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“Don’t get arrested,” I said with a sigh. “That’s my only request.”
He nodded and opened the door to his car for me.
I wasted no time in climbing into the warm embrace of his vehicle. He disappeared quickly and I was left staring into the cold night. Ten minutes later, he had a bag of my stuff.
“Thank you,” I said once he’d thrown it in the back seat.
“I had no clue what was all yours. I just dumped colorful stuff in here. I figured it’s more your taste than ...” He gestured to my dress. “Reed said he would gather the rest.”
“Is that all he said?”
“That’s allhesaid.”
“And what didyousay?”
“I told him a little communication would work in his next relationship. And not putting people on the spot.”
My jaw dropped. “You didn’t.”
“I did. No one messes with my sister.”
A warm feeling separate from the heated car wormed its way into my chest. In all the misery that had been that relationship, at least I still had people in my corner.
As we pulled away from the curb, a thought hit me.
“Alden isn’t coming over, right?”
Alden and I hadn’t talked since he turned me down. Even his name felt foreign in my mouth. He’d treated me like I was a dirty sock after he’d been inside of me, and I refused to forgive something like that. I knew some guys loved to take women’s virginity, but I didn’t think he was one of them.
Right after it happened, Nick told me it was for the best and that I deserved better. Ididdeserve better, but I’d always wondered what went wrong.
Nick shook his head. “No, he’s busy with the park planning for this snowstorm coming in.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, a snowstorm. Like Nashville ever gets any of those.”
Still, it was cold. Now that the adrenaline was fading, I was realizing how cold I’d actually gotten.
A shiver hit me. I turned to my bag in the back. I was looking for a jacket but came up empty.
“Um, Nick? Did you forget to grab me a jacket?”
“Was there one in your drawers?”
“No. Why would I put a jacket in a drawer?”
“I don’t know. I only had a few minutes before I lost it listening to that asshole’s mom complain about you.”
“I fucking hate her.”
“You won’t freeze. I have an extra jacket at my place you can borrow.”
He turned up the heat as I crossed my arms. “Reed’ll probably leave for the Keys with his family tonight, and I’ll get my car and other stuff tomorrow. Maybe the next day to be sure he’s gone.”
“I’ll go with you,” he said. “If this snowstorm doesn’t get us all stuck for a week straight.”
I shook my head. “Don’t tell me you believe in this stupid thing.”
“Amma says this is gonna be a big one.”