“Then what do you want me to call you? Sweetheart? Friend? Lover?” he asked softly, almost congenial, like he knew the answer already but was humoring her. Just hearing the way he whispered those words, like a caress against her very soul, was setting her on fire – melting her walls. Her lips parted, panic and longing tangling in her chest.
No,she thought wildly. “We’re nothing to each other. We’re nothing.”
“Well, see, now we have a problem,” he murmured, the corner of his mouth quirking, “because I refuse to call my best friend ‘Liar’ as a nickname.”
She gawked at him, stunned into silence as he stepped back. Just like that, the warmth was gone. He turned, picked up a stack of papers, grunted, then set them down again, his expression shuttered once more.
“I’m heading out,” he said flatly, eyes avoiding hers. “See ya.”
Her mind spun. “What?”
But Tate was already moving, striding to the door. Nettie stumbled after him, panic clawing at her chest. By the time she stepped into the showroom, he was tugging his helmet back from David.
“Take care of her,” Tate ordered, his voice loud enough to carry.
“You got it,” David replied simply.
“Tate!” Nettie called, desperation cracking her voice. Her car still sat outside, crippled with two flat tires. She had no choice—the new car or nothing. But Tate didn’t look back. Not even once.
Helmet on, he swung a leg over his bike, engine roaring to life. Seconds later, he was gone, tearing out of the lot as though this entire confrontation had been nothing more than a brief detour.
Nettie hadn’t even reached the dealership doors before the sound of him faded into the distance, leaving her reeling.
“Miss Yarborough?”
She turned, every eye in the dealership fixed on her—some envious, some knowing, all curious. The moment felt surreal, like she was living someone else’s dream. People didn’t do things like this. Friends didn’t do things like this.
Lovers do,that inner voice said knowingly.
“Miss Yarborough?” David said again, gentler this time. Ollie appeared beside him, handing her a steaming cup of coffee with a kind smile.
“All you need to do is sign one paper,” David continued smoothly, “and the rest was already handled by Mr. Cassidy—as long as you like this car?”
“I… I…” Nettie stammered, her feet heavy as Ollie nudged her gently toward the gleaming car waiting on the showroom floor.
“Let me show you a few things,” Ollie coaxed, his tone warm, patient, almost grandfatherly. “Come on. You’ll love this one—I promise.”
An hour later, Nettie was driving her new car, dancing and singing at the top of her lungs.
CHAPTER 18
TATE
Tate was sittingon the couch, teasing Mulligan with a new cat toy that he stopped and picked up, trying to avoid the house. He grabbed a coffee, picked up a few donuts for breakfast tomorrow morning, and then piddled around Petco for a while before settling on some fur-lined fake mouse on a rainbow string, and Mulligan was losing his darn mind over it.
He was avoiding going home because he didn’t want Nettie to confront him about the car, knowing she was upset. He’d said enough today already, and things needed to calm down besides, he had a therapy appointment in a few hours. The last thing he needed was Emil giving him crap about being nice and how ‘good’ it felt.
“You know, Mulligan,” Tate began talking to the kitten who was kicking at the fake mouse furiously with his back claws and biting at it like he was trying to draw blood. It was actually funny because the stupid toy was almost the same size as him. “Meeting with Emil isn’t half bad, but it’s that smarmy attitude when I realize that he’s right just chaps my…” his voice faded away as he heard his garage door opening in the distance – and cussed.
Shooting to his feet, he glared at the hallway, almost like he could mentally stop whatever was coming his way. He hadn’t ordered anything from Amazon, and his grocery order was scheduled for Wednesday, which meant that this was one of four people.
His parents.
Gina.
Or Nettie… and he already knew who it was deep down.
“She had better not be coming over to complain,” Tate snarled at Mulligan, who hissed back at him in answer. “Exactly,” he huffed and marched barefoot toward the garage door to confront the woman… and paused as he heard a faint knock.
