Chapter 6 #2
“Yes.” Relief spread through her. To be seen…understood…it loosened a knot of tension. “When she gives me her time, it makes me feel special.” This was going to sound awful, but she’d say it anyway. “That she likes me better than my sister.”
“Which is exactly how Kendall feels when she gets that time.”
“That sounds so manipulative.” But it was true.
This wasn’t groundbreaking information. Her mom was a lawyer, after all—and a great one. Obviously, she knew exactly how to push Willa’s buttons, but her mom insisted it was done out of love. She wanted what was best for her daughter.
But isn’t having a sister what’s best for me? “She’s done it my whole life, pitting us against each other. I just don’t know why she’d do that.” Pinpricks of awareness stabbed the back of her neck, and anxiety flooded her. “Can you do me a favor and read the text?”
“What?” Decker sounded like she’d asked him to get out and walk the rest of the way.
“Just do it, please.” She wanted to hear it from a different perspective, so she gave him the passcode.
He pulled her phone out of the cupholder and punched in the number.
Then, he started reading it. “‘I’m extremely disappointed in how you handled yourself this morning. That behavior was not appropriate for the office, and you put us in an uncomfortable position.’” He took the briefest pause, and it kicked her in the gut.
Why are you having this extremely successful, gorgeous man read aloud the most mortifying moment of your life?
Well, probably because she’d never see him again after the wedding.
Also, he was someone she’d never be interested in romantically—not in a million years.
Oh, come on. She could make all the excuses she wanted to cover her embarrassment, but the fact was, with the rain pummeling the roof and windshield, steam fogging the windows, it felt like they were in their own little world.
And she trusted this man. On some weird level, she felt a connection to him.
Oddly, more than she’d had with Nate.
He continued reading. “‘Kendall’s engagement is not about you, and I expect you to stop treating it as if it is. She and Nate are well suited, whether that’s easy for you to accept or not.
I’d intended to name you lead associate on the FieldTech case today.
I will move forward with that, assuming you can remain focused and professional from here on out.
When I see you Monday morning, you’d better have pulled yourself together. ’”
As his gaze lingered on her phone, she knew she’d made him uncomfortable reading her personal business out loud.
But she was glad she had. Seeing my mom through someone else’s eyes changes the whole picture.
“When I first read it, all I heard was how I’d made a fool of myself in front of everyone.
How Kendall ‘got the guy.’ But now, hearing you read it…
My mom’s so cold. I mean, I’m her daughter. She knew Nate and I were together—”
“Hang on. Catch me up.”
Fair point. He had no context for the message. “I went into the office this morning to tell him I was ready for more and found out he’d just proposed to my sister.”
“Well, fuck.”
Her skin felt hot, itchy, like an angry red rash had broken out all over it. “Yeah.” It all came flooding back, the shock, the mortification. “I just don’t understand how you can date two sisters in the same firm. My mom, Kendall…they had to know. All three of them were in on this.”
His gaze burned where it hit her cheek. He was worried about her, and she appreciated that more than she could say. Most of her life, she’d felt so alone.
Which was ironic, considering she literally worked in the same office as the woman who’d given birth to her.
And it struck her, that ache in childhood to have a mom? It had never gone away. A cool, soothing hand on her forehead when she was sick, a nonjudgmental ear when she needed advice. She’d grown up with an emptiness no amount of money or success could ever fill.
And she still had it. After all these years.
The pain was so intense, she felt nauseous.
The brake lights on the RV ahead of her flashed, and Willa tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she slowed.
“Your mom said Kendall’s better ‘suited’ for this guy,” Decker said. “Is she?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen them together outside of work.” Ever since she’d boarded the plane, she’d been scouring memories of the two of them together. Had she missed the secret looks? The chemistry? “Nate and I like the same things. We’re on the same path… I thought we were a good fit.”
“But it wasn’t love?”
“No. Definitely not.” She had a flash of Nate’s bare ass as he headed to the door to get the food they’d ordered.
Twice, they’d spent the night with each other.
Once, they’d banged in the supply closet on a stack of printing paper.
But they’d never gone away together. And the only time they went out to dinner was on a work trip. “We didn’t date. We hooked up.”
“Did anything happen the last time you saw him? A fight? Bad sex?”
The clutch of tension around her heart eased.
This was good, the forensic breakdown. It was exactly what she needed.
“No.” The haze cleared, and she was finally calm enough to see the truth.
“The last time we were together, I asked if he wanted to go to Martha’s Vineyard with me the next weekend.
He was shaving and said, ‘Can’t.’ That was it.
‘Can’t.’ And then he rinsed off his face.
His reaction embarrassed me, so I ran out of there like I’d just told a telemarketer I loved them. ”
“It sounds like you’re more hurt about the betrayal than losing the guy.”
“That’s…” What was she going to do, pretend?
“Yes.” As embarrassing as it was to admit it, she had to get a handle on the situation.
How else could she go back to work on Monday?
“I’m thirty-one. It seemed like the right time, right man.
Who could be better for me than a partner who’s as busy and ambitious as I am? ”
He tipped back his cup and drained the coffee.
“Well, look, I’m not hearing you say he was funny or smart, that he took care of you when you were sick or came over in the middle of the night to kill a spider, so if your only criteria is someone who works as hard as you, then it shouldn’t be hard to find his replacement. ”
“Did I say I liked your bluntness?”
“Oh, yeah. You highly praised it.”
“Well, I was wrong.”
“Truth hurts.”
He had her there. “Did you ever take care of a woman when she was sick? Did you ever go over in the middle of the night to kill a spider?”
“Yes. And yes.”
“Okay, you’re either lying or you have spent more than one night with a woman.” But really, why did she care so much about his love life? Her interest in him was bothersome.
“I don’t lie.” He cut her a look. “I don’t need to.
And I’m talking about Ava. When I was fifteen, she didn’t pick me up after football practice.
I waited two hours. Some of the moms pulled over and asked if I wanted a ride.
Even Coach tried to take me home, but I said, ‘Nope. Ava’s coming. ’” He paused. “But she didn’t.”
“What was wrong with her?”
“See? Even you knew she’d never blow me off. Turns out, she had pneumonia and was in the hospital. Anyhow, my dad’s truck finally came tearing across the parking lot.”
“Didn’t you have a cell phone?”
“That was in my focus-on-ball, no-distractions era, so I didn’t carry one.”
“I’ll bet you did after that.”
It was his first smile, and she’d almost missed it, but it literally transformed him from dark, brooding, handsome man to movie star. Her stomach tumbled, and her heart fluttered.
No wonder Aurora couldn’t let him go.
“So, get to the point.” She was a little snippy, but she didn’t know what was happening to her. She wasn’t in middle school. She didn’t have crushes. This is ridiculous. “How’d you take care of Ava?”
“The next day at lunch, I had a friend take me to the store, and I bought her a bunch of shit. I didn’t know what she needed.” He shrugged. “It was stupid.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“A box of tissues. Chocolate. Gum. Throat lozenges. Whatever I could find as I went down the aisles. None of it was what she needed.”
“Does anyone else know about this soft side of you?”
“No.” He cut her a hard look. “And we’re going to keep it that way.”
She lifted a hand off the wheel in a sign of surrender. “Hey, your secret is in no way safe with me.”
“You might want to rethink that. I have a lot more dirt on you.”
“Yeah, but a guy who’d bring tissues to his nanny is not going to go telling the world my ex is engaged to my half sister.”
“That shit’s so fucked up, I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“See what I’m saying?” She loved the way his honesty lightened her mood. It took away the gravity of the situation. “But just so you know…” She made a circular motion around the car. “This is the vault. Anything said on a road trip stays inside the car.” She held her pinkie out to him.
He shook his head. “No.”
“Oh, come on. There are no cameras here. No one can see you making a pinkie promise.”
“I don’t need symbolic acts to keep me honorable.”
“You’re just a good guy?” He didn’t answer, but she had a feeling he was. And in her world, that was rare.
She really liked that about him.
Red lights flashed in front of her, and the RV veered to the side of the highway. Without its bulky obstruction, the car’s headlights flashed on orange cones and a barricade. Cars, trucks, and a Yellowstone tour bus were pulled over.
As she braked, the tires hydroplaned. She took her foot off the pedal and steered into the skid.
Gripping the wheel until they regained traction, she came to a hard stop.
As she jolted in the seat, shock clanged every cell in her body.
“Oh, my God.” She was afraid to move. They were on the edge of the highway, and the drop-off was deadly.
“You okay?” he asked with urgency.
“Yeah.” But she was shaking. With all the mud and debris on the road and the driving rain, she had no idea if there was even a guardrail. But the car was on solid ground. They were all right. “You?”
“Fine.”
When she closed her eyes, she still saw the flashing lights. “This can’t be happening.”
A police officer wearing a rain shell with reflective striping and a campaign hat tapped her window and twirled his finger in the universal “roll it down” sign.
The moment she did, rain sprayed her face and shirt. “Hi.”
“You okay?” He peered into the car, eyeing her companion.
“We’re fine. Just shaken up.”
“The road’s closed.” Rain coursed off the brim of his hat. “There’s a mudslide about three miles up. DOT’s not letting anyone through until morning at the earliest.”
“Morning?” She never should’ve stopped at that store. “No, no, no. I have to get through. It’s my best friend’s wedding. What if I turn back or go through—”
“You’ll just end up stuck somewhere else. Everything feeding into the parks is backed up or closing. We’ve been turning traffic around for about an hour.” He gestured to the line of vehicles, brake lights glowing in the rain. “Best estimate is tomorrow morning, assuming the rain lets up.”
“There has to be some way—”
“There isn’t.” The officer didn’t say it meanly. Just stating the facts. “I’m sorry.”
“But what do we do? Where do we go? If there’s no other route… We can’t just sit in our car. It’s almost nighttime.”
“All these people are on their phones, looking for lodging, so I’d get on it as soon as I could if I were you. Afton’s got some lodges and guest ranches. There’re some B&Bs, too, but it’s a Friday night in July. Most places are booked.”
He glanced behind her at the approaching cars. “I’m gonna have you move the car to the side of the road while you figure things out.” And then, he headed off to talk to the next driver.
She couldn’t back up and risk hitting someone, so she steered to the barricade and put the car in Park. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone into that store.”
“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” he said quietly. “Road’s been closed for an hour.”
He pulled out his phone. “Let’s start making calls.”
“We’re going to miss the rehearsal dinner.” She couldn’t believe it. Her friend finally found the love of her life, and Willa was stuck two hours away.
“Nothing we can do but find somewhere to stay. At least we’ll make the wedding.”
“We didn’t think we’d miss the rehearsal dinner.”
“I’ll get a helicopter if I have to, but I’m not missing my brother’s wedding.”