Quickly, I picked up the bottle and moved it to the counter instead while the fridge gave a rattle that could've been a snicker.
Ignoring it, I gave the place another once-over, taking it all in, inch by grubby inch.
It really was a disaster.
But hey, I'd slept in worse – a lot worse – which was why I'd picked this dump in the first place. Sometimes, you needed a reminder of how low the bar could go.
The boathouse had always been about perspective, a reminder that comfort was optional, but grit wasn't. If you could handle something like this, you could handle just about anything.
So of course, my thoughts returned to the one thing Ihadn'tbeen handling – the so-called break with Tessa.
When she'd tried to explain, I hadn't been receptive.
But I should've been. I should've asked more questions and listened,reallylistened to whatever she might've said.
If I'd donethat, maybe there'dbeno break. Maybe I'd be with Tessa right now, instead of here alone, being nagged by the fridge.
With something like a shrug, I reached for the whiskey.
Oh, well. Too late now.
When she was ready to rethink it, she'd give me a call.
And maybe I'd answer.
77
Blame the Recliner
Tessa
The vibration jolted me awake like a buzz out of the blue. My heart jumped before my brain caught up, and for a split second, I had no idea where I was.
I squinted in the shadows and tried to make it out. I wasn't at home. I wasn't in bed. I was – oh, right – in Skip's recliner.
Damn it.
Groggily, I shifted and fumbled for my phone. When I saw the screen, my breath caught.
Ryder.
The phone continued to buzz as instinct collided with common sense. If I answered now, would I look pathetic? Stalling, I squinted at the time on the screen.Just after midnight.
Holy crap.
I'd been asleep for nearly two hours.
Stupid recliner.
But forget that. Why was Ryder calling menow?
And just like that, the buzzing stopped.
I stared at the screen, and my heart sank as the sudden silence seemed to fill the whole back room.
With a frustrated groan, I sank deeper into that stupid chair, annoyed with myself for overthinking it – and even more annoyed that I wasn't thinking in my own bed.
After biking to the coffee shop to check the back door, I'd ended up inside, checking the entire shop to make sure everything was closed up tight.
