Don slings an arm around my shoulders. “Good work, guys!”
“Adam runs a tight ship.” I shrug. “I just followed instructions!”
Lane is still staring at me. I keep my eyes fixed on the fairy lights I just strung up—they better be worth the near-death experience.
“Need a hand, dude?” Don whips the piñata out of a plastic bag.
“Yeah… Let’s keep Lois as far as humanly possible from the stepladder. Lane, just leave the bottles by the bar.”
I watch Lane drift out of the room and decide to make a move before he gets back.
“I’m going to leave you guys to it.”
“Thanks for helping out!” Adam pulls me in for a hug. “See you tomorrow?”
I mumble my goodbyes and practically sprint to the sidewalk, fishing my phone out of my pocket as I run. One missed call from Kirk.Shit! I need to hurry—I’m gonna be late.It’s time for that coffee he mentioned. I ended up saying yes, and I have no idea what to expect. I felt like a nobody without him, and it’s only now I’m realizing that I clung to Lane like a life raft, desperate for some kind of substance.Emotional dependency, as Carrie had called it, before diving back into another one of her books. I’m finally starting to lean in to the new, bad-bitch me, but there’s still a weight wedged in my heart, and it feels like I’m standing at a crossroads with no way through.
I start to walk, turning my thoughts over in my mind, when something catches my eye. I glance over at the road. Lane’s car.Is he leaving already?He’s creeping along the sidewalk, driving as slow as he can to stay level with me.
He leans across to the passenger window. “Let me give you a ride.”
The offer catches me off guard. I stop in my tracks, muffling the urge to say yes, mentally bitch-slapping myself back to reality.
“No, thanks. I’m okay to walk.”
I can’t handle letting him into my space again—not yet. I’m trying so hard to heal, I can’t undo all my hard work.
“Get in the car.”
I choose to ignore him, lengthening my stride. Last time, he just let me go—and it’s hard, because my heart is pounding in my chest, all those memories I pushed back bubbling up to the surface. I glance over my shoulder. Car horns are blaring out in a chorus, a long line piled up behind Lane. Still he carries on crawling alongside me, refusing to let me go.
“You know you’ve started a traffic jam?”
“I’m not moving until you get in the fucking car.”
What is goingonwith this guy?
“Lois!” he snaps.
No matter how edgy he sounds, the way he says my name sends butterflies skittering through me. I’ve missed him. And I hate how weak I am.
Stay strong, Lois. Go your own way.The problem is my own way is currently one long stretch of road, and there’s nowhere for me to turn off. I could dip into a store—but I’m pretty sure he’ll just stay parked there in the middle of the street. I’d forgotten how stubborn he can be.
A guy in a monster truck leans out the window. “You gonna move the fuck along, buddy?”
“I’m waiting for her to get in the car,” Lane yells back. “Sorry!”
“Hey, you!” The same guy is waving at me now. “What’s the holdup?”
I throw up my hands. “I don’t know this guy!”
“Not my problem, lady!”
He hammers down on his horn, and some other woman jumps in, yelling in my general direction.
“What iswrongwith you people?” I holler. “He’s the one blocking up the road, and you’re coming forme?!”
“Lois!” Lane calls out at me for the tenth time.
