Silence.
I slid my gaze back to Rip and found the cheek closest to me doing this weird twitch thing.
“I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, but I just wanted to let you know in case anyone calls to ask you where I’m at. He said you weren’t coming to the shop today.”
There was another beat of silence. Then, “Okay. Sure.” Another moment of silence. “That’s good, Luna.”
“Are you okay?”
More quiet, then, “I have a doctor’s appointment. I’ll be in tomorrow.”
A doctor’s appointment? “Are you having problems with your blood pressure again?”
The hum he made in response was 1000 percent fake. It was his way of not wanting to lie but not wanting to say the truth either.
“That’s what I thought,” I mumbled. “Good luck with your appointment then and let me know how it goes.” I paused. “Don’t forget to tell the doctor about how you’ve been sneaking sandwich meat and frozen pizza at work when you think no one is looking.”
I hung up after Mr. Cooper started chuckling and eventually got out that he’d see me on Friday.
But seriously, I hoped he’d tell his doctor about the snacks we both knew he had no business eating. I had done what I could by throwing stuff away when I found it. Slipping my phone back inside my purse, I sat back up and settled my hands on my thighs, glancing at Rip out of the corner of my eye.
“I could’ve told you he had a doctor’s appointment,” he claimed, steering the truck into a left-hand lane.
I couldn’t help but bite the inside of my cheek and make a face. He could’ve told me? “I wasn’t sure you knew.” Honestly, I wasn’t sure he would have cared enough to know or ask. Then again, based on the things I had overheard, Rip would probably ask Mr. Cooper to bring in a doctor’s note to prove he’d actually done what he’d said he would.
But that wasn’t supposed to be any of my business.
Neither one of us said anything for a while. I looked out my window and sometimes glanced at Rip but really spent the whole time telling my body to relax. I wasn’t going to hold this grudge against him when he had sort-of, kind-of apologized, at least apologized more than anyone else in my life usually had or did. I’d forgiven people for doing worse. There was something going on with him that I didn’t entirely understand, but I could be patient. I could be understanding. Some people just had to work things out on their own.
Most importantly, I needed to remember—and accept—that hewas my boss. As much as I might try, as much as I might sometimes wish in the back of my mind, in the deepest, most secretive corner of my soul, that was all there was ever going to be. We weren’t friends, and he had no interest in being nice or polite or being kind.
He was fine not being anyone’s favorite. It wasn’t what he wanted. It wasn’t what he was ever going to want.
My heart ached for a moment as I sat there, thinking for a second aboutthatthought. About how I’d spent the last three years eyeballing and thinking a little too much about someone who I had no chance with. It was just… admiration. Serious admiration.
But maybe instead of daydreaming about that Louie Vuitton purse I would realistically never save up to buy, I could go to the outlet and get a beautiful purse for a tenth of the price. It would do everything the other one did. The only difference was, it would be within my reach. I could afford it.
It wouldn’t need to be a dream. It wasn’t like I believed in them in the first place.
“You gonna eat that donut today?” Rip asked out of nowhere.
I glanced over at him. Was he trying to make a joke? Nothing about his face looked particularly amused or playful but… “Yes.”
“You’re not on a diet, right?” he asked as he steered us onto the freeway. I didn’t even know where the hell we were going.
If he would have been anyone else—and if my previous thoughts hadn’t been about Rip and his lack of friendships—I would have laughed. Instead, I barely managed not to smirk. “No.”
I mean, I wasn’t as thin as I used to be back when I’d been a teenager. I also worked too much—and was too lazy—to hit the gym five days a week… but I tried my best. I ate decent, some days I ate better than decent, but mostly, I was never going to say no to a donut. Or a slice of cherry pie.
But especially not my favorite donut.
“There a reason you haven’t eaten it then?”
I touched the tips of my fingers along the top of the bag, which had been rolled down. “I figure I could eat it at the auction. I didn’t want to make a mess in your car.”
Those eyes flicked in my direction. “You won’t.”
“But I don’t want to take a chance.” I didn’t need to look around to see that the inside was immaculately clean. He kept the outside beautifully detailed constantly. Even his office was pretty spotless.
