Cash stared down at his phone in his hand and read the message she’d sent him for the umpteenth time.
The first time he’d read it after replacing his phone, he’d instantly wanted to call her, to tell her he was coming to get her, that they’d somehow make it work.
However, he’d stopped himself from acting impulsively. Because his life wasn’t his own. He couldn’t move to Las Vegas and he wasn’t even sure how long he’d be here in Billings.
So he hadn’t replied, and now he was just sitting here, staring at his phone, willing his fingers to work.
“Fuck,” he said as he set it aside, tapping his fingers on the armrest of the armchair.
“I can’t get hold of Ortega,” Ralen said. “What the hell is he thinking? He calls us over to him to help him get rid of some dead bodies, tells us that he has met the love of his life but has to convince her to be his. And then he disappears on us. I mean, what the hell is going on with him?”
“Maybe he really is in love,” Cash suggested. “I’ve heard it can do strange things to people.”
“Ortega in love? He’s not really the lovey-dovey type.”
“Do you have to be the lovey-dovey type to be in love with someone?” Cash asked. “Are we lovey-dovey types?”
“Probably not. That’s why we’ve never been in love.”
Yeah, that was right. They’d never been in love.
He picked up his phone again, rereading the message. All of a sudden, it was plucked out of his hand. “Hey, fucker, give that back.”
“No, I’m sick of you looking at something on your phone. I want to know what it is since you won’t tell me.”
“The reason I won’t tell you is because I don’t want you to know.”
Cash stood, ready to grab his phone back off Ralen, but it was too late. The other man was frowning down at the message. “Addie left this for you?”
“Yeah, she did.”
“And you haven’t replied? You asshole.”
“Look, we’ve had a few busy days, all right? I lost my phone, then I was trying to think of the right thing to say, and the words just won’t come. Should I just walk away? It would be better for her, right?”
Ralen sat in an armchair and rubbed at his forehead for a long moment. Why did he look so pensive?
He wasn’t the dick who hadn’t messaged her back yet.
“It’s a really nice message,” Ralen told him.
“I know, man. That’s why I don’t know how to reply. I don’t know how to say something nice back.”
“Could you do it in person?” Ralen asked.
“What do you mean, could I do it in person? She’s not here anymore.”
“But if she was, you could, right? You could say something in person. You’re just struggling to write it down.”
Cash wasn’t sure. And he didn’t see how it mattered. She wasn’t here. He should have messaged her straight away. Now she was going to think that he was avoiding her or something.
Not that he’d been an idiot who fucking dropped his phone in a vat of acid.
It had been a rookie move, but his mind had been on other things.
Like the girl that you can’t stop thinking about.
“Why don’t you go to her?” Ralen suggested.
