“I’ll be right back. Wait here,” he said, then turned and walked up to the gate. He reached for the gate panel.
“Come on, Stick, don’t be an asshat,” I said, assuming he was going to ring the bell, something even my mother never did.
He turned to me. “I have to drop something off. I’m…I’m sorry,” he said, pulling the white paper bag out of the front pocket of his hoodie. Then, instead of ringing the intercom bell on the panel, he punched in a code and the damn gate started opening.
“Stick? What the hell?” I said, but he was already jogging up the long, winding drive, the gates slowly closing behind him.
I was in shock. Then pissed, though I wasn’t certain why.
Screw this. I moved back around the car and settled myself into the cockpit, only to discover that Stick must have taken the keys from the ignition after I’d gotten out.
And still had them as he entered the home of Caroline Stratton.
Chapter11
I staredstraight ahead as Stick got back in the car fifteen minutes later.
“You don’t want to keep driving?” he asked as he got into the driver’s side. I had moved to the passenger seat while he’d been—still unfuckingbelievable!—in with Caroline Stratton.
“Nope,” I said. “Let’s go. I have a party to get to tonight.”
“Montrose going to be there?”
No. There was no party. And since when did he know Montrose’s name? “Yes, that’s why I’m going.”
It was probably the fast answer, or the pissiness of my voice, but Stick just snorted and said, “Yeah, right. Party my ass.”
“Just drive, dickwad.”
He roared Yvette to life, and I hated to admit that she seemed to like his touch better than mine. For now.
“Listen, I’m sorry. I should have said something sooner. Way before you talked about coming here as a kid.”
“Umm…yeah, you should have.”
“I didn’t know that, though—that you used to come here with your mom. I thought you just randomly stopped at the bottom of the hill. I was going to explain whose house it was and why we were driving out here.”
“So how about explaining it now?”
“Caro said to say hello, by the way.”
“Caro? Jesus. What, am I, like, in bizarro world or something? What the hell is going on?” There wasn’t whininess in my voice, it was something else, but I didn’t like how it sounded.
Shape up, Jane. Don’t let him see how this rattled you.
Never mind that it was Stick and I couldn’t give a flying crap what he thought of me.
“I’m restoring her father’s car collection.”
“Her what?”
“Her father had a really extensive car collection. Which I guess is hers now. I guess he died a couple of years ago? And the mom a while before that?”
“Yes, she was their only child, and sole heir.”
He chuckled. “Sole heir. I love how rich people talk.”
I opened my mouth, ready for combat, but he held up a hand. “I know, I know, you’re not rich. I get it.”
