From behind him, he heard Derek say, “You’d better name your first kid after me, since I’m the reason you two are finally getting together!”
Without looking back, Trevor gave D a one-finger salute and left. He texted Lexi as he rode the elevator down to the building’s main floor.
****
Lexi locked the doorto the diner and quickly headed for her car. She’d gotten a text from Trevor a little under an hour ago saying he might be a few minutes late. Which actually worked out well for her, since she was running about twenty minutes behind herself.
The dinner rush had been crazier than usual, which meant clean-up took longer than it normally did. Glancing at her watch, Lexi grimaced when she saw it was already eight-thirty.Crap.
She still had a ten minute drive to her mom’s house before she could even start to get ready.
No, not mom’s house. It’s my house, now.
Shaking off those thoughts, Lexi ran through her plan as she high-tailed it to her car. With minimal traffic, she’d be home by eight-forty. Her simple sense of style would allow her a five-minute shower and five more minutes to get dressed and put on a little makeup.
With the rest of the time, she’d blow dry her hair as best she could. Worst case, she’d just throw it back up in a bun.
Thinking her plan was very much doable, Lexi approached the driver’s side of her car and stopped cold.
“Damn it.” Ofcourse, she would have a flat tire.
She wanted to scream, or cry, or...scream. Instead, she took her insurance card from her wallet and called the roadside service number on the back. After that was taken care of, she texted Trevor.
Sorry for the short notice, but I’m at work, and my tire’s flat. My insurance company called a tow service, and the guy said he’d be able to give me a ride home before taking it into the shop. They said he’s on his way to another job right now and aren’t sure how long it’s going to take. I’m really sorry. Hopefully we can reschedule soon.
Ending it with a fingers crossed emoji, Lexi sighed loudly and hit send. Within seconds, her phone was ringing.
“Hello?”
“I’m on my way.” It was the only greeting Trevor gave.
“What? No.” She grimaced at how harsh she’d sounded. “I mean, I appreciate the offer, but that really isn’t necessary. I told you, the insurance company already called someone.”
“Go back inside the diner and lock the doors behind you. Then, call and cancel the tow. I’ll be there in fifteen.”
The concern in his tone took her off guard.
“Lex?”
“I-I’m here, but I gotta say, you’re starting to scare me a little bit.”
A muttered curse reached her ear before Trevor drew in a deep breath before exhaling loudly. “Sorry. I don’t mean to scare you or bark orders. Occupational habit, I guess.”
Not quite sure how she should respond, Lexi simply replied with, “That’s okay.”
“Is Joe with you?”
She had a feeling he wasn’t going to like her answer. “Joe’s sick, Gina, the other waitress who works the dinner shift didn’t show, and Caleb has a big algebra test tomorrow, so I sent him home as soon as we closed. He needed the extra time to study.”
“You’realone?” he asked, clearly alarmed.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve closed the place down by myself. I’m a big girl, Trevor,” Lexi assured him. “I’ll be okay.”
He cleared his throat before apologizing again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise, but I don’t like the idea of you waiting in the parking lot alone. Especially not at night.”
“Oh. That’s, um...really sweet, actually.”
“Well, I’ve definitely been called worse.”
