I rubbed my hand across my head. “No. We need to talk, and he should apologize. If he calls, that is.”
“He will. I’m sure he’s as distressed as you are.”
“My car is at his place.”
“I’ll drive you there to get it. You can stay at my place tonight, then we’ll go early tomorrow and get it before he wakes up. Let him stew a bit, okay?”
“Ryan?”
“He’ll be out most of the night with John. We’ll have all weekend. Tonight, it’ll just be us. Let’s get a pizza and trash-talk about our men and commiserate. We’ll go back to being sweet girlfriends in the morning, okay?”
Another tear slipped down my face. “What if—?”
“It’s a fight. A disagreement brought on by bad moods, exhaustion, and wrong words. It’s not the end.”
“We started so hot, maybe it was . . .”
“No. It will be fine. It’s one bad day. You’ll see.”
I picked up my wine. I hoped she was right.
Beth glanced over at me with a frown. “I’ll drive you up to the house.”
We were sitting at the entrance to the clinic, just off the highway. “No. It will wake him up and disturb any animals in the clinic. I’ll walk in and get my car.”
“What about your stuff?”
“It’s just my overnight bag. I’ll either have to come and get it when I give him back his key, or I’ll use it next time if we clear this up.”
“Which you will.”
I sighed, tired and distraught. Despite the amount of wine I drank, and the laughs we shared as we “trash-talked” our men, I hadn’t slept well. The truth was I had little to trash-talk about, and even Beth stretched to find too many things to complain about when it came to Ryan. We ended up talking the way we always did when we were together. Although, I did have enough alcohol that I shared a few more intimate details than I normally disclose.
Back at Beth’s apartment, I kept checking my phone. Several times, I began to text Daniel, but then erased what I wrote, stretching back on the sofa, only to start the process over a short while later. There were no messages from him, either, which alternatively made me angry, then resigned. My phone died around one o’clock, and my charger was in my bag at Daniel’s, so I was going to have to plug it in after I got home with my spare.
I opened the door and slipped out. “I’ll be fine. We’ll talk later okay?”
She sighed in resignation. “Fine. You sure you don’t want me to wait?”
“No. I’ll get my car and head home.”
“All right. Call me later.”
I watched her drive away with a wave, then turned, trudged down the driveway and past the vet clinic. It was early, the air was still, and not a soul was around. I should have remembered Beth’s inane need to be up at the crack of dawn, no matter what time she went to bed, before I agreed to stay over last night. Since it was so early, I would have a long day ahead of me, and I decided I would maybe go into the office for a while. It was a busy time, and with no one else there, I could get a lot done.
I rounded the corner and stopped. My car was parked where I had left it, but Daniel’s truck was now parked behind it, angled in such a way I couldn’t back up. I marched forward, walking around my car, cursing under my breath. That bastard. He trapped my car, and the only way I could get out was to ask him to move h
is vehicle. I huffed out an angry breath of air. He had the nerve to call me childish!
Frustrated, I looked in his driver’s window, surprised to see the keys in the ignition. He usually left them in if he parked in the garage, but took them if he parked outside.
How lucky for me he forgot them. I would move his truck, then get my car and be gone. He was no doubt asleep or working out—he’d never know.
Easy.
Avery
I slid into the driver’s seat, shut the door, and surveyed the cab. Next to my small Corolla, Daniel’s truck seemed massive. I glanced in the rearview mirror and took in a calming breath. I searched around the edge and found the mechanism I needed to bring the seat closer to the steering wheel. Daniel had extremely long legs.