The wheels were obviously turning in the old woman’s mind.
“And they take care of your meals. And they have a lady there who will do your hair, whenever you want. It’s all included.”
“You’re overselling,” Candy whispered.
“This place? It’s close?” Babushka asked.
“I help out there sometimes, and it’s just a block away. An easy walk.” And it didn’t involve moving in with a boyfriend.
“This apartment. Ve vill go look. I vill consider this choice,” Babushka said firmly before she continued her shuffle to the back stairs that lead up to Heather’s apartment.
“She hasn’t been here all weekend, either. Has she?” Heather asked.
Candy shook her head. “Don’t think so.”
So Heather wasn’t the only one walking the walk of shame that morning. She hated calling it that; there was literally nothing to be ashamed of.
Heather dropped her face to her palms. How the hell was she going to tell Jase that his whole family would know about them in approximately five seconds? And, the cherry on top? She’d just convinced his grandmother to move into the assisted-living facility for the elderly.
Heather sucked in a lungful of oxygen. It’d be fine. Totally fine. Jase was a good guy. He’d handle this okay.
17
Chapter Seventeen
Senior “Senior” Prom Countdown: 18 Days
He was an asshole of epic proportions.
It’s not that he needed Heather around—he just felt human again when she was nearby. He had no idea what that was all about, but he had spent years numb inside while still acting fine on the outside. It beat the hell out of the guilt that took over whenever he started to feel. But with Heather, he wasn’t numb. He also wasn’t guilty. For the first time since everything had gone to shit, he felt like himself. An older, more tired version of himself, but he wasn’t the shell of a man who’d lost his crew and then his wife.
Jase shoved a vase of freesias in the cooler beside the cash register and stalked to the back of the shop. Usually, he worked right up front. He had a table there because early on he’d realized how much customers loved to watch the finished product being created. And he liked it. He liked talking to them and being in the middle of it all.
Not today. Today he worked in the back. Today his staff didn’t need a memo to steer clear of him. Today he was an asshole.
He’d screwed Heather senseless and got skittish with all the relationship-pill-long-term talk. And she knew it. She fucking knew he was questioning things. That’s the kind of jerk he was.
He couldn’t bring himself to let Heather go that morning, and a woman like her deserved happy. Happy he would fuck up. The crinkling was the sound of his balls shriveling at the thought of her lips against anyone’s but his own. Nope, he wouldn’t play along with that.
He shoved a rose too forcefully into the floral foam, breaking the stem.
He stared at it, clipped it and tossed it back in the bucket of water.
That morning he’d realized he really wanted to do this with her, the possible-forever gig. Shell-shocked, he’d just stood there. He was a goddamned bomb technician, trained to stay calm and clip the correct wire—even when he had no clue which one that might be. Trained to expect the unexpected. One bomb could be four. An insurgent could be waiting around the corner with an AK-47 and a truckload of attitude. Yet, he hadn’t see this coming.
He couldn’t end it. No, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Because he wanted more of her. He was a selfish prick.
So, no. She wasn’t the one who was all kinds of messed up. Not even close. He wanted to hang on to her because he liked the way things were with them. Liked being around her. Even though he knew…he fucking knew it would end badly.
He picked up the brick of foam and threw it against the wall, a splat of water on the paint the only evidence of what he’d done when the foam hit the tile floor.
Hands braced on the side of the metal table, he took ten deep breaths, counting each one.
“You wanna talk about it?” Brek asked from the doorway that led to the shop.
Jase glanced up.
“Or you wanna throw shit? ’Cause I can be down with either.” Brek grabbed the foam from the floor and held it between his hands.
