I’m washing my hands in the kitchen when my sister comes bursting through the door. I wince inwardly. I’m in the bitchiest mood ever, and it sounds like she’s feeling the same. This can’t be good.
My shoulders stiffen as her footsteps draw near.Just what I need before heading down to work with Esteban.
“So!” she starts brightly. “I heard some interesting news today.”
I wipe my hands dry. “Did someone tell you that no, singing to your vagina will definitely not make for a smoother birth?”
“What thehellis Esteban Flores doing in Sycamore Heights?”
My smile evaporates.What? How the…
OfcourseRaven was going to find out about Esteban at some point—ofcourseshe was. He’s been working away downstairs for the better part of a month now, after all. I just hadn’t expected her to find out so soon. I warned him to stay off the radar, just to buy myself a little time before dropping the bomb.
“Why is he here?”
She doesn’t know he’s working in the garage, then.Which means she didn’t spot him herself—somebody must’ve told her.
“Who told you he was here?”
“Lewis. I just bumped into him at the mall. I guess you can imagine how I felt when I heard.”
Great! Conley strikes again.He ghosts me for weeks, but he still makes the time to drop me in shit with my sister.What a guy.
“Did you forget why we had to leave Brooklyn in the first place?” Raven yells.
Because of me?That’s not strictly true, though, I remind myself. It was because ofhim, too. Because he was always mixed up in my crap.
“I really think you need to chill, Ravy. He came down to help RJ with some cars—not because he wants to get back together.”
“Bullshit! The guy can’t stay away from you—never has.” There’s a hard glint in my sister’s eyes. “I’m warning you, Amy. I want you to listen very carefully—if you start seeing him again, you’re on your own this time.”
“You sacrificed so much for me, and I’ll never forget that.” I push past her, suddenly desperate to get away from the kitchen. “How could I? You remind meeveryfucking day.”
“I’m so sorry for giving a shit,” she drawls. “That guy is bad news, and you know it. And I don’t give a crap that Dad liked him, by the way—I don’t want him anywhere near you.”
How many times have we had this conversation? I’ve lost count. All I know is that Raven blames everything on Esteban. Always has. But my fuckups are mine to own.
“Look, I’m not feeling great about it all, either.” I shrug. “But guess what? Sometimes you just have to roll with it. Now if it’s okay with you, I need to get back to the shop, and I guess I better just tell you straight-up—yes, I do have to work with him. The sooner we get through RJ’s to-do list, the sooner he can head home.” I give her a hard stare. “Because despite what you think, I don’t want him around, either—trust me on that one.”
I slam the front door shut, my pulse throbbing in my head. I hate when Raven and I fight, especially when it’s over all the stuff that made us leave New York.
Esteban is waiting for me in the shop, his arms draped over the railing, and I know he had a front-row seat for the whole show.
“Your sister’s still my biggest fan, huh?” He laughs.
I recoil. I’ve done everything in my power to avoid being alone with him, but tonight I have no choice—RJ is working on-site, so it’s just me, Esteban, and the cars. If I didn’t have this Buick to finish, I’d be out of here like a shot.
I’ve tried my best to turn him off. I tapped into my pissy mood—thanks for the source material, Conley—and I’ve tried treating him like shit, but he’s had fifteen years to learn how to ride out my bitchiness.I hate my life.
“I got the muffler fixed up,” he says.
“Amazing. I’ll take it from here.” I swing around to him. “Why don’t you take the night off and head back to New York?”
“I’m good.” He grins. “I could do with getting under something—haven’t done that with you in a while.”
He nods at the Buick, but I know that’s not what he means.
“I think you should do some pumping.”
