“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” His apology would have gone a whole lot further if he wasn’t clearly fighting back laughter.
“It’s not funny! You scared the crap out of me!” Em grabbed her chest in an attempt to coax her heart back to where it belonged.
“I’m sorry. Really. I thought you heard me coming.”
No. She’d been too busy mentally cursing her luck. “I thought you left?”
“I did. Forgot my phone, though. I was hoping Bart was still inside, but I guess not.”
“Guess you’ll have to wait til tomorrow.”
“Guess so. Car troubles?” He nodded at the hunk of junk sitting in the spot just mocking her. “Or was it personal between you and her?”
“Him.”
“What?”
“Ash’s car is a him.”
“I thought all cars were—”
“Not Ash’s. His name’s Harrison. After her favorite actor.”
“Okay, then. Was it personal between you and Harrison? Was he getting fresh?” The way Mason asked, so serious, like this entire conversation wasn’t completely absurd, made her laugh.
“No. Nothing personal. Except I think he hates me.”
“Impossible.”
“Then why did he wait until I was driving, on the coldest night of the freaking year, to decide not to start?”
“Well, the whole coldest night of the year thing may have something to do with it,” Mason offered with a grin. “He may just need a jump. I’ll get my cables.”
Mason climbed up into the cab of his monstrosity and angled it as close to Harrison as he could get. Em stood back and watched as he popped both hoods and attached the cables. She’d never actually jumped a car before. He started up the truck from the outside, and then rejoined Em.
“What do I do now?”
“Just wait. We’ll let it charge a few minutes and then you can give him another chance not to totally suck.”
“I suppose I could give him one more chance.”
“You always do.” The words were mumbled, clearly not meant for her to hear, but on a clear, quiet night like that it was impossible to miss even the slightest sound—when she wasn’t in the middle of an internal rant, anyway.
“What?”
“Why didn’t you call Ash . . . or Jay?”
“I don’t have a cell phone.”
Mason nodded. “You should. They come in handy in times like these.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Add it to the long list of things she should have, but didn’t.
“Okay, give him a go.”
Em dropped back into the driver’s seat, more than a little skeptical. So she was pleasantly surprised when she turned the key and he roared to life.
“Oh my gosh, thank you so much.” Em extracted herself from behind the wheel as Mason detached the cables and slammed the hood.
“You’re all set.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Mason. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. You want me to follow you to Ash’s. Make sure you get there all right?”
“Nah. It’s not far. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. Good night, Em. Be safe.”
“Good night, Mason.”
He climbed into his truck and sat there until she pulled out of the lot and onto the main road, alternately begging and threatening Harrison the whole ride back.
***
Em knew it wouldn’t take long. Jay couldn’t afford the luxury of avoiding her for long. But just because they were in the same room didn’t mean he had to acknowledge her presence. The following evening, Jay didn’t bat an eye when she walked into Bart’s.
Occupied with scooping ice and pouring drinks, he barely had a chance to lift his head, but when he did, she saw it. In that instant their eyes connected, before his dropped back to the bottle of whiskey in his hand, she saw the flash of guilt. But worse, she saw the pity.
So this was it. This was how it was going to go. He’d come to the same conclusion she had. There were things she just couldn’t do, needs she couldn’t meet, desires she couldn’t fulfill, and it was time for him to move on. His patience had finally run out.
Faster than she thought possible, her heart shriveled into an aching pit. Pain exploded from the void it once filled. Life without love sucked. She knew that. It was a miserable existence she’d endured for many long, cold years. But to have love—real love—and then have it taken away? That was a cruelty beyond imagining.
Em wasn’t naïve. She’d known it was only a matter of time. Each hesitation, each refusal, each cold shower had brought this moment closer. She knew it had arrived the moment she saw that look on his face with Sahara. But knowing it and hearing it were two entirely different things.