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She withdrew her keys and fumbled them, missing the lock on her first attempt and scratching her key against the door. The stranger moved toward the front of his car as Holly thrust her key into the lock. She shot a glance at the dark outline of a man before she flung open the door and climbed inside, pushing down the door lock as soon as she closed the door.
She kept her gaze on the unmoving figure in the rearview mirror as she shakily inserted the key into the ignition. Heart pounding, she pulled forward through the empty bay in front of her as the man got back into his car. Holly gripped the wheel with both hands and peeled out onto the street, glancing over her shoulder to see the car still idling in the parking lot. She sped through a yellow light just as it turned red, holding her breath as she floored the gas pedal.
By the time she’d reached the neighborhood gate, the drizzle had turned to rain, drumming against the windshield in a rhythmic cascade. She collapsed against her seatback.It had to be Jared.Which meant he likely knew she was staying nearby. She checked the rearview mirror as the gate slid open. There was only darkness. She thought of Andy’s offer to help her get a restraining order, berating herself for not getting a look at the car’s license plate. She couldn’t even say for sure that it was Jared, even though she knew it had to be.
She pulled through the gate as soon as it opened, then waited for it to close behind her before turning onto the street thatled to her cul-de-sac. Even if Jared had followed her to the neighborhood gate, he wouldn’t know which house she was staying in.
As she pulled into the driveway, she felt around the passenger seat beside her purse for the garage clicker. She didn’t want to leave her car outside for Jared to recognize. Not finding it, she flicked on the dome light as she idled in front of the garage. She thought she’d grabbed it on her way out of the house, but in her rush, she must’ve left it on the kitchen counter.
“Shoot.”
She found the house keys inside her purse and left the engine running while she jogged to the front door, bowing her head in the rain. She unlocked the door, and her nerves started to calm as she moved through the house to the kitchen where the garage opener lay on the counter.
She grabbed the clicker and hurried outside. When she opened her driver’s door, a hand clamped onto her shoulder. She screamed.
She whipped around in the glow of the exterior garage lights to see the wide, surprised eyes of a man as he threw his hands in the air.
He took a step back, offering her a disarming smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said over the rain. “I called out to you, but you must not have heard me. I’m Clint.” He pointed to the house next to hers. “I live next door.”
“Oh.” Holly exhaled, placing a hand over her heart. He was attractive, she noted, his broad shoulders filling out his plaid button-down shirt. She swallowed. “Hi. Um. I’m Holly.”
“Laurie told me you were moving in. The author, right?”
She nodded, trying to hide her annoyance. Laurie always had to overshare. She wondered what else Laurie had told him.
He wiped a damp piece of hair to the side of his forehead. “I won’t keep you in the rain. I was just taking my garbage outand thought I’d let you know that tomorrow is garbage day.” He gestured behind him to a trash can on the curb between their two houses.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” He backed away, flashing her another friendly smile. “Nice to meet you, Holly.”
His shirt, now wet from the rain, clung to his muscular upper body as he turned to his house. Holly climbed into her car and opened the garage.
She waited for the garage door to fully close before getting out to retrieve the groceries from the trunk. She relaxed her shoulders at knowing Clint was next door, glad now that Laurie had told him she was moving in. He would, after all, know the normal comings and goings of the neighborhood and be more likely to spot a strange vehicle—or someone who didn’t belong.
Once inside, Holly caught her reflection in a decorative mirror hanging in the hallway. She cringed. The rain had made her mascara bleed beneath her eyes, and her wet hair clung limply to the side of her head.
Hopefully it had been too dark outside for Clint to get a good look at her, she thought. Because Laurie had been right. Hewaseasy on the eyes.
Chapter 20
REBECCA
Rebecca smiled at the woman leaving Albertson’s as she stepped through the automatic doors, even though she felt like crying. She’d had a lot of practice pretending she was happy. On autopilot, she grabbed a shopping basket and wandered around the grocery store in a fog.
She’d told Neil they were out of milk, but really, she just needed to get out of their apartment. He’d offered to drive her tonight, but she assured him she was perfectly happy taking the bus. She wandered the aisles, thinking of her boyfriend at home, watchingMarried with Children,waiting for her return. He had no idea his girlfriend was having a mid-life crisis while she meandered through a grocery store like a sleepwalker, half-lost in thought, and half-lost in general.Can you even have a mid-life crisis at twenty-five?
Rebecca turned down the frozen food aisle, wondering if she should bring back some ice cream.She scanned the freezers of ice cream, guilt pooling in her stomach for wanting more than the life she was living. Even though her pay at the hair salon wasn’t a lot, it was steady. Her boyfriend was sweet to her, ifboring at times. He worked hard and treated her well.So what if Neil doesn’t laugh at all my jokes and doesn’t want to go out as much I do?He was loyal and kind.
Her mother’s voice rang in her ears.What more could you want?She dropped a pint of Häagen-Dazs into her basket and made for the check-out line.
When she reached the front of the store, she spotted a copy ofVanity Fairwith Kathleen Turner wearing a white dress on the cover.Rebecca looked away, feeling her throat swell with regret. When she’d graduated from beauty school, she’d planned to stay in Tacoma for only a year or so until she saved up enough to move to LA and pursue her dream of acting. But here she was, five years later, working at Supercuts and dating Neil, who had no desire to move to California. She didn’t even like doing hair, but she hadn’t planned on it being her lifelong career.
Rebecca added a roll of Mentos to her basket in the check-out aisle before paying, thinking it was probably already too late for her to get her start in acting. She should’ve moved to Hollywood right after high school, despite her parents encouraging her to stay in Tacoma and “get a real job.”
She trudged through the parking lot in the rain to wait for the bus to take her home. She sat on the bus-stop bench, rain pattering against the shelter’s roof, and pulled a Mento out of the roll. A bus sped by on the opposite side of the street with an advertisement forGhoston the side, “Coming to Theaters This Summer.”
She chewed the mint as the bus sped away.If I’d gone to LA instead of taking my parents’ advice, that might’ve been me wrapped in Patrick Swayze’s arms on the side of that bus, not Demi Moore.But now she’d never know.