“I do,” I agree without hesitation. “I don’t fully understand it, but I know you are genuine with me.”
“I am, Stevie.” His fingers tighten on the wheel. “I am more real with you than anyone. Well, besides my sisters. They know the true me. Everyone else gets to see a different side. I like that you didn’t know who I was. That you weren’t interested in our friendship for what you could get out of me.”
“People do that?” The leather squelches as I turn in my seat so I can see more of his face.
He nods. “All the time. It’s why I don’t have many close friends and I don’t do relationships. I learned those lessons early in life. People don’t want to know me for me. They want to know me for the money, the connections, the leg up I can give them. It gets exhausting after a while, so I gave up trying to make friends, and I gave up on relationships.”
“That is horrible, Beck, and it sounds super lonely even if I understand your motivations are self-protective. I have built plenty of walls around my heart too.”
“I liked that you saw me for me. There were no expectations.”
“There wouldn’t have been if you’d told me from the outset.”
“I know that now. But I’m wary when I first meet people. It’s a hard habit to break.”
“I’ll bet.” Yet he’s been quite open with me. “Turn off here,” I say, guiding him off the highway. “It’s only about a mile now to our place. You’ll be taking a left, then a right, and another right, and then we’re there.”
“Got it,” he says, religiously checking his mirrors as he exits the highway.
“I know you said your father won’t let you leave the business, but if you hate your job so much, why do you stay? Why not force his hand?”
He heaves out a sigh. “It’s complicated. He’s holding shit over me, and until certain things are in place, I must bide my time. It’s getting harder and harder to do it though. Every time I step foot in my office, another little part of my soul dies.” He looks out the window, up at the hotel sign on the side of the building. “Is this it?” he asks with a slight frown.
“It is.” I point at the entrance to the parking garage. “We only have one parking space with the apartment, and Hadley parks her car there, but there’s some visitor spots on the first level you can use.”
“Is this an actual hotel?”
I shake my head as he drives slowly into the well-lit parking garage. “It’s an old, converted hotel. It originally opened its door in nineteen oh nine, and it was renovated a few years ago into separate apartments. There are some businesses on the ground level, and we have a fab communal rooftop and a lounge area on the ground level. It’s really cool. Hadley screamed so hard when we got the call to confirm we had this place I thought I’d lost my hearing in one ear.”
“I like your best friend. She’s good people,” he says, following the signs to the visitor parking area.
My heart swells with pride. “She is the best. She’s been a rock for me through this whole thing. Hadley won’t ever let me fall too far. She’s always there to pull me out of the mire. I’ll be best friends with her forever.”
“I have one friend like that,” he says, pulling his car into an empty visitor space and killing the engine. “Lawson Reed and I have been friends since the fifth grade. I don’t see him a lot these days, not since his wife gave birth to their first child. They have a cute little daughter, and she keeps him busy. But we talk on the phone every day, and we meet for lunch once a week. Law works around the corner from our building.”
“I’m glad you have good people in your life too.”
Beck turns to face me. “Before we go up to your place, do you want to talk about what happened at the hospital?”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “Not really. I still need to process it all. This has shaken me.” Air rattles from my mouth. “I thought Ivy already knew. Hugh had broached the subject of the BMW with me a couple months after the accident. He’d been storing it in his garage at home, and he asked me what I wanted to do. I told him to give it back to the dealer Garrick bought it from. I couldn’t contemplate ever driving it. I couldn’t even get in any car at that point without hyperventilating. I assumed if Hugh was aware of the gift he would’ve told Ivy. I realize now he kept it a secret because he knew how she’d react.”
“She’s nothing if not predictable,” Beck agrees. His features soften as he peers deep into my eyes. “I know it’s a stupid question. I usually hate asking it, but are you okay?” Very gently, he touches my cheek. “I would never hit a woman, but I was tempted to hit Ivy after she slapped you.”
“It was humiliating.” I shield nothing from his intelligent eyes. “God knows how many people heard her mouthing off.” Tears stab my eyes, and though they don’t fall, it’s the most viscerally emotional I’ve been in months. “I felt so ashamed,” I whisper.
“Come here.” He opens his arms, and I lean across the console and let him comfort me. “The people who matter know the truth. If anyone else wants to judge, let them. You can’t stop it, and it says more about them than you.” He runs his hand up and down my spine as I rest my head against his chest.
“Every time I think I’m finally moving past that guilt, something happens to suck me back in.” I ease out of his embrace and lock eyes with him. “The things she said to you. The things she accused us of.”
“Mean nothing, Stevie.” He clasps my face in his hands. “Tell me you know that. No one bought that bullshit, and we know the truth.”
I drag my lower lip between my teeth before shrugging, and he astutely reads my reaction.
“Who is Hudson to Garrick?” he inquires.
“His best friend. They’ve known one another since they were little kids.”
“I liked how he defended you. He seems like a good guy. Are you two close?”
