June, Reimagined (17)

Lennox Gordon was the last person June wanted to see right now. Revealing her emotions to him was a bad idea, let alone her guilt and shame. He would only weaponize them against her. “Just leave. I’ll wait for the next car.”

Lennox groaned. “Don’t be an idiot. Do you even know what hypothermia does to a person?”

“First, I’m delicate. Then, I’m stupid. And now, I’m an idiot. Your foreplay skills are impressive. Women must love you.”

“They rarely complain.”

June hated his confidence. No doubt women fell at Lennox’s feet. His ridiculous good looks and hooded, pensive hazel eyes only made him more annoying and mysterious. She shivered and sulked down the road.

“Damn it, Peanut,” Lennox yelled. “Your body temperature is getting low, which means blood won’t flow to your skin. It’ll go to your organs and start to slow them down.”

“Sexy,” June mocked. “Talk dirty to me some more.”

“Jesus Christ! Is everything a joke to you? Pretty soon your body will shut down. Now, would you get in the damn car before you collapse and I have to take you back to the hospital?”

Every fiber of her being wanted to resist, to piss him off more, but June couldn’t go back to the hospital. What would Hamish think? She had told him to trust her. June couldn’t threaten her current situation. And she had promised Amelia she would stay. Lennox couldn’t win by proving that June was weak, a liability. But she refused to sit in the front seat. She climbed into the back and slammed the door.

“Do I look like a bloody chauffeur?” Lennox asked.

“You got me in the car. Now, take me home, Jeeves.” She crossed her arms like a petulant child and stared out the window.

“Jeeves was a valet, not a chauffeur,” Lennox mumbled.

June ignored the comment. Warm air flowed from the vents, and she cupped her hands to her mouth and blew on her cold fingers. Her whole body shook, try as she did to stop it.

Lennox pulled the car over to the side of the road, went to the trunk, and returned. “Here.” He threw a blanket at June. She caught it before it hit her face. “Take off your clothes and wrap yourself in that.” He produced a granola bar from the center console. “And eat this.” He tossed it at June.

The snack landed on her lap. “I am not taking my clothes off in front of you. And I’ll eat when I get home.”

“I didn’t ask,” Lennox said sharply. “Now do it.”

June didn’t move.

“Jesus Christ, Peanut! Don’t be an idiot!”

“Stop calling me an idiot!” June’s face burned hot with shame. She shouldn’t even be in Scotland, let alone in this car with a man she despised, thousands of miles from the best friend she loved. But she had done this to herself. She wasn’t an idiot, like Lennox thought. That would be a step up. She was worse. She was a liar.

“I’m sorry,” Lennox said unconvincingly.

“You could at least turn around.” June started to peel off her clothes. She wrapped the blanket tightly around her shoulders, and Lennox started down the road again. Hills passed through the rain-streaked window, blurred and slightly distorted, as if seen through tearful eyes.

June eased into the seat, heat finally making its way to her fingers and toes. She rested her head back, exhausted, and pulled the blanket snug around her body. Something poked at her back. She shifted and felt it again. She reached back and lodged in the thick wool of the blanket was an earring. She pulled it free and examined the silver hummingbird stud. She spun it between her fingers, making the bird appear as if it were in flight. A lost item from a lover, perhaps? Lord knows how many women had been wrapped in this very blanket.

“What do you have there?” Lennox asked, looking into the rearview mirror.

June hid the earring. “Nothing.”

They made it back to the Nestled Inn. Lennox pulled into the driveway and threw the car into park. He turned and glared at her. “Don’t lie. What is it?”

“Calm down. It’s just an earring.”

“Give it to me,” he said, firmly.

She hated his demanding tone. Hated his confidence, when she felt so weak. Hated that Lennox, of all people, had to be the one to see her so vulnerable. Again. June clutched the earring tightly. “No.”

Lennox grunted. “Give it to me, Peanut.”

June wasn’t going to bend. He would have to take it from her. “It’s clearly not yours.”

“It’s in my car.”

“So what? You have no more right to it than I do.”

“I know who it belongs to.”

“Great,” June spoke evenly. “What’s her address? I’ll make sure she gets it.”

Lennox slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “Goddammit, Peanut, give it to me!”

The intense anger in his voice startled June. Scared her almost. Lennox took a breath, and in that moment, June saw grief wash over his face. She knew the look well, having drowned in the same emotion for weeks. Choked on it, really. She set the earring on the center console and collected her clothes. She needed a shower and a hot cup of tea and her pajamas.

When Lennox spoke again, his voice softer, June didn’t want to hear it. She couldn’t look at Lennox any longer. She didn’t need any more sadness in her life. She slammed the door on her way out.