“Well, have a good trip. Hope everything’s okay.” I winced. Lame. Could I have come up with anything more impersonal? Maybe if I’d said Dear Sir or Madam at the beginning. Or To Whom It May Concern.
His attention had returned to his phone and he didn’t seem to notice my awkwardness.
“Everything will be fine,” he said.
“I guess I’ll see you when I see you then,” I said, uncertain whether I should interrupt his focus for a kiss goodbye. I waited a few seconds for him to say or do something, but it appeared he’d forgotten me. I gave a little shrug and left, squelching my hurt and self pity. Damon wasn’t given to hysterics, so whatever was going on had to be pretty bad. The situation wasn’t about me at all, so I just needed to get over myself.
I waved at Josef, who was currently alone at the valet stand and kept going, the cool, dark air of the garage closing around me. They’d long ago gotten used to me parking and unparking my own car, back when my car was a gorgeous classic Thunderbird in near mint condition. But then the attack on my business had happened, and the car had been a casualty. I hadn’t decided yet if I wanted to use magic to fix it. Garrett Sandrini, a secret witch and my would-be murderer, had chopped it in half long ways. Fixing it using ordinary methods wouldn’t be feasible.
Every time I thought of replacing it, I felt guilty, like I was betraying it. I’d been contemplating using magic to fix it, but change the paint and interior colors. Then I could claim it was a different car altogether.
I sighed. Stupid to get so upset about a car. I should just suck it up and find something else. Maybe a Ranchero or an El Camino. Or a Mustang fastback. Anything but the Toyota Highlander I’d been renting. Though to be fair, it was nice enough and had a lot of room for all the things I had to carry to and from sales. It just didn’t have much by way of charm, not like a classic car.
I’d walked down the ramp to the second level when I heard rapid footsteps behind me.
“Beck, wait.”
I stopped and waited for Damon to approach. His brow was furrowed and his jaw looked like it was sculpted from granite.
“What’s up?”
He grimaced. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I was acting a little too innocent, but I didn’t want him to know I’d been hurt.
“For being a dick to you.”
“You weren’t a dick,” I said. Okay, maybe a little bit, but I was frequently a bitch and a half, so I couldn’t very well complain.
He raised his brows in clear disbelief. “I was, and I’m concerned that you aren’t calling me on it.”
I shrugged. “Whatever you have to deal with is clearly upsetting you. I don’t need to make it any worse.”
He tipped his head, his eyes narrowing. “That’s very adult of you.”
“Now you’re being rude.”
“I was rude outside, but that didn’t seem to bother you.”
“And what should I have said? Don’t ignore me? Don’t shut me out? Who am I to make those kinds of demands? Anyhow, it’s clearly none of my business.”
His mouth tightened and his eyes flashed with fury. “Is that what you really think?”
“I think if it were my business, you’d talk to me about it. You haven’t, so….” I shrugged again. I knew I was pissing him off. I knew I sounded like a grade A super bitch. At least I was an elite bitch and not middle-of-the-road or mediocre. I probably shouldn’t have taken pride in that, but gotta take credit where credit is due.
His jaw knotted and I could practically see steam rising from the top of his head. I tried to feel sorry about that, but I couldn’t. Riling him up meant he wasn’t ignoring me any more. So much for being an adult.
“It’s family business,” he said in a clipped voice.
“Okay.”
“I have to go help sort it out.”
“You said that.”
“I don’twantto go, but I don’t have a choice.”
Well, if that wasn’t mysterious, I didn’t know what was. “Okay,” I said again. I wondered if he noticed he hadn’t offered any details. Whether he meant to or not, hewasshutting me out.
