Chapter 11
11
PAIGE
Pulling my car onto the lot of the garage Cole owned, the anger I’d been holding on to like a shield pushed forward, but I swallowed it back. I wasn’t here to fight. I was here to say what I came to say and then leave. Getting into an argument with him would only end with us both saying shitty things to each other, and I didn’t want any more of that.
I’d hoped I could just talk to him at the parts store, so I waited all week for him to come in and pick up the parts he ordered, but he didn’t, and today, he sent Billy.
Coward.
I didn’t know if he knew Lanie told me or if he knew Jake told Lanie for that matter, so I could be ambushing him, which actually made me smile. The first smile brought to my lips this week when Cole was on my mind, which was way too often.
After parking, I got out and adjusted my blouse. I wore jeans to work every day for two reasons. The first one being it wasn’t actually clean in the store, and I didn’t want to ruin my clothes, but the other was practicality. I already stood out in that place, I didn’t need to make it worse by wearing a skirt, but I did try to wear a blouse or a cute top to satisfy my love of clothes. I especially loved wearing skirts and dresses, and lately, I’d been staring at my dresses, wondering if it was time for a new job. One where I could wear what I liked and not feel like I was wearing a neon sign, with the words I don’t belong here flashing in orange. I started across the lot and walked into the first open bay door I saw. I’d never been to Cole’s garage before. I had no idea what to expect, but I was a little surprised by how organized it seemed.
“Paige.” I glanced to my left when I saw Billy heading my way and smiling.
“Hi, Billy.”
He pointed at the parking lot. “Something wrong with your car?”
“No.” I glanced around the garage. “I’m here to see Cole. Is he around?”
“In the office.” He pointed at a door on the far-right wall. “You can just go in.”
“Thanks.” I smiled and headed that way, but that smile slowly slid from my face when I faced the door.
Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly before I turned the knob, pushed open the door, and stepped inside. I was surprised to see a nice-sized office that included a desk and a few chairs in a small waiting area. I didn’t know what I expected, maybe something that looked more like Dave’s office, which resembled a messy storage room, but this was actually nice.
Cole was sitting behind the desk but didn’t look up before speaking. “Finishing up?” I skirted around the desk, and as soon as I moved, his head lifted, eyes on me. “Paige.”
I sat down in the chair across from his desk. “We need to talk.”
He studied me for a minute before glancing at the door. Getting up, he walked to the still open door and called out, “Billy, when you’re cleaned up, you can go.”
“Thanks, boss. We workin’ tomorrow?”
“You want the hours, come on in,” he replied. “I’ll be here.”
“Got it.”
He closed the door and moved back to sit behind his desk. “What’s going on?”
I could just jump right in, which was how I normally approached these things, but that never seemed to work with Cole. He’d immediately get his back up, which would just accelerate the argument. That wasn’t going to get us anywhere. My mom used to tell me I’d get a lot further in life if I was sweet, which I always dismissed, but my approach to life hasn’t worked in regard to Cole, so maybe today was the day I would try it her way.
With that in mind, I decided to make small talk. “Do you work every Saturday?”
“Yep.”
“When Billy came in to pick up your order, he said you interviewed some people.”
“Yeah, I did, but none of them were a good fit.” He studied me closely and then continued, “What’s going on, Paige?”
Not surprised Cole seemed suspicious, I sat back, crossed my legs, and tapped my fingernails against my leg. I guess my attempt at small talk wasn’t working. “I came to tell you to stop spreading my business all over town.”
He genuinely looked confused. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I talked to Lanie last weekend.” Understanding dawned on his face. “I heard you had a little boy time and decided to share my bad choices.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“No?” My head snapped back. “Are you calling Lanie a liar?”
“No.” His lips thinned. “But she shouldn’t have shared with you what I talked to Jake and Ben about.”
I leaned forward, prepared to argue, but instead took a deep breath before replying. “You shouldn’t have shared any of it with them.”
He leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk. “Why are you acting like this?”
“Like what?”
“Nice,” he replied. “It’s obvious you’re pissed, but you’re trying to act like you aren’t.”
“I’m trying something new.”
“Well, knock it off.” He frowned. “I don’t like it.”
I snorted. “What a surprise.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head and steered the conversation back to why I was here. “I’m trying not to get into another argument with you, but since that’s not working, I’ll just ask you why the hell you told Jake what happened?”
“I didn’t think Jake would tell Lanie.”
My eyebrows shot to my hairline. “That’s your excuse? That you didn’t think your cousin, who is married to my best friend, would share something about you and me.”
His jaw clenched, and I wondered who he was more pissed at. Me for confronting him or Jake for telling his secrets.
“Why were you even talking about me?”
He ran his hands through his hair. “It just came up.”
“That shit doesn’t just come up, Cole.”
“Look, they asked why you and I don’t get along. I told them I had no fucking clue, and somehow, we ended up talking about that night.” He leaned back in his chair. “Don’t tell me you weren’t going to share that with Lanie.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Bullshit.” He scoffed. “You two are close. Anyone can see that just by watching you when you’re together.”
“You’re right, Cole. We are close, and we do share a lot, but I wouldn’t have shared that story.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s embarrassing,” I answered honestly.
He snorted out a laugh that held no humor. “You didn’t want Lanie to know you made out with a mechanic outside of a bar. That makes more sense.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I answered immediately.
“Sure.” He shook his head. “This is unbelievable. You come here and accuse me of sharing a story with my cousins, who are more like my brothers, all because you’re embarrassed.”
This wasn’t going the way I wanted it to go. Somehow, he managed to turn it around and make me look like the bad guy. I wasn’t embarrassed that I made out with Cole. I was embarrassed about how that made me look.
When his desk phone rang, he looked toward it, and I swore I saw relief in his expression. “I need to get that.”
I nodded and sat back while he answered the call, lost in my thoughts. It was obvious he didn’t want me here. He didn’t want to talk to me. I wasn’t even sure why I threw myself at him that night. I think I just wanted to see if he would react. I was so used to men treating me a certain way that I’ve almost started considering it normal when it isn’t. I bring a few things to the table, and my looks are one of them. I’d gotten very good at using my appearance to make me feel accepted and valued, but Cole never seemed interested in how I looked or dressed. He actually acted as if he didn’t notice. I don’t know what to do with that. If he doesn’t value me for my appearance, then why would he value me?
Maybe that was the problem.
He didn’t value me. As a matter of fact, if I had to guess by the look on his face when he saw me standing in his doorway, he genuinely didn’t like me at all. And that night for him was probably just as embarrassing. Of course, he reacted when I kissed him. Who wouldn’t in that situation? He was a man, after all, and when a woman threw herself at a man, he was not going to turn that down. At least not the men I’d known.
Suddenly, I needed to leave. I no longer wanted to be in this room with him. I wanted to go home, put on something slinky, and go to Crush. It was Friday night, and there was bound to be someone there who wouldn’t look at me like someone he couldn’t stand to be in the same room with. Pushing from the chair, I headed for the door, opened it, and walked into the garage. I heard Cole tell the person on the phone he’d call them back, but I kept walking. This had been a mistake, and I just needed to go. I didn’t know what I thought would come from this, but all it did was make me feel worse about the entire situation.
“Paige!” he called out, but I kept walking.
He caught up to me and wrapped his hand gently around my forearm to stop me. Spinning around, I hid the disappointment I felt. I was good at that. I’d been perfecting it my entire life.
He exhaled heavily. “Look, the shit I said that night?—”
I cut him off. I didn’t want to hear the excuses. I will never forget what he said that night, but I didn’t want him to know that. I didn’t want him to know he had the power to cut me that deeply.
“It’s done, Cole.” I pulled my arm away. “I came to tell you to stop talking about me, and now that I've said that, I’m leaving.”
He stepped closer, and I swallowed hard. I hated that he affected me as much as he did. I hated that I was attracted to someone who wasn’t attracted to me, and there didn’t seem to be a damn thing he could say to shut down those feelings.
“I’m sorry.” He laid his hand on my hip, and I held my breath. “I didn’t mean what I said to you. I was pissed, and I should’ve just walked away, but I didn’t. You could never be anyone’s second anything.” His hand flexed against my hip. “You just...”
“Just what?” I asked, my eyes locked on his, our faces close.
“You just…” He paused but only briefly. “Get under my skin.”
“In a good or bad way?” It wasn’t until I asked that I realized how much I wanted to hear the answer.
“I’m not sure, but we definitely bring out the worst in each other.” I nodded slowly because that was true. I wasn’t like this with anyone else. “We need to find a way to get along.” He sighed. “Lanie and Jake are married, which means we’ll end up at a lot of shit together. I don’t want them to feel awkward around us.”
He was right, but it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear. It would be nice to hear that he wanted us to get along so we could have something of a relationship, even if that was only friendship.
“I’ll work on it,” I promised.
Turning, I made my way to the car, surprised when I slid into the driver’s seat, closed the door, and noticed he was standing right where I left him.
Watching me.
With an expression I couldn’t decipher but caused a shiver to roll over my skin.
Putting the car in drive, I got the hell out of there before I did or said something I was bound to regret.