Damn! I vaguely remember her mentioning she was scheduled to talk to the Local Life & Styles magazine about a few pieces they needed her to edit.
“Tomorrow night,” I counter.
“You have a fence to install…” She gives me a weak smile and turns to Winnie, who is now beside the table.
“We need to eat before I drop.” She fans her flushed face.
Presley gives a soft giggle, covering her mouth and shaking her head at her niece. I get up and grab her hand to go order, when she starts to tug on my arm.
“Hey, isn’t that your friend?” She points at the door, and I inwardly curse Robbie for his speedy arrival. I need a few more minutes with Presley before we take off.
There’s no way I’m leaving her with all this doubt and confusion. Robbie gets to the table and bends down, eye level to Winnie, and puts out his hand. “How ya doing, little lady?”
She takes it and leans in to give him a hug. “Great, but I’m famished.”
Robbie looks between us with a sharp grin that dies when he sees Presley’s plastic smile.
“Robbie, it’s so nice to see you.” Presley gets up and gives him a brief hug.
“Hey, Presley, sorry to bust up your date.” He shoots me a ‘what the fuck’ look.
“What do you mean bust up our date? Aren’t you staying for dinner?” Winnie looks at me with wide eyes that darken in confusion.
The similarity to Presley’s eyes is unreal, and the ache in my chest deepens.
I suck in a deep breath and shake my head. “I have to get to work. We have an unexpected emergency.”
She moves back from us and latches onto Presley’s leg, looking at the ground.
“I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
At this point, Presley reaches for her purse and bends down, saying something in Winnie’s ear to make her look at us with a pathetic grin. Her disappointment is even more obvious than her aunt’s.
“I’ll wait for you in the truck, man.” Robbie says goodbye to the girls and leaves.
“I’m still going to call you tonight when I get done. If you’re up, I’ll stop by.”
Presley gives me a small nod and starts to turn. Hurt and confusion fill her expression, and I move fast, pulling them both in for a hug. One hand goes to Winnie’s back and the other to Presley’s neck. I gently force her face to mine and give her a gentle kiss.
“I’ll make it up to you. I promise. And I’ll explain everything.”
Without another word, I kiss her again and let them go, stopping by the register on my way out and handing the guy a twenty to cover their dinner.
I walk to Robbie’s truck with lead in my stomach and decide we need to find another place besides Chick-fil-A. Both times, it’s ended in disaster.
Chapter 11
Finn
Motherfucking hell! I look at my phone for the fifth time and see no missed calls or responses to my texts. It’s been two days since I’ve talked to Presley, and it’s ripping at me. The last memory I have is her expression when I walked away. I keep telling myself we hadn’t had a chance to talk about my job and my life, but the way she backed away from me still stings. She didn’t have to say it; I knew what she was thinking. Why didn’t I share anything? Dropping the bomb about knowing Declan Collins was nothing compared to knowing my job was more in-depth than I’d described.
Tripp walks in and surveys the mess on the table.
“Big project?”
“School shit.” I motion to my research on one side. “And work shit.” I point to the other stuff.
“Is this why you were rustling around all night?”