Page 27 of Hale Damage
Nodding, I check the time on my phone. “Probably need to get to the hotel so I can make sure Phoenix doesn’t try to wear a tuxedo T-shirt instead of his actual tux.”
My driver chuckles. “That sounds like him. Try to put this out of your mind and focus on enjoying the day with your brother.”
After paying, we exit the restaurant and head back up the street to my car. Antonio is correct. Today all my focus needs to be on Phoenix and his wedding.
But the wedding, as it turns out, never happens.
CHAPTER EIGHT
When the worst gets worse
Mindy
“So you just took thelast condom out of the box and put it in your purse?” Caroline asks incredulously.
We’re headed south on Interstate 45, away from Houston and the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.
“I sure did. Just thinking of him using that on his new bride made me want to puke. I consider it anaffair condom, so I tossed it into the trash can outside the hotel before calling you to come get me. I snuck out the back door of the hotel because I couldn’t face doing the walk of shame past the front desk clerk.” I groan and cover my face with my hands. “I can’t believe I slept with an almost married man, Caroline. I’m so fucking stupid for falling for all his pretty words.”
And the dirty ones.
I’m completely disgusted with myself. This… this is why I don’t have one-night stands. Now I’m down one pair of panties—which I couldn’t find in the dark—and all of my dignity.
“You’re not, stupid,” Caroline says softly, reaching over to grip my hand.
My throat is clogged, so I merely nod and give her a squeeze as twin tears seep down my cheeks. She’s such a damn gem. As soon as Icalled her, she hopped in her Honda CRV and hightailed it to the Waffle House, where I was waiting for her.
My masochistic ass had chosen the same booth where I sat with Joe—or whatever his name was—last night. I couldn’t handle eating because the guilt and shame turned my stomach at the very thought of food. When I saw Caroline’s vehicle pull up to the curb ten minutes later, I tossed some bills down for the orange juice I’d been sipping.
My friend speaks again over the low crooning of Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me.”
“I’ve never seen you cry over a man before. Usually you go all crimson fury on them.”
She’s right. I’ve never let anyone affect me like this. You want to leave me? Fine, there’s the exit. Bye, Felicia. Sayonara. May the doorknob hit ya where the good Lord split ya. But Joe?
“I’m just hurt,” I tell her, releasing her hand and opening the glove box where I know I’ll find a massive number of fast food napkins. And true to form, they explode out like one of those cartoon scenes where someone opens an overstuffed closet and is subsequently buried beneath piles of junk.
Stuffing the majority of them back inside, I snag three of them to wipe my damp face.
“I never want to hear another word from you about my emergency stash of napkins,” she teases, drawing an almost-smile from me before it slowly fades away.
“How could he be right there on top of me, face to face, and lie?” I ask. It’s a rhetorical question because I know she doesn’t have the answer. “He looked me directly in my eyeballs and told me he wanted more.”
“I kind of wish you’d woken him up and punched him,” Caroline fumes. “I would have paid good money to see that smackdown.”
“I couldn’t,” I whisper, wiping another fucking tear from my face. “I was so ashamed.”
“I’m sorry, honey. Men suck.”
My head snaps sharply to the left, anger surging. “Did Brayden do something? Because I could punchhimif you need me to. I’m not in the mood for any more fuckery today.”
Caroline’s smile is dreamy. “No, he didn’t do anything wrong, but we’ll talk about it later. I want to make sure you’re okay.”
I swallow hard. “No, tell me now. I need something to restore my faith in humanity.”
She looks at me uncomfortably before admitting, “Brayden got that job he applied for in Galveston, so he’ll be moving down to the island.”
My heart warms infinitesimally for my friend. “I’m happy for you, Caro. He seems like one of the good ones.”
