Page 58 of The Heart Breaker

She slides her card away, swings her bag higher on her shoulder, opens the door, and steps out. A few seconds later, I hear the muffled bell at the front as the main door shuts behind her.

I turn and start cleaning my station, trying for the hundredth time to scrape her out of my head. But every few seconds, my eyes flick to the window.

My jaw tightens and I rip my gaze back to my station. I don’t give a shit, I remind myself. She made her way here and she can make her way back. She’s not my problem. She’s never been my problem.

I scrub the chair down harder than I need to, the vinyl squeaking under my hand. The rain gets louder. Or maybe I’m just paying more attention now.

My hand stalls mid-wipe and I glance toward the window again.

“Shit,” I mutter under my breath.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I drop the rag on the tray, snatch my keys and my jacket off the hook, and head for the front door.

“Heading out,” I mutter to Alex, already shoving my arms into my jacket as I push open the door.

By the time I jog down the street and slide into my car, my hair’s dripping and my jeans are glued to my legs. I turn the engine over, flip the wipers on high, and pull out onto the street.

It doesn’t take long to find her. She’s a few blocks down, exactly where I knew she’d be, her head ducked against the downpour, hair plastered to her face and back. She has her arms wrapped around herself, like that’s going to do anything against this weather.

I roll down the passenger window, rain immediately misting into the car. My fingers tighten around the wheel. “Get in.”

She cuts me a sideways look and rolls her eyes as she keeps walking. “Go away, Cole.”

My jaw flexes as I ease the car alongside her anyway, the tires hissing on the wet road. “You’re gonna get sick. Just get in the car.”

She lets out a scoff. “Please. Just because we had sex doesn’t mean you need to act like you give a shit about me.”

I groan under my breath, kill the engine, shove the door open, and step right out into the rain. I reach her in a few long strides and fall into step beside her, noticing her smudged mascara when she looks up at me, shocked I’m out here.

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter, shrugging my jacket off even though it’s already soaked, and swinging it around her shoulders before she can shove me away. “You drive me insane,” I grit out, still gripping the collar of the jacket around her.

Rain beads on her lashes, trickles down her face. Her lips part like she has a comeback locked and loaded… but nothing comes out. She just looks up at me, her expression a mixture of confusion and shock and something else I don’t know what to make of.

I swallow, my pulse pounding. “Get in the car, Aurora.”

She glares—because of course she does—but she’s cold and wet, and after a few seconds, she exhales, yanks the jacket tighter around herself, and walks toward the passenger seat.

I climb into the car, cranking the heat as I shove the gearshift into drive. Rain pounds on the roof, drowning out the silence, and I turn on my music, turning down the volume slightly as I drive down the road.

Her perfume fills my car and I grip the steering wheel tighter, knowing I won’t ever be able to get rid of her scent after this.

“Turn here,” she tells me.

I take the corner, pull up to the curb outside her building, and kill the engine. The sudden quiet makes the rain sound even louder, drumming hard on the roof.

She doesn’t move. Just sits there with my jacket swallowed around her. “You didn’t have to drive me,” she finally mutters.

I glance to the side and the look in her eyes makes my stomach knot. It looks a little too much like she wants my answer to mean something.

I shut that down fast.

I huff out a humorless breath. “Don’t start drawing hearts in your notebook, Prescott. I wasn’t doing it for you.”

She whips her head toward me. “Then why did you?”

“So I didn’t have to listen to Ryan bitch about his girlfriend catching a cold because of you,” I reply, itching for a smoke so goddamn badly.

“God, you are so confusing,” she says after a few seconds of silence. “You tell me you hate me all the time. So why do you keep doing shit like this?”