Page 26 of Love or Leave

Without another word, he turned away, took Cara’s hand in his, and headed for the door. Luckily, it only took a few seconds for the attendant to get their coats, and they were back in his car within minutes.

They sat in silence for a long while as he drove back. He was at a complete loss for what to say. What an embarrassing mess.

"So," Cara said, treading lightly. "You're just as bad at code words as you are at Scrabble."

It took him a second to process her little quip, but when he finally did, a laugh bubbled up from nowhere and escaped his lips.

Then another.

He shook his head and laughed as he drove under the streetlights, the rest of the stress draining from his body. "And you're an even worse actor. Why did you hold your stomach and say you had a migraine?"

Cara smiled and shrugged. "I wasn't expectingyouto say freezing. I thought it would be me."

"Yeah," he said with a headshake. "Sorry, I don't know what happened there."

Cara shook her head. "Don't apologize," she said. "That was rough. You handled it better than I would have."

He glanced over at her. "What would you have done?"

"I would have cried and ran out of the room. Or kicked that guy in the shin. Your mom seems very… passionate."

"Passionate?"

"Yes. Passionate about your relationships."

He nodded. "She's not happy about me and Fran separating. She thinks I've brought shame to the family and I'm going to hell."

Cara blew out a whistle.

He looked over, and she was back to fidgeting with the charm on her bracelet.

He pulled into his apartment’s parking lot and parked. They both stepped out his car, and he walked her over to her car.

"Thanks for coming," he said. "It was better with you there."

She gave him a smile. "What are you going to do about Fran?"

He shook his head, not even knowing where to start. "I don't know. I can't imagine she actually wants to be with a guy like Blake."

"Yeah, they don't seem that compatible," Cara said, digging out her keys from her purse. She pressed the button to unlock her car and pulled open the door, then hesitated and turned to him.

"Just so you know, if I were Fran, I'd choose you," she said. "And I wouldn't even think twice about it."

She said it while looking at her feet, as if she knew better than to say it, but couldn't help herself. It was comforting to hear, especially following his extremely embarrassing night and returning alone to his awful apartment. Actually, everything about having her with him that night had been good, like a salve over a burn.

"Thanks, Cara," he said, fighting the urge to pull her into a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She gave a nod and smiled, then got in her car and drove off. He watched her go, feeling way too alone now that she was gone.

seven

Cara took a deep, cleansing breath as she walked up the cracked sidewalk toward The Hideaway Room, a small music venue tucked between a vintage clothing store and a tattoo parlour. The venue’s giant neon sign flickered intermittently, casting purple shadows across the crowd gathered outside building as the throbbing of loud music permeated through the brick.

She had left early, expecting to arrive first, so she was surprised to see Antonio waiting for her near the venue’s metal entrance doors, leaning against the dark wall and looking down at his phone.

Damn.He looked good. A little too good, actually.

Even in the dim glow of the streetlight, she could see how attractive he was. He’d worn dark jeans that fit him perfectly, a charcoal button down and a black jacket that looked both casual and expensive. His dark wavy hair caught the light as he tilted his head, examining his phone screen.

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