Page 93 of Bad Rio

“And you’re living in Austin, right? What’s that, about an hour’s drive away from San Antonio?”

He scratched his chin. “Yeah, about that.”

“So when was the last time you visitedSan Antonio?” she asked, with emphasis on the name of the city, like that was significant.

“Couple of months ago,” he replied truthfully. “Why?”

“Two months ago?”She spat the words as though they were epithets.

“Yeah.”

Glowering at him, she shook her head. “I pity you. You are a damn fool.” With that, she refused to speak to him any longer.

Beside him, Big Jim continued to smirk. “Told you,” he said, further confusing Rio, “women know about these things.”

Chapter Forty

San Antonio, Texas

Becca rested her chin on her hand and leaned her elbow on her desk. Coming from the back of the De Monte Wheel Solutions shop, she heard the familiar rumble and clang of forklifts moving crates of hubcaps. She heard the whine of a drill, heard shouting men. In the front offices, the secretaries were accepting phone calls, typing on laptops. The salesmen were taking orders—all familiar sounds of the workday.

On the desk, a full mug of coffee sat untouched. It cooled to room temperature and she ignored it. Before her face, the computer screen glowed, a work order up on the monitor. She tried to force herself to concentrate on the text. Instead, her mind wandered.

She smoothed a hand over her lap. The hot pink sleeveless sundress was a dramatic change from her usual attire. One day when Rio had been gone for a full month, she’d stood in front of her closet trying to decide what to wear. Everything there was a monochromatic black and white. It’s what she’d always worn. It was her.

All at once, the lack of hue and pattern seemed boring and predictable. She didn’t want to be just black and white any more. It was gloomy.

In a fit of energy, she purged at least half of her closet, delivering the clothing to a charity. Then, she’d taken herself to the mall and splurged.

In a way, despite her heartache, Rio had introduced color into her life. He’d brought excitement, wonder, and joy. Her drab clothing no longer felt right. At the mall, she’d chosen dresses in orange, hot lime, and butter yellow. She’d purchased pants in blue floral and stripes of salmon.

The change felt good.

He’d left her, and he’d denigrated the company she loved. She hated that. She was still angry and hurt to her core, but try as she might, she couldn’t hatehim. Despite her pain, she knew he’d been good for her. He’d shown her new things, new possibilities. Her world had expanded in different ways.

Yet despite the positive changes, she remained in abject misery. It still bewildered her, how profoundly his abandonment had affected her. It had been a wrecking ball, destroying her, breaking her apart. She was left crumbled.

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