Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Knuckles rapped on my car window the next day as I sat in Dane’s garage, trying to make my car start. Grinding my teeth, I eased up on the ignition and looked up to see him sipping from a cup. I rolled down the window and glared at him. Oh, I could kill him right now. Or maybe just rearrange his face with a shovel.

“Problem?” he asked, playing clueless when we both knew he was anything but.

“The engine won’t start.”

A line marred his brow. “At all?”

I felt my lips thin. “No. It’s as if the battery’s dead. Or as if someone’s taken it.”

One brow hiked up. “You think I stole your car battery?”

“I think you did something to my car, because it was working just fine up until now.” I’d been trying to get it moving for a full two minutes, but nothing was happening. I could lift the hood and check things out, sure, but I wouldn’t have a clue what I was looking at.

Dane shrugged. “It’s an old model, baby girl. Sometimes they just give out.”

“And sometimes people tinker with them when the owner’s back is turned.”

Really, I should have known he’d do something like this. He hadn’t tried pushing me to drive the new Audi he’d bought for me. He’d been so sure I’d eventually give in and accept it that he hadn’t once complained about me not using it. But Dane wasn’t a man who waited around for people to start dancing to his tune, was he? He made things happen. And he always managed to outmaneuver people.

“Fix it,” I insisted.

He frowned. “Do I look like a mechanic to you?”

“Undo whatever you did.”

“If you want me to call someone to come take a look at it, I will. I can’t promise they’ll get here any time soon, though.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “I doubt you want to hang around here and wait for a mechanic to arrive or you’ll be very late meeting up with your friends.”

Yes, I would be. Which was exactly why he’d pulled this crap today. He’d known I wouldn’t miss out on this trip to the mall; he’d known I’d promised both Ashley and Hanna that I’d meet them there.

He took a sip of his drink, looking infuriatingly casual. “Do you want me to drive you to the mall?”

“No, I don’t.” What I wanted was to slap him across the face. Hard.

He pursed his lips, thoughtful. “I suppose you could ask Ashley to come pick you up. Of course, she’s probably halfway to the mall by now, but she’d turn back for you if you asked. I’m sure Hanna wouldn’t mind waiting at the mall by herself for the two of you to arrive.”

He knew I wouldn’t put Ashley out like that, just as he knew I wouldn’t want Hanna to be standing outside the entrance of the mall for God-knew-how-long.

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. “You think you’re clever, don’t you?”

His eyes danced. “I have been called that once or twice.”

Arrogant prick. “I could just call a taxi.”

“You could,” he easily agreed. “It’s rare that any happen to be driving around these parts, but you might get lucky. If not, you won’t have to wait too long for a taxi to arrive. On average, they usually take something between twenty and thirty minutes to get here.”

If I hung around that long, both Ashley and Hanna would be standing around waiting for me to arrive. Which meant I either needed to accept a ride from Dane, who I’d much rather sucker punch right now, or choose the lesser evil.

I sharply swung open the door, disappointed that he smoothly backed up and evaded it. I slid out of the vehicle and put my hands on my hips. “You really are an asshole, you know.”

Taking another sip of his coffee, he held up the car key to the Audi that was parked further along the garage.

I snatched the key out of his hand with a snarl.

He gave a satisfied nod. “Good girl.”

“Fuck off. And fix my car while I’m gone.”

Ashley pulled me into a hug. “I still haven’t gotten used to not seeing you every day.”

I hugged her back. “Can I take it that you’ve forgiven Tucker?”

She drew back. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fair enough.” I turned and greeted Hanna, who hugged me just as tightly, even though I last saw her only two days ago.

“I noticed you drove here in an Audi,” said Hanna. “I’m guessing that means Dane wore you down.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I mumbled.

She did her best to stifle a smile. “All right.”

Ashley fluffed the back of her hair. “Well, girls, let’s get moving. I have a dress to buy for the reception.”

“So do I,” said Hanna.

The cool air conditioning hit us as we walked through the automatic doors. The mall was huge. It honestly seemed to go on forever with its many stores, kiosks, and eateries, so there was no shortage of places for us to shop.

Hanna gently nudged me with her elbow. “Is married life still treating you well?”

I smiled. “It is, thanks.”

“I’m happy for you,” said Ashley. “But I also wish you’d move back into your old apartment. The man who lives there now is a miserable old fart who’s always banging on the wall, complaining that me and Tucker are too loud.”

I suspected the man was just annoyed by how often his neighbors argued, but I kept that to myself.

“We should have our upcoming girls’ night at my place and be extra loud just to make him cry,” Ashley added.

Hanna frowned. “Nu-uh, we agreed we’d have it at my place.”

“It would make more sense to have it at mine,” I cut in. “There’s a media room, a small bar, no neighbors who’ll complain. Plus, I have guestrooms. You’d be able to stay over instead of getting a taxi home late at night.”

Hanna gave me a pained look. “I’m sorry, Vienna, I just can’t. It’s my boss’s house.”

I rolled my eyes. “Hanna, we’ve been over this.”

“I know, I know. It would just feel weird to go there and …” She trailed off and frowned at something over my shoulder. “Well, it seems like Heather’s bagged herself a new man.”

Ashley tensed. “What? Where? Oh.”

Sure enough, Heather was sitting opposite a guy in the café nearby, oblivious to our presence. As I took in the way they were leaning toward each other, looking somewhat cozy, my stomach twisted.

I drew in a deep breath through my nose. “Fucking unreal,” I ground out. “I don’t know who I want to slap more—her or him.”

“Wait, you know him?” asked Hanna.

I licked my front teeth. “Oh, I know him. Remember the guy I told you about who I was briefly engaged to?”

Hanna’s mouth fell open. “No way.”

Ashley’s brows flew up. “Wait, that’s Owen in the café over there?” She’d heard about my ex but never met him.

I swallowed. “That’s Owen.” I flapped my arm, at a loss. “This doesn’t make any sense. He loathes her. And she detests him because he never fell for her charms.”

“It might not be a date, though they do look mighty friendly,” said Hanna. “I thought he was married.”

“He recently separated from his wife,” I told her. “They filed for divorce.”

Ashley glared at them, shaking her head. “If he’s dating that skank, he’s doing it for one reason only—he thinks you still care for him, and he wants to hit you where it hurts.”

“I thought Heather didn’t date single guys,” said Hanna. “I know he’s still married on paper, but …”

“She’d date him if she thought there was the slightest chance it would upset Vienna,” said Ashley. “God, I want to smack this bitch down so bad.”

Hanna looked at me. “I agree with Ash; they’re doing this to upset you. Is it working?”

I sighed. “It doesn’t feel good to know that they’re both so eager to hurt me. Especially Owen. He was important to me once.” I narrowed my eyes as Heather reached across the table and linked her fingers with his. Owen smiled at her, though it wasn’t a full-on smile.

I turned away from them, grinding my teeth yet again. I wouldn’t have thought he’d ever go this far—dating someone who’d treated me like shit for years—in an attempt to hurt me.

Ashley rested a hand on my shoulder. “At least you know about it now. They can’t sucker punch you with it at an odd moment and take you off-guard, which is probably what they meant to do, or Heather would be crowing about it by now.”

I nodded. “Let’s just keep moving. The last thing I want to do is bump into them. I’d only lose my shit, which they’d both just love to see happen.”

Ashley curled her arm around my waist and guided me forward. “They’re not worth it, hon.”

“Here, fucking, here,” clipped Hanna.

Stepping into the foyer of Dane’s house later that day, I let out a long sigh and felt my shoulders droop. God, I was tired. Tired of the people around me acting like assholes.

I didn’t want to be so pissed by Heather and Owen’s sly little move. I didn’t want to waste that emotional energy on them. But how could I not be pissed that my ex-fiancé —a man who I’d once trusted not to hurt me—was now, at the very least, co-conspiring with the woman he knew hated me as much as I detested her? How could I not be pissed that said woman wouldn’t just concentrate on living her own life instead of always setting out to shit all over mine?

I’d tried shoving the whole thing out of my head as I browsed the stores at the mall. I’d told myself not to give the assholes the power to fuck up my day. But, yeah, it hadn’t worked.

Although I’d assured my friends that I was fine, neither of them bought it. Still, they’d thankfully let me be—likely well-aware that talking more about the matter would only make me angrier.

Not once in my life had I returned from the mall empty handed, but I just hadn’t been interested in shopping; hadn’t been in the mood to buy anything or have fun with my friends.

Questions kept pricking at me. Were they dating? Were they conspiring to cause trouble? Were they—

“Vienna?”

Blinking, I looked up to see Dane on the landing, his expression so carefully blank that my nape tingled.

“Come up here,” he said, his tone flat.

I didn’t move from where I stood. “Why, what’s wrong?”

“There’s something you need to see.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

He turned away and walked out of my view, replying, “Like I said, there’s something you need to see.”

“Define ‘something,’” I called out. No response. “Dane, what is it?” Again, nothing. Cursing, I stalked up the stairs, ranting, “Dammit, Dane, just tell me what’s wrong. My imagination is going haywire here.”

I found him in my bedroom, his face still utterly unreadable. My stomach did a slow roll. “What is it?”

“Follow me.” He walked into my closet.

I trailed after him, stopping only when he halted near the shoe carousel. “What is it?”

His gaze briefly slid to one of the shelves. “Look.”

I looked. And I did a double-take. My lips parted, and my body went utterly still. I had to be seeing things. I really had to be. Because there was no way that there’d be a—

“It’s your ‘something blue.’”

I blinked at Dane. “My what?”

“You told the planners you had something old, something new, and something borrowed, but that you needed something blue,” Dane reminded me. “Well, now you’ve got it. In fact, her name is Blue. I’m guessing her previous owner named her after the color of her fur. Not very original.”

“Her?” I echoed, feeling my mouth dry up. “You found her?”

“At the cat rescue center, yes. Her owner died. There was no one to care for her.”

Whoa, back the fuck up. “You … you went to a cat rescue center?”

He nodded. “I went while you were at the mall. I didn’t go there looking for a Russian Blue cat. But when I saw her and remembered what you told the planners, I figured she’d do.”

I swallowed. He’d gotten me a cat. A cat. And now I was feeling all choked up. With one act, he’d turned a shit day into the best day ever. The backs of my eyes burned with hot tears, and my throat began to ache.

I turned back to the gorgeous feline, who was curled up in a ball on my shelf, looking wary and cautious.

“Well, do you want her or not?” he prodded, impatient.

My eyes widened. “Of course I want her. I’m just shocked. I mean, you don’t really like animals.”

“But you do. And you wanted a cat. Now you’ve got one.” He crossed to the shelf, eyeing her just as he’d eyed those meerkats at the zoo. “She’s not so bad. Just a little unsettled. Which is probably why she’s hiding in here.”

I swallowed again and nearly choked on the knot of emotion clogging my throat. I hugged him tight. “Thank you,” I rasped. “Really, thank you. She’s the best gift anyone’s ever given me.”

His arms came around me, and he rubbed his jaw over the top of my head. “You’re welcome.”

I closed my eyes. “Why?” I asked, my face in his chest. “Why did you do this for me?”

He squeezed my nape. “You know why,” he said, his voice low.

Yes, I did know. He’d gotten me a cat … because it was all he could give me. The other things I wanted out of life—children, a real husband—weren’t things he would ever want to offer me. Although that thought made my chest ache, it didn’t dim my happiness at the gift he’d given me. Because he hadn’t had to do it. It wasn’t like it was my birthday or Christmas or anything. No, he’d done this utterly sweet thing for me … just because.

I didn’t need to ask why he’d picked a cat from a rescue center. The animals there were all in the same position we’d once been in—they had no one to care for them and needed a new home.

Blinking my teary eyes, I lifted my head. “She’ll need food.”

“It’s in the kitchen, along with cat litter and a bunch of other stuff that was on the list.”

“List?”

He shrugged. “I don’t have a clue what cats need. I had to Google it. I bought it all on the way home.”

My heart melted. I smiled. “Dude, you’re so getting lucky later.” I crossed to the shelf and whispered nonsense at the cat while gently scratching the top of her head. She was tense, but she didn’t hiss or take a swipe at me.

I petted her, loving the soft, silky feel of her coat. The more I stroked and whispered to her, the more she relaxed. But when I tried scooping her up, she retreated.

My shoulders sagged. “She doesn’t want to come down.”

Dane sighed at her. “You can’t hide up there. It’s stupid.” He effortlessly lifted her and held her against his chest—the move so natural I would bet my life he’d Googled how to carry and hold a cat.

I smiled at the way she settled in his arms. “She likes you.”

“She just recognizes me as the person who got her out of a cage,” he said a little gruffly.

I watched as she rubbed against him, scent-marking him. My smile widened. “Yeah, Blue is so not my cat.”

He frowned. “What?”

“People don’t own cats, Dane. Cats own us. And this one has decided you’re hers.” I shrugged.

He shot me a droll look and thrust her at me. “Here.”

I happily took her and cuddled her close. I stared into her beautiful green eyes and fell in love right there. “Hello. Hungry? Hmm? Let’s go find out.”

Downstairs, I discovered that Dane had in fact bought everything necessary for a cat. We set most of her things up in the sitting room that was barely used—her cat bed, litter tray, scratching post, feeding bowl, and water fountain.

Blue watched us closely from a shelf the entire time. Coaxing her down didn’t work, but I wasn’t surprised by that, given that these were brand-new surroundings for her. I was just glad she wasn’t frightened. She was a little edgy and twitchy and seemed to feel safer when up high, but I figured that was normal.

“The woman at the rescue center said not to let her outside for at least three weeks; said Blue needs to settle into her new environment first,” Dane told me.

I turned to him, deciding to let her alone for now. She’d come down when she was ready. “Has she had all her immunizations?”

He nodded. “I left all the paperwork on your workstation before I opened the cat carrier to let her out. I didn’t expect her to hide.”

“She’s just nervous. New place, new people, new scents.”

He tilted his head. “I also didn’t expect you to come back from the mall empty-handed.”

My smile dimmed. “I didn’t see anything I liked.”

“You looked tired in the foyer. Drained, even.” His eyes narrowed as they drifted over my face. “Did something happen?”

“Not exactly.”

He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Tell me.”

I sighed. “I saw Heather at the mall. She didn’t see me. She was in a café with who is quite possibly her new boyfriend.” I backed up a few steps and slumped onto the sofa. “I also saw Owen at the mall.”

Dane’s face hardened. “What did the fucker say?”

“Nothing. He didn’t see me either. He was the guy sitting opposite Heather in the café.”

Dane’s brow pinched. “You said he hated her.”

“He does. And she doesn’t have warm, fuzzy feelings for him either, because he never succumbed to her advances. But they looked real cozy earlier.”

“Hmm.”

“I don’t know if they’re dating or up to something or both. Whatever the case, it pisses me off, because what have I really done to upset them other than live my life in the way I chose? Nothing. So, yeah, I was in a real shitty mood. Then I came here, saw you and Blue, and it all fell away. So thank you.” I took in his inscrutable expression and slanted my head. “What are you thinking?”

He sat beside me on the sofa and twisted to face me. “I’m thinking I want to fuck them both over, because they can only be doing this in the hope of hurting you. But if I do that, they’ll believe they’ve succeeded. I don’t want either of them to have that satisfaction.”

“Neither do I, which is why I didn’t confront them at the mall. Although it ruined my shopping trip, I’m glad I saw them. Like Ashley pointed out, they can’t sucker punch me with this now.” I blinked as Blue leaped onto the back of the sofa. I hadn’t even realized she’d left the shelf.

I felt my mouth curve as she rubbed the side of her neck over Dane’s head, leaving her scent on him. “She really does like you.”

Looking unimpressed, he said, “Only because I got her out of the cage.”

“Ah, the power of hero worship.”

I slowly reached up and stroked her, smiling when she didn’t pull back. “I always wanted a cat.”

“Didn’t you ask Melinda and Wyatt to get you one?”

I shook my head. “It may sound melodramatic, but I didn’t trust that Heather wouldn’t have harmed it. She often damaged, broke, or stole my things. Maybe she wouldn’t have gone as far as to hurt a living creature, but I didn’t want to take the risk.”

“It was probably a good call on your part.”

“Did you ever have any pets?”

“My grandfather had a dog. A Basset Hound. It was the laziest fucking creature you can imagine.”

I stilled in surprise. He’d never spoken of his extended relatives before. “Did you see much of your grandfather growing up?” I asked, half-expecting him to blow off the question.

“No, he wasn’t welcome at the house. Barron hated him because he felt that Hugh was ‘the favorite.’” Dane shook his head. “Barron actually smiled all the way through my grandfather’s funeral. I was only a child, but I remember it well.”

“What about your paternal grandmother?”

“She died before I was born.”

“Your maternal grandparents?”

“My mother had nothing to do with her family. They contacted me about five years ago, claiming they wanted to ‘connect’ with their grandchildren. I told them to fuck off. So did Kent and Travis. Because we knew from Hugh that they tossed our mother out at fifteen after forcing her to have an abortion.”

I felt my upper lip quiver. “A person’s family should be their safety net.”

“But you and I both know it doesn’t always work that way.”

Blue sprung onto Dane’s lap and butted his hand.

“I’d be jealous that she likes you better than me if the whole thing wasn’t so adorable,” I said.

He shot me a withering look and placed the cat on my lap. “Hungry yet?”

“I am actually.”

“Will stir fry noodles work for you?”

“Yeah, I can get behind that.”