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A maddening thought grips my gut like a fist. Before I can stop myself, my hand darts across the console to cup her jaw, angling her face toward me. “Did he hurt you?! Did he put his hands on you?!” I demand, an edge of hysteria in my voice as my thumb brushes over her smeared makeup.
At the shock of my touch, Inez trembles.
Then she jerks her chin back and starts laughing. “What? No. Vance? Hurt me? As if he’d ever risk chipping a fingernail.” She quickly grows somber. “If anybody got hurt tonight, it’s him. And I feel awful about that.”
I don’t want to be the type of guy who bad mouths another one, only to end up looking like a fool in the end. At the same time, I don’t know where things with Vance and Inez stand. And that is driving me crazy.
My indifferent facade finally crumbles completely and I lose my cool. Fuck it. “Inez, tell me what happ—”
Abruptly, she cuts me off with a palm lifted in my face. “Look—I—I’m not ready to talk about it,” she spits out. Then her voice softens. “I know that everyone will have questions but I just need tonight to get myself together, before I have to face the whole town.”
There’s so much more I want to say. But I’ve always been careful to keep distance between us. Boss-employee dynamic, after all. And in a moment like this, when she’s so obviously vulnerable, it would be easy to cross the line.
“Fine,” I mutter.
She offers me a thankful smile then looks away, idly toying with the string of her bright yellow hoodie.
The light turns green and I toe the gas pedal. But the whole time, I’m driving slow. Because I fucking missed her. I want to draw this moment out as long as she’ll let me.
The flowery sweetness of her familiar perfume is faint after what must have been a hellish day. Yet still, it draws me in. I want to lean closer to get a better smell of her. Jeez. When did I become a creep? Never knew I had it in me.
In my defense, I guess I’m still trying to process this turn of events.
I still can’t fucking believe she’s here.
She clearly needs someone she can trust tonight. And she chose me. Holy shit. She chose me.
Why was I on the other end of her phone call for help? I’m trying hard not to read more into that gesture than I should. But it’s awfully tempting.
When I realize I don’t know where I’m driving to, I break the silence. “So, where am I dropping you off?”
Inez flinches slightly.
My eyes widen. “Oh. Uh…M-my place?”
She clasps her palms together in prayer, pleading in my direction. “Please. I didn’t have time to make other arrangements. I just need a couch to crash on. It’s just for one night. Pinky promise.”
It’s painfully obvious that she doesn’t have anywhere else to go. That guts me.
I emit a long sigh. “Fine.”
Truthfully, offering this woman room and board for the night is definitely no burden. I’d never leave her out on the street.
“Thank you,” she whispers again. And I feel like an asshole when I see the genuine gratitude brimming in her eyes, ready to spill down her cheeks.
Sometimes it’s easy for me to take for granted that I have a huge family, with a whole slew of siblings who would help me out of a jam. As for my parents, even though they’ve been exploring Europe with my grandparents for the past few months, enjoying their retirement, they still make sure to check in with Stella and me every week. But Inez doesn’t have that. Not even close.
“Don’t cry,” I grumble roughly. I grip the steering wheel tighter so I don’t touch her again. Because how am I supposed to sit here and keep my hands to myself when she’s over there with tears in her eyes?
My gut instinct is to pull over on the side of the road and wrap her up in my arms. But that would come across all wrong, wouldn’t it?
Inez rolls her eyes, blotting at her lower lashes with the hem of her dress. “Hold on. Give me a second. Let me just turn off the ‘crying switch’.”
I cringe. Yup. I’m an asshole. “Sorry.”
We cruise the rest of the way through Starlight Falls, with only the clunky sounds of my old car filling the night.
I glance over at Inez and I find her staring out the window, her cheek pressed against the glass. Physically, she looks great. A little tired. A little over-dressed for the occasion. Gorgeous nonetheless.Still, I can tell that, on the inside, she’s not okay. But I decide that I won’t push it.
