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“You know what really pisses me off?” I tell her stepping in close enough to have her shrink back a little. I’ve never hit a woman in my life. Never wanted to. Until now. “Sunday, when James and his little minion showed up at the game—you had no idea who he was. That means you sought him out. That means this wasn’t a situation that got away from you. You weren’t duped or coerced. You knew who he was, how he treated Cari, and you went looking for him. And like an idiot, I defended you.” I’m the one who pointed her in his direction. I feel my lips peel away from my teeth in an expression that has her shrinking back even further. “Don’t ever come back here, Sara. You’re not welcome anymore.”
I delete her texts before rinsing my bowl and putting it in the dishwasher. When I turn around, Cari’s standing in her bedroom doorway, watching me. She’s wearing the robe I gave her, the sleeves baggy and skimming her knuckles, its lapels pulled tight across her chest. All I can think about is how little more than 24-hours ago, I was pulling it off her. Reaching past its folds to touch the warm skin underneath.
“Morning,” I say, my voice is horse so I clear my throat and try again. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
“No.” She shakes her head, threading the robe’s belt between her fingers. “The guy Miranda is sending for the paintings will be here in an hour.”
“Oh,” I say, nodding my head while I dig my stainless-steel to-go cup out of the cabinet above the coffee pot. I haven’t used it in months, but I need to get out of here.
“Late night?” She smiles, trying to keep things normal. Make them the way they were before.
“Ladies’ Night always is,” I say, forcing myself to smile. Keep it light. Make it easy. “So, I was thinking… maybe we can get everyone together tonight.” I pour coffee into my cup, focusing on the task at hand in an effort to keep myself grounded. “We can close for the night. Hang out downstairs. Have some drinks. Stick Declan in the kitchen. Listen to some music.” I fit the lid on my cup and risk a look in her direction. “A private send-off. What do you think?”
“You can’t close Gilroy’s on a Friday night.” She looks at me like I’m crazy.
“It’s my bar,” I remind her. “I can do whatever I want.”
She chews on her bottom lip, her hands still fidgeting with the belt around her waist. She looks like she’s looking for a way out, so I give it to her.
“Look,” I say as casually as I can. “If you have other plans, it’s cool. It’s your last night in Boston—you should do whatever you want to do.” I cross the kitchen, moving toward her.
“I thought maybe I’d just order pizza and clear out the DVR,” she says, moving out of the doorway so I can pass through it. “You know, a quiet night in.”
“Okay,” I say, passing through the living room on my way to the front door. “Well, if you get bored, come downstairs and join us for a drink or two.”
“I thought maybe you’d want to hang out, just the two of us,” she says. “You know, like… before.”
Before.
That stops me in my tracks, and I turn to see that she’s followed me into the living room, standing close enough to touch. I want to grab her and shake her. Yell at her. Ask her what the hell she’s doing. When she’s going to get tired of playing with me.
But then I remember I’m the one who asked her to stay. I’m the one who needed more time.
“How about both,” I say, pulling the door open to step onto the landing. “You can torture me with reality television for a few hours and then we can go downstairs and give everyone a chance to say goodbye.”
The smile on her face wobbles a bit, but she holds onto it. “It’s a date.”
When I get tothe garage, it’s barely 7 AM. Even though Con doesn’t officially open until 9, Tess has the bay doors up and music blaring so loud she doesn’t hear me come in. Half of her body is under the hood of a ’57 Chevy, disappeared so far into its belly, the toes of her boots kick against the ground for purchase. Her cat, Shadrach, is curled up, sleeping in a sunny spot on the dashboard.
Rather than compete with the noise, I pick up the remote and mute the speaker system Con wired throughout the garage. As soon as the music is gone, Tess’s head pops up.
“Hey asshole, I was—” As soon as she sees me, she goes quiet. “Oh. Thought you were Con.” She never did have trouble telling us apart. “What are you doing here?”
Instead of answering her, I study the truck she’s working on. “I can’t believe Conner makes you work on this.”
She raises an eyebrow at me while she uses a worn bandana to wipe grease off her hands. “He’s not making me do anything,” she says. “Restoring it was my idea.”
“Why would you do that?” This is Declan’s truck. At least it used to be.
“Because it’s a good truck.” She tucks the bandana into the back pocket of her coveralls. “And a lot of good things happened in it.”
“A lot of bad too.”
“You’re almost as bad as Con these days.” Tess laughs, but I can hear it. I hit a nerve.
Reaching through the open window, I scratch Shadrach behind her ear. She’s got to be nearly ten by now. “You bring your cat to work?”
“Sometimes.” She narrows her eyes at me for a second before shrugging. “Con’s not here.”