She didn’t let the tears fall until she was on the road back to Quinn.
Nolan hadn’t even argued with her about her plan to just rent a car to get home rather than having him drive her to Quinn and then turn around to go back to San Antonio.
At least he’d kissed her goodbye.
Chapter Nine
Everything sucked.
Everything.
Even tequila. Maybe especially tequila. Because it reminded her of Nolan, and when she thought of Nolan, she got sad. And lonely. And horny.
It wasnotokay that tequila sucked.
The last time she’d been truly sad for several days at a time, it had been after the football team lost in district play. The last time she’d been lonely was…she couldn’t even remember. The last time she’d been horny for days…had been after Nolan had kissed her at Coach’s party.
She really wanted some tequila.
“What can I do?” Annabelle asked.
Randi felt the sting of tears as Annabelle took a seat on the overturned bucket where Nolan had spent so much time. That was so stupid. It was a bucket. She should have thrown it out. She should at least turn it over so people stopped sitting on it. Because every time they did, she had the urge to make them get up. It was Nolan’s bucket. Which was definitely stupid. But it was also the reason she hadn’t gotten rid of it.
“There’s nothing. My life is over. I can’t drink. I can’t even part with a plastic bucket.”
“Okay. A good attitude is everything,” Annabelle said with a grin.
“My good attitude often comes from a glass bottle that saystequilaon it. And now that makes me want to cry.”
“You could talk to him.”
Randi sighed. She couldn’t. “Talking to him was what distracted him before. I’m trying to let him get his work done.” And the thing was, she didn’t really want to.
She understood he’d been stressed about the book and his editor not liking it. She got it. She understood getting caught up in work. There were times when she lost hours when she was under a car. But she hadn’t heard from him in three weeks. Nothing. Not even an email. And that pissed her off.
He was the one who’d needed to work. Who’d needed to get back to San Antonio. Who had to put his head down. Fine. But when he lifted his head, he needed to be the one calling her.
And he hadn’t.
“Randi! Someone here for you!” Donny called to her from the doorway to the main waiting area.
Randi looked over at him. “Who is it?”
“Someone who insists on havingyoulook at his car.”
Donny ducked back inside and the door shut behind him. She sighed. Seriously? She was so not in the mood for this. She didn’t need picky customers today. Of course, she hadn’t been in the mood for much over the past three weeks since she’d gotten back from New York. She wiped her hands on her rag.
“See you later?” she asked Annabelle.
“Of course.” Annabelle stood from the bucket. “Want me to take this away with me?”
Randi started to say yes, please. But in the end, she shook her head. “No. Leave it.”
Annabelle gave her a sympathetic look. “Okay.”
Pathetic. She was completely pathetic. Maybe this next customer would take her mind off of everything. Randi headed inside, trying to feel hopeful. But it was tough. She was destined to spend sixty hours a week in her garage for the rest of her life and her garage now reminded her of Nolan. For the rest of her life.
As Randi stepped into the waiting area and she saw who was there for her, she did, however, smile.