They each kept a copy of the filmstrip. Pierce folded his in half and put it in his wallet, and Rebecca put hers into her purse.
“Do you mind if we stop in at Hallmark? I want to get a few things.” Rebecca reached for his hand and guided him toward a display of calendars. She picked up one and rifled through the pages, then another, and then a third.
Pierce would never tire of watching her. She wore jeans that hugged her ass and the black boots that she’d been wearing the first night they’d met, with a simple white cotton shirt. The outfit probably cost her next to nothing, but to Pierce, she looked like a million bucks.
“What are you looking for specifically? I can order you a beautiful leather day planner.”
She smiled up at him. “This isn’t for me. It’s for you.”
“I won’t use one of those. I’d probably lose it, and I’d definitely forget to write in it.”
She pressed her hand to his chest. “That’s just what I was thinking. So, instead, let’s get one of these.” She picked up a small desk calendar, the type that were meant to have the pages discarded at the end of each day.
“Why do I need that? Kendra keeps my calendar.”
“Yes, I know she does, and thank God for her. I thought we could put it by the bed and each night I could write a little reminder, like, Turn phone on, or if you have a meeting coming up, like dinner with Treat, I could write, Make reservations.”
He rolled his eyes. “Did Kendra ask you to do that?”
“I don’t even know her. You’ve never introduced us.” She set it back down. “Never mind. I was just trying to help.”
He pulled her against him. “I love the idea, and I love you for thinking of it. Kendra’s been trying to get me married off for two years, and her biggest complaint is that I forget those types of things.”
“I’d imagine it’s your family’s biggest complaint, too, since you miss their calls the most.”
They paid for the calendar and went to check out the mall directory.
“Rebecca.”
Pierce turned at the unfamiliar male voice and tightened his grip on Rebecca’s hand as a handsome, muscular man approached.
Rebecca pulled from his grasp and hugged the man. “Andy, hi. This is my boyfriend, Pierce. Pierce, this is Andy. He does personal training at my gym. Chiara in HR is his girlfriend. He’s the one who hooked me up with her.”
Pierce shook Andy’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Andy. I’m glad you sent Rebecca our way.”
“Well, all I did was get her in to see my girlfriend.” He turned back to Rebecca. “So, I know you got the job, but I haven’t seen you for a few days.” He lowered his voice. “I guess you found a place to live? No more parking lots?”
Parking lots?
Rebecca’s eyes widened. She shot a worried look at Pierce, then turned her attention back to Andy. “What? No. I rent a room in a house, but lately I’ve been staying with Pierce.” Her words fell fast and shaky.
“Good, because I was worried.”
“No need to worry. I’m doing great. Hey, we’ve got to go. I’ll catch up with you at the gym.” Rebecca walked away without waiting for Pierce.
He forced himself to push past the confusion simmering in his mind. A place to stay? Parking lots? “Nice to meet you, Andy, and thanks again for connecting Rebecca with Chiara.”
He caught up to Rebecca. She was walking fast, her lower lip trapped between her teeth, her brow furrowed.
“Let’s try Macy’s,” she suggested.
“Rebecca, what did he mean by no more parking lots?” He flashed back to the evening when they went to the parking garage to get her bag and she didn’t let him near her trunk.
“Nothing.”
“Rebecca, we said no secrets, remember?” They were entering Macy’s, and as Rebecca practically dashed toward the back of the store, Pierce reached for her hand. “Bec, slow down. Please?”
She stopped walking, faced him with her brows drawn together, and crossed her arms. Her chest rose and fell with heavy breaths—and in those few seconds, he understood.
“Okay. I stayed in my car for a few nights, okay?” She spoke quietly and held his gaze with a distraught expression.
“Babe.” He reached for her hand, and she shrugged him off.
“Don’t.” She turned away. “Can we please just get the gift and talk about this when we’re not in public?”
“Forget the gift. I don’t care about the stupid gift.” He was trying to wrap his mind around Rebecca sleeping in her car, which was a tough pill to swallow. If he added the fact that she hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him that she was living in her car when they met, it burned like hell. “Let’s go talk now.”
Tension thickened with each passing minute on the silent drive back toward Pierce’s house.
“Do you mind if we go someplace other than home to talk?” Rebecca asked in a soft voice.
He reached for her hand. “Sure. The park?”
She shrugged. “Someplace where there aren’t a million people maybe?”
Pierce drove to the River Trail and walked down by the river. The sound of running water was soothing but not soothing enough to quell Pierce’s simmering emotions. He knew by now that pushing Rebecca wasn’t the answer. She’d explain when she was ready, and he respected that, walking silently beside her. He draped his arm over her shoulder and tried to be patient as they walked down the quiet, rocky trail along the riverbank. A breeze rustled the leaves of trees as they passed beneath. A dirt clearing led to the edge of the river, and without a word, Rebecca crossed the clearing and sat on a rock by the water. Pierce sat beside her and leaned his elbows on his knees, trying his best not to let her see his eyes. He knew they’d betray him and she’d see how badly he felt for her. It wasn’t pity, but he knew that love and caring could mimic pity in her mind.
“I came here the week after my mom died. I’m glad you chose this place to talk. I feel safe here, like she’s nearby for some reason.” Rebecca looked out over the water.
Pierce put his arm around her again. “You’re safe, Bec. I’m here, too.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“Bec…”
She turned sad eyes toward him and drew her shoulders back. “You didn’t bring your sunglasses.” She smiled, but it was forced and it faded quickly.
“I don’t pity you, Becca. I love you.”
She looked down at her hands and drew in a deep breath. Her hair curtained her face. “I know you do.”
Pierce tucked her hair behind her ear and lifted her chin. “Talk to me, please.”
She nodded and dropped her eyes again, then looked out at the water. “I told you that Mr. Fralin let me and my mom stay in our apartment. Well, after she died, I stayed for another few weeks. I kept thinking that I’d get a job and raise enough money to afford to live there, and eventually I got the job at King’s Bar, but that was only about two weeks before I met you. I felt so trapped. I owed Mr. Fralin two months of rent when she died, plus almost six more weeks for letting me stay afterward while I pulled myself together, and every day I stayed it cost him money in unearned rent. I felt guilty, and even though I had years to prepare for my mom dying, I wasn’t prepared.” She blinked at the tears that dampened her eyes.
Pierce drew her against him and kissed her temple. “I don’t think anyone’s ever prepared, no matter how long they have before it happens.”
“Yeah,” she whispered. She sat silently for a long while, rubbing her hands together and gazing out at the water. When she finally spoke again, some of the strength had returned to her voice.
“When I met you, I was staying in my car. It was only a few nights, and then Andy hooked me up with Chiara, and I got the job and rented a room from Daphne.”
He didn’t know which hurt more, knowing she’d had to stay in her car or knowing she’d kept it from him. “Is that why you wouldn’t let me near your trunk when we picked up your bag?”
She nodded, still not meeting his gaze.
“Rebecca, you slept over at my house. We were so close. I know we moved quickly, but why didn’t you tell me?”
“That would have gone over really well.” She crossed her arms, then uncrossed them and pushed from the rock to her feet. “Oh, hey, by the way, I live in my car. Tell me you wouldn’t have run the other way.” She turned her back to him, and Pierce rose and placed his hands on her shoulders from behind.
“I wouldn’t have run the other way.”
She scoffed. “Then you would have wanted to fix it for me.”
How could he deny the truth? “Becca—”
“I know we said no secrets, but this is a little different, don’t you think?” She turned to face him, and the determined look in her eyes was reminiscent of the first night they’d met, when come hell or high water, it was her against the world. But she wasn’t alone any longer.
“No, I don’t. Honesty isn’t pick or choose.”
She rolled her eyes. “It is when you’re living in your car and you meet a guy who you really, really like—and he looks like his clothes cost more than your car. Pierce, my life is so far out of your realm that you couldn’t possibly understand it.” She took a step away, and he reached for her hand again.