I take a deep breath and give Auden a smile. “Sorry about that. We can?—”
Behind me, Robbie’s phone emits the distinctive blaring horn sound that means dispatch is calling, and he steps away from Carlos and Erick’s table, giving them a parting smile.
I stop from force of habit and turn my head. If dispatch is calling Robbie when he’s not on duty, something bad’s happening.
“Wojcik,” he answers quietly, already moving toward the front of the restaurant. “Go ahead, Arlene.” Then aftera moment, “Crap. Yep, responding now. Can you call James, and—? Right. Good. Thanks. I’ll update you.”
He slides his phone away and heads past me to the door.
“What’s happening?” I demand.
“Chimney fire on Belvedere,” he says without slowing. “Structure’s fully involved, and Greene fucked up. I’m heading over.” He pushes the door open. “Later, guys.”
“Wait! What’d Greene do? Do you need me? I can?—”
Robbie turns in the doorway and smiles—not his usual light-of-a-thousand-suns smile but one that’s a little off, a little… sad. It still hits me like a gut punch, but in a different way.
In a you’ve-fucked-this-up-Ames way.
“You letmetake care of me, Amesie,” he says, quoting my words from earlier. “Have fun.” He gives us a final nod and smile, and then he strides out into the March night, leaving only a cold breeze behind him.
My chest constricts. That wasn’t what I meant when I said those words about taking care of myself. At least I don’t think it was.
The problem is, I don’t know what I actually meant.
I don’t know what being friends with Robbie without being in love with him even looks like. I don’t know how to put limits on a relationship that’s always felt limitless.
“Wow,” Auden says in a hushed tone. “Is he always like that?”
I blink away from the window, where I’m watching Robbie stride down the sidewalk. “Huh?”
“Your friend. Is he always so…” Auden waves a hand. “Scary-intense?”
I laugh a little. “Two words that have never been usedto describe Robbie Wojcik, especially not together.” I pull on my coat and shepherd Auden out the door at last. “Rob’s super chill. Usually.”
The fact that he’s not tonight is a sign of how badly I messed up that conversation.
I struggle not to turn my head and look down the block for Robbie’s truck, to track him all the way to Belvedere Road, to wince at some of the stuff I said.
I need to fix this. And I will.
But for now, I force myself to focus on Auden. On our date, which will ultimately save my friendship with Robbie and get things back to where they always should have been.
Just twelve more hours, I remind myself.You can still make it happen.
Deep down, though, I’m starting to wonder.
CHAPTER FOUR
ROBBIE
Lissa’s dad’scountry club is thirty-three minutes outside Winsome—thirty-eight if you hit the lights wrong. Nothing about this place would make me hike out here on my lunch break, especially after spending eight hours in the freezing cold, fighting a chimney fire that refused to die, except Lissa begging me to meet her.
The way her eyes light up when she spots me in the doorway to the dining room isalmostenough to make me forget the long night, my upcoming meeting to handle Greene’s breach of protocol, several texts from my brother asking for “a loan,” and the conversation with Ames I can’t stop replaying.
I need someone who’s in my corner and will suck my dick while he’s?—
“Rob, sweetie!” Lissa stands to hug me when I reach the table. She kisses my cheek, leaving a smear of vanilla lip gloss she swipes away with her thumb. Her pink sweater’s made of fluffy clouds that hug her curves andsnag on my fingers as I pull her against me, softness on top of softness.
