Page 84 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
I wanted to do it for him and see if his hair was as soft as it looked.
“I don’t have many friends, but I like to think I can be good to the very few I have. I’m sorry I let you down.”
Way to bring me crashing back to reality.Friends. I needed to plaster that word in all caps across my brain to stop it from making irrational conclusions. “Lucky for you, I give out bonus chances,” I said, trying to keep my tone light.
A smile crept across his face.
“Thing is, I already have a bus ticket.”
“If you want to take the bus, I’ll buy another ticket and go with you.”
“What about your car?”
He shrugged. “I’ll come back for it tomorrow.”
I laughed at the idea. “That’spractical.”
“I can compromise,” he said. “I have to tell you, though, my car is a hundred times more comfortable than the bus. No strangers beside you, no bags hitting your leg. I’ll even adjust the air conditioning for you.”
“You’re really selling this, huh?”
“I also have a blanket.”
Tilting my head to the left, I said, “Sounds like you really want me to ride with you.”
“I do.”
I froze, because I didn’t expect him to admit that so easily. Then I pressed my lips together in fear that I’d squeal with delight the moment I opened my mouth.
“So, bus or car?”
“Car.” I managed to speak like a normal, level-headed adult. “But can we make a stop?”
“Just say where.” He grasped the handle of my suitcase, and as we walked to the parking lot, he kept pace beside me, brushing close whenever other people passed by. I felt hyper aware of his presence, every little instance of contact echoing through my body.
I wished there was more of a crowd so he would have to stick right by me.
When we came to his car, he loaded my bags in the trunk, then opened the passenger side door for me. A bouquet of assorted yellow and white flowers laid there on the seat.
My heart jumped into my throat, but I warned myself not to assume they were for me. Maybe he was seeing someone after dropping me off.
Yellow was my color, though.
“I was supposed to bring that to you in the airport,” he said from behind me. “But I had to rush, and I didn’t want to ruin them.”
I stared at the flowers, afraid that if I blinked, they would disappear. “What’s this for?”
“To welcome you back. And also to apologize for me being an ass.”
Turning to him, I caught his wince.
“Again,” he added.
“It’s okay. You were drunk.”
“That’s not an excuse. And you shouldn’t accept it as one.”
“Okay then. I guess I’ll make you work a bit more on your apology.” Ha. A part of me had forgiven him the moment I saw him coming up to me at the bus stop. Did that make me easy? I had always believed actions spoke louder than words, and him being here said a lot.
