Page 13 of Beauty Becomes You (Beauty 4)
He sat down on the same bench, reclining on the opposite corner. “So are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
He gave her a look of reprimand. “We dated for a year and a half. Which, for me, was practically a lifelong commitment. I think I can still tell when you’re upset.”
Strangely enough, she could read his emotions easily as well. His hair was shorter now, almost a buzz cut instead of the floppy hair she’d loved to run her fingers through. He seemed taller somehow, though it didn’t seem possible he would have grown. His posture was relaxed but expectant. She read his body language, his face, even without having seen him for years. Familiarity was a strange thing, muted with time but never turned off.
“My mom had a heart attack,” she admitted. “I was trying to get back there tonight, but my car broke down and then…” She didn’t really want to get into the specifics of her roommate being out of town and her secret boyfriend being a professor here. She shook her head. “It just isn’t working out. I guess I’ll have to stay. Maybe I can get a mechanic to repair my car in the morning.”
“On a Sunday morning? Not likely. Let me drive you back.”
She stared at him. “Back home, I mean. The four hour drive.”
“I know what you meant. I’ll take you there.”
“I can’t put you out that way.”
He looked away. “I owe you that ride anyway, even if it’s in the opposite direction. I’ve always felt bad for ditching you.”
She opened her mouth to reassure him. No, it’s okay. I understood. But she didn’t. She hadn’t understood how she could have meant so little to him because of what their parents had or hadn’t done. Because of something outside of her control.
Sighing, she said, “It was a long time ago.”
“It’s never too late to repay a debt. Let me drive you there.”
Temptation tugged at her. In a manner of speaking, he did owe her this, so she wasn’t just inconveniencing a stranger. And she really wanted to get home. Was her mother awake now? Was she afraid or in pain? Erin could only hope that the hospital care she received was expert, but what if her mother needed someone to advocate for her? Erin needed to be there, and she had no other way to go. No one else to take her. She glanced at her phone. Still no return call from Blake.
Would he b
e pissed about Doug taking her? Would he suspect that she’d been cheating on him? No, she couldn’t believe that. He’d understand when he found out that her mother was ill, when he heard that her car had broken down. When he saw the twelve missed calls from her. He had to understand. She’d make him understand.
“Okay,” she said on a resigned breath. “I appreciate it. And if you want, I can drive there, so you can sleep on the way.” She offered this even knowing he would refuse.
And he did. “Did I ever, in all the time you knew me, let another person drive my car?”
A reluctant smile touched her lips. “It’s late. You must be tired.”
“Never that tired. Not even for you, Erin.”
“You always loved your car,” she said with a touch of fondness.
“Even more now,” he promised. “This one I paid for myself.”
It took almost an hour for Doug to shepherd his friends back to their place and retrieve his car from a parking lot near the clubs. She watched her phone, hoping Blake would see her missed calls. She had begun to worry about him as well, but she had to trust he was safe. She also had to trust that he wasn’t just ignoring her or off with Melinda. Old worries couldn’t touch her now. Faced with failing her mother, with losing her, she had no energy for baseless fears. Blake was kind and loyal, and she wouldn’t doubt him. She only wished that he were here.
As Doug pulled to the curb in a sleek new Audi, she dialed Blake’s number one last time. This time it didn’t even ring, going straight to voicemail.
“It’s me. I got a ride back, with Doug.” She wasn’t sure how to describe him, and she certainly didn’t want to say that guy I told you about who broke my heart. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I’ll see you when I get back.”
As she stepped into the low floor of the car, she realized the assurances were more for herself than him. Everything would be fine, with her mother, and with him. With herself.
“You okay?” Doug asked, concerned.
She forced a smile. “I will be.”
* * *
“Fifteen in the corner.” The familiar thud and reverberation of his stick told him he’d shot true. The striped orange ball tipped over the lip of green felt and tumbled in.
