Page 114 of Heartbeats & Highways

Tears constricted my throat. “Jazz texted you, didn’t she?”

She nodded.

“Why are you offering this place to me?” I asked quietly. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know enough,” she said. “I know what it’s like to want to do it on your own. I know what it’s like to think you have to. But you don’t. I know you have Savage, and that’s wonderful, but you have me and Willa, and the club, too.”

I hadn’t spoken to Willa since having dinner at her house. And I had no idea the state of Savage and Duke’s relationship because of me.

Brooklyn looked around. “So, the apartment?”

I sighed. “I’ll take it.”

“I’ll drive you to work tomorrow,” Cozy said as she shut the passenger door. “Or rather, you can drive us to Three Kings in my car and then I’ll pick you up when you’re done. Then you can drive us home.”

“Who needs a boyfriend when I’ve got you?” I teased.

She smiled. “Well, I won’t have sex with you, so there’s that.”

I groaned.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just another way to miss him. Ten days is a long time for him to be gone.”

“He’s good then?” She waggled her brows.

“Can you lower your voice?” I demanded. “Or at least wait until we’re inside before we have this conversation?”

She shrugged and then punched in the door code. “Let’s go to your apartment. I’d invite you to mine, but all I’ve got is diet soda and some crackers.”

“You don’t cook?” I asked.

“Not really. I bake. But cooking is different.”

“Well, now I know how to repay you for letting me drive your worm-jerky-mobile. I’ll cook you dinners.”

“No, stop, don’t,” she said drolly. “It’s too much.”

I giggled. “That was convincing.”

We tromped up the stairs and I whipped out my keys but came to a halt when I saw a bouquet of orange and yellow marigolds on my doorstep.

“Someone sent you flowers,” Cozy said.

“Yes, I see that,” I said.

“Savage?”

I leaned down and picked up the bouquet and handed my keys to Cozy. She opened the door for us, and I walked into the apartment and set the bouquet onto the counter and then reached for the card.

Miss you, babe. ~Savage

My heart flipped over in my chest.

“Ugh, you’ve got a dopey grin on your face,” Cozy groaned and then spoiled it with a grin.

She went to the tea kettle and filled it with water before sticking it on the stove and turning on a burner.

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