Page 46 of Naughty Heart

“I do. Whatever it is.”

She sucked in another deep breath, and I hated the hesitation I could see. The idea of having to share whatever was going on was making her feel physically ill, and it was plain as day.

Finally, after a long tension-filled silence, Evelyn revealed, “I was late getting back here because I had to wait an extra hour for the bus.”

My brows pulled together. “What?”

“The bus,” she repeated. “You know, public transportation.”

“I know what public transportation is, Evelyn. What I don’t understand is why you were waiting for it,” I said. “Did something happen to your car when you ran to the post office for me?”

She shook her head. “No.”

God, this was like pulling teeth. “Okay. So why were you waiting for the bus?”

Evelyn sighed. “Because that’s how I get anywhere.”

“Don’t you have a car?”

“I do. But my car needs repairs and isn’t drivable right now. I’ve been taking the bus to and from work and anywhere else I might have needed to go for at least six weeks now,” she explained.

I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. How could I have not known Evelyn was taking the bus to and from work every day?

“Are you having a problem with the mechanic or repair shop?”

“No.”

That’s when it hit me.

She’d just gone off on a tirade about how I had the money to fix all my problems, while not everyone else was so lucky. “You can’t afford to fix whatever is wrong with your car,” I concluded.

Evelyn pressed her lips together and winced. “And now that I’m utterly humiliated, I’d really just like to get back to work, if that’s okay.”

“How much is it?”

“What?”

“How much is the cost to fix your car?”

Her brows shot up. “Why? So you can laugh at how much I don’t have? I had to make choices, Malcolm. I had multiple things happen in my life that haven’t exactly made things easy for me. And when it came down to it, I had to make a choice. It was more important for me to give my landlord something to cover part of my rent and use what little I had left to feed myself. I’m doing the best that I can. Okay? I’m sorry. I accidentally missed the bus on the way back here after the visit to the post office because I made the foolish decision to make a ten-minute stop at a shop that was right there. I hadn’t realized I cut it so close.”

Fuck.

All I could manage to do was stare at her.

Everything my parents had said to me in my apartment two weeks ago was the truth. I didn’t know the first thing about what it was like to struggle. As my dad had said, I’d had it made in the shade for my entire life.

Did I have to work now? Of course.

But I never, not once in my whole life, knew what it was like to be concerned about how I’d pay my rent or feed myself.

And this woman, this beautiful woman, was working herself to the bone, going above and beyond, just to make ends meet. Hell, the way it sounded, she wasn’t even accomplishing that, and I hated that for her.

“Let me help you,” I deadpanned.

She shook her head. “No. I’m doing my job and taking care of myself. I’m used to it. I’ll get it figured out.”

Her parents.