“You say that like it was expected.” She narrows her eyes at me curiously.
“It was expected. I told him to make it convenient for you.”
“You did?”
“Hell yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t like the thought of you being inconvenienced.”
“Thank you, Walker. That means a lot to me,” she says softly, staring at me with appreciation.
“You seem very fond of your car.”
“I am, it was my first big purchase. Everyone knows I love it. That’s why Carlton defaced it. He knew it was the only way to get to me.”
At the mention of his name, my gut rolls. “He won’t be bothering you again, Emi.”
“I heard what you did at his office. I meant to thank you for that.”
“No need to thank me. He needed to be put in his place. How’d Maren get hooked up with him anyway?”
“She lost her mind for years, and after a home-performed lobectomy, her senses returned,” Emi tells me with a straight face, not even cracking a smile.
“Care to elaborate?”
“Short story is they met the last year of college. Carlton is from around here, but we never knew him. His parents are well-to-do, and he went to school in the north. But he didn’t have the grades for his Ivy League choice and ended up at Clemson. He wasn’t a total dick-lord when she met him, but shortly after they started dating, he made it known he didn’t approve of me. Said I was wild and a bad influence. Maren and I had a few rough patches, but I vowed not to lose my best friend. Through the years, I tried to make nice, but it never amounted to much. Carlton and I just didn’t mesh. When he proposed, I cried. But she seemed happy so I faked a brave face.”
Hearing her admission reconfirms what I already knew. She loves her friend unconditionally. “Must have been hard.”
“Yes, it was. Maren was a two-dimensional person. With me, she was fun and goofy. We still had our weekly standing dates, our monthly mani-pedis, our other circle of friends. But when she was with Carlton, she was quieter and reserved. He took the spotlight. Finally, one day, something broke.”
“Something broke?”
“Yes, she came to me in tears, spilling her guts. She didn’t want to be a socialite. She wanted to be herself, and Carlton told her to get a grip. That was the beginning of the end. He blames me, but she was falling out of love with him for months and grappling with her feelings and emotions.”
“Why did he blame you?”
“Because there was no one else to blame. He’s an asshole and couldn’t accept she was coming to this conclusion on her own. She was looking at a fight either way with him, then his cheating fell into her lap. That was her clean break. But he still blames me.”
“Did you force him to fuck other women?”
“No.” She crinkles her nose. “He’s disgusting.”
The term narcissist floats in my head, and I press her close, sliding my hands down her back to cup her ass. “I mean it, Emi. He gives you any problems, tell me immediately.”
“I doubt he’ll bother me again, Walker, but if he does, I can handle it.”
“But you don’t need to handle it. You have me now.”
A soft glimmering takes over her features, and she leans up to place her forehead on mine. “Thank you.”
The air around us cracks and sizzles as I stare into her eyes, feeling her heartbeat against my chest. My own heart starts to race as I close in, placing my lips on hers.
“Stay the night with me, Emi.” I kiss her tenderly. “I want to wake up with you in my bed.”
She doesn’t hesitate. “Okay.”