Ten minutes later, there had been no response, and they were still three miles from Tessa’s place.
“What’s going on here?” Zane leaned forward in his seat. They were in a line of cars that stretched as far as he could see ahead of them, taillights shining red, brake lights flickering on and off in the stop-and-go traffic.
“Sorry. Forgot about this mess. They’re widening the road. Way overdue.”
He opened the Find My Friends feature on his phone. If Tessa didn’t want him to know where she was, all she had to do was block his access. But she never had before.
And she hadn’t now.
Her location blinked back at him. She was at home. Unless she’d left her phone in her apartment, she was there now. And based on how long her phone had been at home, she hadn’t been caught in this ridiculous traffic jam.
Zane stared out the window. “Did you do this on purpose?”
“You need to give her some time.”
Zane had always appreciated how Luke had stood by him when he’d made the decision to place Tessa firmly in the friend zone. Zane had never betrayed Tessa’s confidence about the night she wound up in a creepy hotel room, but other than that, Luke knew the whole story.
Luke understood how important it was for her to heal and focus on her recovery and not a long-distance relationship. But Zane knew that what Luke and all of them wanted was the same thing he wanted. For Tessa to be his.
Both for his sake and hers.
So he didn’t lose his temper with Luke. He was a good friend. The best. And right now he was trying to be a good friend to two friends who needed to sort themselves out. Or, more specifically, one friend who needed to grovel and another friend who hopefully would find the capacity to understand his reasoning.
The traffic eased as soon as they passed the construction, but it had cost them a solid twenty minutes. He checked the phone. She was still at home.
“Rodriguez is slime.” Luke turned into the circle at the entry to Tessa’s apartment. “He’s petty and small. She’ll see the ploy for what it was.”
“I hope you’re right. And thanks for not saying it.”
“Saying what?”
“I told you so.”
“No need.” Luke had told Zane he should tell Tessa about his dates. That it would come back to haunt him if he didn’t. “Although, if you don’t fix this, she’ll be mad at all of us. We all knew and didn’t tell her.”
“You were trying not to hurt her.”
“Don’t think she’ll see it that way.”
Zane opened the door. “Go home to Faith.”
“Faith would not be happy with me for leaving you stranded here. There’s no guarantee Tessa will let you in. You may not make it past the guards.”
“If I’m unsuccessful, I’ll Uber to my hotel.”
“Zane—”
“You’ve always been there for me, man. You literally dragged me away from an exploding car and covered me with your own body. I know you love me.” Zane tried to smile at Luke. “But you can’t help me with this.”
“Wanna bet?” Luke set his jaw. “Faith—”
“No. Keep Faith out of it. If Tessa calls her, fine. Otherwise, please tell Faith to stand down.”
“I don’t like this.”
“I know.”
Their standoff lasted a full thirty seconds before Luke dropped his head in defeat. “Fine. I’ll be praying. For both of you.”
