"You clearly don't believe me."
"What reason do I have to believe you? You don't live here anymore; you couldn't possibly care what happens to the people in this one-horse town." To my horror, I felt tears clogging my throat. I would not cry in front of him.
"You're wrong."
"About what?" But I was alone again, staring down at the slice of pizza I hadn't touched and swallowing back tears.
I was such an idiot.
Getting up, I threw away what I'd intended to be mine, carrying the rest back up to my parents.
Staring out the slender window at the rain, I wished I could turn back the clock to right before Burke came to Chester. I would ask Daisy to meet somewhere else, and I would tell my father not to pull over the guy with the expired tag. Then I wouldn't have to feel like I'd done nothing but make several wrong moves.
"Sweetheart?"
I looked up into my mother's concerned face. "Yes, Mom?"
"I think you fell asleep. Why don't you go home?"
"Oh." Blinking, I gazed around. The sun had set, and I hadn't even realized it. "Okay."
"Dad should be released in the morning. Why don't you stay home for the day and catch up on your sleep?"
I was surprised by the rarity of my mother noticing someone else's needs. "Yes, okay. That sounds good."
Hugging my parents before leaving, I discovered how groggy and disoriented I felt. Maybe I should stop at the vending machine for another Coke before trying to drive. Dragging my feet down the hall and standing in front of the machine, I stared at my choices.
It had never seemed so hard before to work one of these things. The lights and sounds around me swirled, and I felt the unwelcome hardness of the concrete floor meet my back and head as I collapsed.
"I've got you now, you're okay."
"Mm?" I blinked, seeing two Burkes hovering above me. Humiliation swarmed over me like a hive of bees. "Oh, my God!"
"No, don't wiggle so much." At the same time I realized he was holding me in his lap, I heard him groan.
"Just kill me now."
"I don't think so."
"Please."
He chuckled. "Not a chance."
When I struggled to open my eyes further, I discovered we were in the back of his limo. "What happened?"
"You went down like a sack of potatoes in front of the vending machine." He stroked a finger down my icy cheek. "A very small, very light sack."
The result of not eating or getting enough sleep in the past thirty-six hours. "If I promise to take better care of myself, will you let me go?"
"First, I'm going to see to it that you eat."
"No, really."
"Yes, really."
My worst nightmare was coming true. I'd made a fool out of myself for the second day in a row, and Burke Gallagher was there to witness it. "I can't. I need to get home."
"Do you own a dog?"
