Page 78 of Nerdy or Nice
He paused for a long, dreadful moment before saying in a low voice, "No."
"So…why are you leaving?"
"Because if I don't, I'll say something I'll regret."
I hated the way that sounded. "Like what?"
His eyes softened just a fraction. "Let's just talk tomorrow, okay?" He glanced at the bedroom door. "You wanna grab my coat? Or should I?"
God, I hated this.But short of begging, I wasn't sure what to do. Maybe Drake was right. Tonight was ruined beyond repair. Tomorrow, I decided, I would find some way to make amends.
In the meantime, the least I could do was grab his coat. Brimming with regret, I said, "I'llget it."
There was only one problem.When I went to retrieve it, it wasn't there.
Chapter 45
Drake
When Gwen returned to the bedroom, she looked ready to lose it. "You're not gonna believe this."
By now, I'd believe just about anything. "What now?"
She shut the door behind her. "Your coat – you know, the uh, 'duffle' – it's gone."
I frowned. "Gone where?"
"Well, the thing is…" She took a deep breath and let it out before saying in a rush, "My cousin's wearing it."
Normally, I'd be laughing my ass off. But sometime within the past thirty minutes or so, I'd lost my sense of humor. "You're kidding."
"I wish." She tried for a smile. "But hey, I've got an idea." She rushed toward the pile of wrapped packages. "You remember the red flannel shirt? The really thick one?"
I did.It was one of the things I'd grabbed in the department store for Gwen to wrap.
Without waiting for a reply, Gwen started sorting through the wrapped packages, flinging some aside as she went.
Along with Cash and the kittens, I watched from the sidelines as she pulled out a big flat box wrapped in festive red paper. She began ripping at it like a caffeinated kid on Christmas morning. She tore off the lid, yanked out the shirt and started flapping it around like a matador at a raging bull.
Oh, yeah. She was losing it, alright.
With an overbright smile, she turned to me and said, "It's your size, right?"
I gave it a perfunctory glance. "Maybe. Why?"
"Because," she said, "I’m thinking you could wearthishome instead. And later on, I'd get the duffle from Lexie, and give it back to you."
Right. In secret.I gave her a look. "Why not now?"
She blinked several times before asking, "What do you mean?"
She knew exactly what I meant, but hey, if I had to spell it out, I would. "Imean, why don't you get the coatnow?"
She glanced down. "In my robe?"
Nice try."You've got other clothes, right?"
"Yeah, but—"
