Page 20 of Push

I shielded my eyes from the afternoon sun and squinted down the driveway, but I barely got a glance at the people swarming for bargains outside the gates. My eyes were on Toby. He sprinted across the street and up to the fence.

“The devoted husband has finally returned,” Marnie muttered.

Toby’s palm hit the gate, but it didn’t budge. His eyebrows pinched together, and he looked down, confused, until he finally noticed the lock. “Gwen?” He jiggled the gate again.

I rolled my eyes.Still locked, cheater.

An old guy hiding under a baseball cap stepped forward. “Hey, mate! No cutting the line!”

Toby’s head snapped to the side. “I live here.”

Someone else in the crowd twittered a laugh. “Not for long.”

Ignoring the whole commotion, I focused on displaying Toby’s running shoes on the table. I stuck on a sticker, uncapped my marker, scrawled ten dollars, and tucked the marker behind my ear. I glanced up in time to see Toby hurdle over the fence and jog over to me.

I plastered on the face of someone whose life wasn’t falling apart. Growing up, I’d had so much practice faking a happy facade that smiling through the pain was almost second nature.

“Afternoon, sunshine,” I sang.

Toby stepped back. A line creased between his eyebrows. He wasn’t expecting that reaction. Good. Let him keep guessing about the freight train heading for him.

“Where’s the car?” My tone only got sweeter.

“Parked down the road.” He jerked his head in the direction of the fence. “In case you didn’t notice, a thousand people are here.”

“Oh, and here I was thinking you might have had a little visit from the police.”

“I did.” His lips pressed into a line. “You really reported the car stolen?”

“Well, when you didn’t come home… Can you blame me? I thought something terrible must have happened.” I hated that I’d wasted so much time worrying if that had been the truth. I blotted out the pain and fluttered my eyelashes up at him. “I hope they didn’t cause you too much trouble.”

“No.” His face gave nothing away. “They just asked a few questions.”

My lip curled.What a letdown. I was hoping the guys might’ve taken him in for questioning or put him in the lockup overnight. “Well, Tobias, as you can see, I’ve got a lot going on this afternoon. If you’ll please excuse me.” I forced my sweetest smile. “Ta ta!”

“Gwen.” His hand caught my arm. “We need to talk.”

My eyes narrowed on the fingers he’d curled over my skin. Howdarehe think I’d waste one breath on him after what he’d done? I yanked my arm free.

“Talk?” My laugh was brittle. “Your opportunity totalkended after you enjoyed an evening of carnal delights with your darling dental assistant.”

Toby’s mouth dropped open. “I-I never—” He shook his head. “Gwen, please. I know this looks bad, but I swear I never—God—nothingis going on between me and Kay.”

I straightened my spine. I was determined not to let him see that calling that woman by a nickname ripped me in half. “It’s three-thirty in the afternoon, Toby. Where have you been? Volunteering at the homeless shelter? Manning the phones at the crisis center?” I glared at him, my heart burning with so much anger my fingers twitched. “You weren’t at work today. You certainly weren’t here checking whether your son was safe after the accident.”

All the color drained from his face. “Please.” His hand shot out, but I stepped out of his reach. There was no way his filthy hands were touching me. “Didn’t Ian call you?”

“Oh, Ian called me alright.” I laughed. “Pick someone alittlemore convincing to cover your tracks next time, okay, stud?”

“I wasn’t—that’s not—” A gasped breath did nothing to help Toby get his words out any easier. “My phone—and then—walking—and—and I just felt so fuckingweird. And then, Christ… Your messages.” He pressed a hand to his chest and forced in more gasps.

“My messages?” I narrowed my eyes. “Oh, you got them? Funny. You didn’t reply.”

“I read them as soon as I woke up. I listened to your voicemails. Every single one.” He tugged a rough hand through his hair. “Over and over.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “When you woke up?”

“I know how this looks, but…” He shook his head. “Christ, Gwen, I’ve been to hell and back.”

---