I nodded. My heart twisted in my chest for some stupid reason. “Yes. He’s fine. Just busy.”
“I’ll bet he is. Being a lawyer must be exhausting. I hope you’re taking good care of him.” She sipped her water.
Suddenly, I lost my appetite. Annoyed, I grabbed my things and stood up. “I have work to do. Enjoy your lunch.”
As I walked away, I heard Linda telling Asher about Preston. She was a gossip, sure, but she was being a meddling bitch. I didn’t want to be involved with Asher. I was engaged, but Linda acted like I was trying to move in on him.
I tossed my lunch in the trash once I made it back to my classroom. I glanced at my watch and saw that I had five minutes of lunch left.
Eager to hear his voice, I grabbed my phone and called Preston. The phone rang five or more times before he answered.
“Yeah?” He panted heavily, with a strain in his voice.
“Is everything okay?” I paused. “You sound winded.” I ignored the weird feeling and organized the stacks of papers I needed to grade.
“What is it you need?” He snapped, straight to the point, as usual.
I stopped what I was doing and sighed. That was certainly not the greeting I expected. “I wanted to let you know that my cousin’s best friend—my old friend—is the new gym teacher here. The one that—”
“How many times have I told you I don’t care about your past flings?”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “I just thought you’d want to know.”
“Well, I don’t care babe.” There was whispering on the other end of the phone which he responded to. “I gotta go. See you at home.” He ended the call, and I tried to ignore the nagging in the back of my head.
Preston had been an asshole lately, and it all started when we got engaged. I desperately missed the man he used to be. The tears burned in my eyes as I tried to clear my head of intrusive thoughts.
The rest of the school day I gritted my teeth, swallowed the pain, and forced myself through each hour of class. The students knew something was wrong, but I assured them I was just tired. Children were more intuitive than people gave them credit for.
I grabbed my car keys and bolted out the big glass doors of the school. I tossed my purse into the front seat of my car, plunged the key into the ignition and started the car. It made an awful chugging sound before it shut off. I held my breath and tried to start it again, but there was no use.
I banged my head against the steering wheel, causing the horn to beep. I jumped and placed a hand over my chest. “Fuck.” I stepped out of the car, slammed the door, and slunk against it. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“Car trouble?” Asher walked towards me.
“Shit.” I cursed under my breath and hoisted myself to my feet. “It won’t start.” I paused, dreading the next thing I would have to do. He was already in a pissy mood earlier. “I’ll call Preston to come get me.”
He snorted. “The fiance?” He shook his head as if the thought of calling Preston was the most absurd thing he’d ever heard. “How ‘bout I take a look at it?”
My shoulders slumped in defeat. “Okay. I’ll call him and let him know what’s going on.” I got back in the car to grab my phone out of my purse.
He snuck in beside me, pulling the lever under the steering wheel to pop the hood. When he pulled back, his fingers brushed against my thigh. He hesitated. His gaze met mine briefly before he walked away.
I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding before I stepped back out of the car. I bit my lip when I saw the sight in front of me. Asher bent over my engine. I never thought a man could look so good under the hood of a car.
My head filled with memories every time I looked at him. A feeling of nausea formed in the pit of my stomach as I called Preston. I called twice, but he didn’t answer. I pursed my lips. Normally, he was great about answering my calls on the first ring, but lately, he’d been putting me off. Instead of calling him again, I sent him a quick text to let him know the car wouldn’t start.
Asher shut the hood. “I’m thinking it’s a dead battery. Can you try starting it for me?”
I sighed. Great, a dead battery was exactly what I needed to make this day better. I bent into the car and started the engine. That chugging sound happened briefly before the car shut off. I frowned.
“Yep. It’s a dead battery. Did you get a hold of your fiance?” He strode over to me.
“He didn’t answer.”
His eyes twitched. “You’re fucking kidding.”
I shook my head.
He scratched his head and stared at me. “Listen, I know you’re pissed at me, but can I drive you home?”
My face scrunched. That didn’t sound like a good idea. I could barely be around him in the school, let alone in a car with just the two of us. I placed my hands on my hips. “Just leave me here.”
“I’m not leaving you.” He crossed his arms, and my eyes followed the movement. His muscles peeked out from his shirt.
“You’ve done it before.” My thought slipped out, and I slapped a hand over my mouth.
His eyes widened. “Faith, I didn’t—”
“Never mind. It’s not important. I didn’t mean to say that.” I waved my hand. “Can you just drop me off at home?”
He gave a firm nod and pointed toward the red Ford pickup truck. “Sure, let’s go.”
My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel. I listened to Faith rattle off directions to her home in the suburbs.
I fucking hated this. For seven years, I waited for a phone call, a text,
