Page 111 of Ice Darling
Renthrow does too. But instead of walking off alone, his hand naturally slides down and cups mine.
“Let’s talk in my car,” he says.
He leads me to the car and situates me in the passenger seat. Then he jogs to the hood, slams it closed, and gets into the driver’s side.
My jaw drops when the car starts beautifully and he pulls into the road.
“Looks like the problem with your car’s been solved.”
His eyes slide to me and back. “Uh…it only gives trouble in special circumstances.”
My lips purse suspiciously.
“I’m sorry,” Renthrow huffs.
“For wasting my time and lying about your car breaking down?” I fold my arms over my chest.
He gives me another intense look. “For whatever I did or said to make you punish me.”
My eyelashes flap in shock. “When did I punish you?”
I watch the cautiousness settle into his features, as if he’s being very,verychoosy with his words. “You’re not yourself around me anymore.”
“Of course I’m myself,” I grumble. See? Renthrow’s not the only one who can lie.
“You don’t look at me or joke with me or smile—” He stops and licks his lips. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry. And I won’t do it again.”
I glance away because he’s too cute when he’s groveling. “How do you know you won’t do it again? You don’t even know what you did wrong.”
“How about you clue me in then?”
My eyes slide to the window. “It was nothing.”
“No, it wasn’t. I had to fake a car problem just to get you to talk to me.”
“Which is insane, by the way.”
“I’m well aware,” he grumbles sheepishly. “And you’re right. I shouldn’t give a blanket apology.” He pauses and scratches the back of his neck. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was divorced.”
My eyes shoot to his. “That’s nothing to be sorry for.”
“Then,” he clears his throat, “was it something I said before dropping you home that night?”
I pick at a loose thread in my tank top. “No, I just…figured…by the way you were talking…that you were waiting for your ex-wife to come back.”
“What?” His eyes bug.
I gulp at his reaction. “You said you had all these dreams of creating a big family with her. And you were protective of her, even in conversation. You didn’t want me to say a bad word about her.”
“Because she’s Gordie’s mother. And if I want Gordie to respect her mom, I have to lead by example. It has nothing to…” He runs his hands through his hair, smiling jubilantly.“You thought I—no.No, Cordelia. I am not waiting for Gordie’s mother to come back. That won’t happen. And I’m not interested even if it did.”
A smile tries to poke through my serious expression, but it would be too obvious to grin like a hyena after he said that.
I do my best to play it cool. “Hm.”
He laughs disbelievingly. “I can’t believe that’s why you stopped talking to me. If I’d known, I’d have cleared this up a long time ago.”
“Why?”
