Right now, however, it just all seemed phenomenally shit.
"Okay, here's what we do," said Nell, her spine snapping straight. "You come work for us at the Dive Bar."
"But--" An imperious hand halted him.
"No, Vaughan," she said. "You need money, we need a new bartender. Hell, we're probably about to need more waitstaff too. One way or another, you're covered. You can do Pat's shifts behind the bar for now."
"I only planned on being in town for a few days, a week at most."
Lines appeared beside Nell's mouth. "Fine. Whatever. Work while you're here. You start at six. Don't be late."
"Okay. I won't be late."
"And bring Lydia with you."
"Why?"
"I like her. She didn't mortgage my childhood home."
"Right." Vaughan crossed his arms.
"Thanks for the coffee and pastry," I said.
"No problem. See you later."
It took a while for the man to make any move once his sister left. For a long while, he stood staring after her, lost in thought. Useless platitudes filled my head, the usual reassuring crap. For now, I let it all go unsaid. Neither of us was really interested in hearing the obvious.
This summer was genuinely proving to be a motherfucker.
Wonder what nonsense was being said about me around town. Not that it mattered. No way I'd be accompanying Vaughan tonight to find out. First, I needed to find somewhere to stay until things were settled with the Delaneys. And if I hoped to have anything to wear in the near future, finding my clothes in this jungle needed to happen faster.
I brushed off my hands, leaving the empty cup on the step to throw away later. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
"Liar," I whispered.
"Am not," he whispered back.
"Are too."
He gave me a look most dubious.
"That was a heavy conversation. All I'm saying is, it's okay not to be okay after it."
He snorted, pushing his shoulders back. "You want to talk about feelings, Lydia? Is that what you want?"
"Hell no." I laughed. "After yesterday I'm pretty much emotionally wrung out. I vote we be as shallow as humanly possible."
"Thank god for that." A big hand reached out and smoothed down my most likely still psycho bed hair. "You had me worried."
"But on the off chance it's necessary," I said quickly, "I do want you to know I'm here for you, just like you were there for me yesterday."
"That sounds dangerously like feelings talk."
"Not really."
"Yes, really."
"Fine. Take it how you will." I shrugged, getting back into the search and rescue of my belongings. Something glinted among the long grass. An earring. "I want to do a drive-by egging of Samantha and Ray's place, but they've got this big fence and gate."
"Could be a problem." Beside me, Vaughan dropped to his knees, rifling among the vegetation. "How about we toilet paper their front fence?"
"That could work."
"Knew this guy once who dumped his girl by text. They'd been going out for like four or five years. Serious stuff. She got a couple of syringes full of fish oil and injected it into his car through the gap between the doors. Just squeezed it straight past the rubber lining and into the interior." He gazed up at me with a hint of a diabolical smile. "Dude comes back from touring for a couple of months and the inside of his GTO stinks so bad it's not funny. You couldn't even get near the thing, let alone drive it."
I all but clapped my hands. "That's genius."
"Isn't it." A pair of green silk underwear hung from his finger. "These yours?"
"No. They probably belong to someone else whose belongings were dumped in your yard. But I'll take care of them for now."
"That makes sense." Carefully, he inspected them. "French-cut cheekies, huh?"
"You know your lingerie." I frowned.
"Important to appreciate the finer things in life. Especially when they're to do with a fine woman."
"Smooth."
"You know, I had you figured for those boy-short things," he said with a smile. "Happy to be wrong, though. These are hot, babe. Like seriously hot."
"Glad you approve."
"But if you say they're not yours..." He started to stick them into his back pocket.
"Give them to me, please."
"Say you'll come to the Dive Bar with me tonight."
"Oh, boy." I hesitated, everything inside of me rejecting the idea. "A public place. I don't think that's a good idea. I think laying low is my best option right now. Find somewhere to live for the next few days then get gone, start over somewhere new."
"You stay here with me until you're ready to leave," he said, like it was obvious.
"Really?"
"Sure."
"I wouldn't be in your way or anything?"
"No." He passed me my underwear. "Course not."
Quickly, I dropped them into the nearest box of stuff. Given the DEFCON 1 embarrassment levels of the past twenty-four hours, a pair of panties shouldn't have bothered me in the slightest. Perhaps it came down to the man doing the teasing.
"I don't know," I said. "When you get right down to it, we barely know each other."
"It's only for a couple of days. A week at most, right?"
"Yes, but--"
"Are you worried about you or me in this scenario?"
"You," I said, happy to be hiding behind the sunglasses. Those beautiful blue eyes saw too much. "You could change your mind and feel stuck with me. I don't want to add to your problems."
"Lydia, I don't want to add to yours either. But I do want you here."
"You do?" My breath didn't mean to catch, I'm sure of it. It was just an accident. The thought of Vaughan actually liking me thrilled and terrified me in equal parts. He was so hot. And I was so me. But I could pretend to be cool for a temporary period. I could do this. "Why, if you don't mind me asking?"
With a scowl, he stretched out in the long grass, relaxing, for all intents and purposes. "Can I trust you with something?"
"Of course."
He licked his lips again, sighed. "Mom and Dad died when I was twenty. I've never been here without them. Not for more than a night or two. It just, it doesn't feel right."
Hell. My heart ached for him.
"Nell packed up the place, got someone to paint the inside so I wouldn't feel weird, so it would feel like my own house, I guess. But it doesn't."
I sat down cross-legged in the grass in front of him. Picked the head off a dandelion and ran it back and forth across the palm of my hand. "Vaughan, it would be great if I could hang here while I get things sorted."
"Good." A slow smile spread across his face. "And I'd really like it if you'd come with me tonight, see Nell's bar. She'd love to have you there, she said so."
I scrunched up my nose.
"C'mon. You have to go out sometime."
"Hmm, bad idea. I think I've already filled my quota for public humiliation this year."
"You'll have a good time." He shook his head. "No way Nell's going to let anyone hassle you in her place, babe."
"That's not my name." The dandelion fell apart on a warm breeze, drifting off to who knew where.
"All right. Come tonight and I'll never call you babe ever again."
"Never ever again?" I sized him up over the top of my sunglasses, judging his sincerity.
"You have my word." With deliberate slowness, he drew a cross over his heart.
The amount I owed the man was big. Huge. But then so was the thought of going out into the public arena and risking death, dismemberment, and some really nasty gossip. Bitches be everywhere. But also, he was right. I did have to go out sometime.
"Okay." I held out my hand.
He shook it. Then kept holding on, gazing deep into my eyes.
"You're going to have fun, Lydia."
CHAPTER EIGHT
I was not having fun. Mostly, I was fighting the urge to puke. Though in all honesty, t
he state of my stomach had more to do with my hangover than anything else.