Dirty (Dive Bar #1)(66)
“That’s the name of the new band? Sweet.”
“Classy, right?”
“Totally.” I suppressed my smile, just barely. Funny bastard. I swirled the dregs of my coffee around in the cup. “Do you have any plans for today?”
“No, nothing today.” He stared out the open kitchen doors at the world beyond. The large broken panel of glass had been replaced sometime yesterday. “I, ah, I accepted an offer on the house.”
My face froze. “You did?”
A nod.
“Wow. That was fast. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, it’s a great property.”
High up on the wall, the kitchen clock was ticking. I don’t know if I’d really noticed it before, but now … damn, it was loud.
“You’re happy with the price?” I asked.
“Very.”
“Great.” I smiled, trying my utmost to be happy for him. Just like a friend would be. “That’s … that’s really great.”
Odd how he didn’t smile back. Instead, he kept staring out at the backyard, face betraying no emotion. It was his parents’ place. Whatever his issues over accepting their death, giving up his childhood home had to hit hard. All those memories.
“When are you thinking of leaving town?”
“Henning and Conn want to get started putting together the new material soon as possible.” He grabbed at the back of his neck. “So early next week, I guess.”
“That soon?”
“Yeah.” His gaze zeroed in on me. “Is that a problem for you, with your stuff and all that, Lydia?”
“No.” I looked down, trying to get a handle on … well, me. It felt like my little world had been turned upside down and been shaken to shit. The perfect scene in the snow globe was a blizzardy mess. What the hell was my problem? None of this should be a surprise. “No. I’ll get storage sorted out in the next few days. Not a problem.”
“So you’re still thinking of staying?”
“Maybe.” It was my turn to look away, to avoid his eyes. Such a perfect shade of blue. I’d just have to avoid looking up at the sky for the rest of my life so as not to be reminded of him. Completely doable. “So, early next week. What are you thinking, Monday, Tuesday?”
“Something like that.”
I nodded and tucked my mass of bed hair back behind my ears. Then I messed it back up again because exposing myself right now was plain dumb. “Well, it’s great that you got a big offer on the house right away. Just great.”
“Mm.”
“I should go shower. Make some small attempt to look less like the undead.”
“Hey,” he said. “Did you want to go check out some cars today?”
“Yes, that would be good. Thanks.” I rose, my legs feeling bizarrely flimsy, weak.
The great thing about crying in the shower was that with all of the noise and water, there was no real evidence.
No one need ever know.
*
“See, babe. Isn’t this nice?”
I gave him an unimpressed look. Not an easy feat, given how good he looked. With the window down, his golden-red hair blew wild in the wind and a toned inked arm leaned on the door frame. He was like an ad for the good life.
“Come on, you have to admit this is a great car.”
I didn’t have to admit a damn thing.
“Lydia, this is the right choice,” he said smoothly. “Comfortable interior, high safety standards, handles well in wet weather and snow, and it even has a small sunroof just for you.”
“You’re being condescending. Stop it before I hurt you.”
“I know you like that piece of shit Prius and the cute little MINI Cooper.” He reached out, slipping a hand behind my neck and massaging gently. Dude was lucky I didn’t bite off his limb. If he wasn’t so good with his fingers, I would. “But the WRX will work out far better for you, I promise.”
“I didn’t even want to take it for a test drive. You and that idiot ganged up on me.”
“Babe.”
“It’s true. You know you did.”
“I had no idea Mitch even worked there,” he said with a laugh. A devious one. “Is it really so bad that me and my old friend want you to have an awesome car at the best price possible?”
“It is a good price.”
“It’s a f*cking amazing price and you know it. You’re supposed to be test-driving it, not me.” He pulled into a gravel parking lot in a secluded spot by the lake, switched off the engine. “Fastest line-built vehicle on the market, Lydia. You know you want to try it.”
“It probably got thrashed by its previous owners.”
“No way would Mitch sell you something that’d been treated bad. I’d come back to Coeur d’Alene to kick his ass if he did, and he knows it.”
“God, would you stop talking about leaving?” I snapped. And immediately regretted it.
Vaughan cocked his head.
“Sorry.” I took a deep breath, let it out slowly. “Apparently, I’m Ms. Bad Attitude today. Let’s just enjoy the here and now. Okay?”
He slowly nodded his head. Then he gazed back out the windshield at the sparkling blue water. “You wanted the Vaughan Hewson Coeur d’Alene experience.”