“What’s under here?”
“An old car I’m restoring for a customer.”
She stands back as I pull off the cover unveiling the car. “Wow,” she runs a hand over the hood and walks alongside the car, looking through the windows. “This is going to be a lot of work.”
“It’s kind of my thing.”
Cassie opens the door and leans in looking around the empty shell of the interior and I walk around behind her. Is she procrastinating or really interested?
“Cassie?”
“Hmm.” She straightens up and turns around.
“We can keep doing this where we’re tiptoeing around each other, or we can talk about what King wants us to do. Or if you want to go to the house and get some rest, that’s fine too. I’ll do whatever it is you want to do.”
She chews on her lip, letting out a heavy breath. “You’re right. King wants us to work together and what happened in the past between us shouldn’t factor into that.”
“We agree on that then. So do we close the door on it or get the talk out of the way.”
“What talk?”
“Come on, Cassie, you know what I mean.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“You left without saying a word and have avoided me ever since. If we’re working together, making sure we understand each other will make it easier on both of us.”
“What do you want me to say, Eli?”
“I don’t know, maybe why you left.”
“No one made any promises that night. It was something we both wanted at the time and it was one night.”
“Like you had with Mace?”
Fuck, that wasn’t supposed to come out. Her talking about our night like it was nothing hit too hard in the chest. Even if her silence has made it clear where she stands.
Why am I pushing this? And now I’ve dropped myself in a pile of shit that neither of us want to deal with.
Her expression has gone blank but there is a slight flush in her cheeks.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean-”
“How do you know about that?” Her voice is low, like she is trying not to lose it. “Did he tell you?”
“No,” I huff. “Mace and I don’t have that kind of relationship.”
“So how…” she dips her head and sighs. “Who told you?”
“I figured it out for myself.”
“How do you figure out something like that?” she snaps, getting angry now.
“What difference does it make?”
“Because it’s none of yours or anyone else’s business Eli. What I do and who I do it with doesn’t concern you.”
“I know that. Only too well.”
