rae’s beautiful face.
Neither did I, old man.
Rae’s gaze flicks to mine, and a wildfire rips through my veins. It torches everything inside me, chasing away all the coldness I’d reserved for her.
“Benji.” She nods.
I nearly groan, catching myself at the last minute. I want her to say my name again. I want her to claw those manicured nails across my back, screaming Benji like it’s her salvation.
But the feeling passes.
I turn my back to her without answering, but I can feel her there, behind me. I can feel her. Like her presence burns a hole in my skin. Like there’s an invisible anchor tugging me toward her. Like she has some sort of force field pointed straight at me, dragging me into orbit around her.
Harold clears his throat. “It’s nice to meet you in person,” he says. “You drive a hard bargain.”
“It was a fair price, Mr. Gilles. A million and a half is more than adequate for the turnover the garage produces,” Rae answers dryly, and I choke on my beer.
A million and a half?
No wonder he sold. That’s half again what my father tried to give me, and probably twice what anyone local would have offered. I wouldn’t even be able to compete with that if I tried. I throw a look at Harold, who gives me an apologetic glance.
Anger floods my chest. Its waves crash against my ribs, making them split and crack under the weight of my pain. I put a few bills on the bar and stand up, trying to ignore the scent of Rae that clings to the air everywhere she is. Her eyes are on me. I can feel them, just like I can feel her, her, her.
Does she think she can buy me, too? Does she think I’ll fold as easily as Harold?
I won’t sell Sawyer out for anything. He’s my best friend, and I won’t let her walk in here and tear his life apart. She’s done enough damage already.
I walk away without looking back.
When I step outside, I head straight for Sawyer’s house. I haven’t seen him since Rae showed up at the garage, and I need to tell him that she’s here for the foreseeable future.
It’s a short drive to the east end of town where Sawyer lives. I park outside his duplex and see lights still on inside. When he opens the door for me, he looks haggard. There’s a duffel bag on the floor next to the door.
“You’re leaving,” I say.
“Just for a little while. I don’t want to see her.” Sawyer stuffs a pair of socks in the side pocket of his bag before standing up and glancing around the room. “I’ll still check my email, but my phone will be off. Can you let me know when she leaves? I’ll come back then.”
I clear my throat. “She bought the garage.”
I watch his face turn from determination, to confusion, to shock, and finally settling on horror.
“She…she what?”
“Harold sold for one-point-five million. Says he’ll travel the country in an RV. Finally taking that retirement he’s been talking about for a decade.”
Sawyer lets out a breath and slumps down onto the sofa. He drops his head in his hands, shaking his head.
“I knew my family would look for me, but I didn’t think they’d go to these kinds of lengths.” Groaning, he leans back on the sofa and closes his eyes. “She’s the worst of them all, too. Of course they sent her. She probably asked to come herself, just to make my life hell.”
I take a seat across from him, studying his face.
Finally, I ask the question that’s been on the tip of my tongue all day. “What happened between you two?”
Sawyer’s face shifts. The skin around his eyes tightens, and his eyes grow cold.
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“No,” he replies. “I’ll tell you.” He stares at a spot on the opposite wall, sucking in a deep breath. Finally, Sawyer laces his fingers together and I can see his resolve strengthening. I don’t know if he’s ever told anyone about this, and I’m not sure I want to know.
Yet, a sick sort of curiosity makes me sit still, nearly holding my breath.
Finally, he speaks. “Our parents are Houston’s rich, oil elite, but you’d never hear about them in the papers. My father owns an oil and gas company. Inherited the company from his father, who got it from his father before him. Old money.” He huffs, bitterness dripping off every word. “He thought the three of us—Lucy, Rae, and me—would follow in his footsteps. Offered me a cushy job and trained Lucy and Rae to be perfect little future wives for whoever my parents chose as husbands for them.”
Sawyer’s dark, haunted eyes lift up to mine.
He shakes his head. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sell my soul just for a few bucks. I couldn’t take the handouts my father was offering and work for some huge corporation for the rest of my life. I don’t care how much money is in it, I couldn’t do it. I thought Rae agreed with me. She said so. Said she wanted to make an honest living. Talked about working with her hands. Being honorable. Not playing with people’s lives and livelihoods and making shady deals just to line our own pockets. Not doing what my father has done his whole life. Greedy, bloodsucking cunt.” He spits the word out, his lips twisting.
I stare at my best friend as his eyes harden. My heart clenches, and I try to gulp. I don’t know what to
