“When did I say that?”
“It was part of your babble last night when I rescued you,” he explained. “How’s that possible?”
“I grew up in New York, and there you have this thing called a subway. And I’m quite fond of walking, and you can take the subway wherever you want to go and then walk the rest of the way. That’s how I’ve gotten around for the last twenty-three years of my life.”
“So why did you finally get your license? If you were so content with the way things were?”
“Wyn and I came out here for Hadley’s wedding in June.”
“And Wyn is the one you’re texting?”
I nodded. “Anyway, I had to be the passenger princess, and I realized I didn’t like having to rely on her to take care of me. So, when we got back to the city, I had my grandfather give me driving lessons out on Long Island where there was less chance of me panicking or hitting a fire hydrant.”
“Wait—your grandfather? What about your parents?”
“My parents don’t live in the country,” I said, my tone clipped. “And before you ask anything else, I was basically raised by my grandparents. And then it was just my grandfather and me after my grandma died. They taught me everything useful about life.”
“I see.”
What was left of my hunger vanished, along with my good mood.
I set my crumbled paper napkin on the table. “Do you mind if we get out of here?”
“You haven’t finished your breakfast.”
“I’m full.”
“Yeah. We can go. We’ve got some time to kill though. Your car’s not ready.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Milton hasn’t called me.”
“Why would he call you?”
“Because I told him to.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I answered your phone when you were in the bathroom, remember?”
“Yes.”
“And I told him to take care of your car.”
“Yes.”
“I also told him to call me with news about the diagnostics.”
“Okay, but shouldn’t he call me? It’s my responsibility.”
“You have a lot on your mind. I was trying to make it easier for you.”
A sigh of annoyance escaped my mouth. “That’s not your job. You’re not my—I can handle it, Brooks.”
“I know you can handle it. I just thought?—”
“Well, don’t.”
