Page 112 of Slumming It

I couldn’t make out half of them, but one thing he said was shockingly clear. "Baby, I'msosorry. Let me make it right, okay?"

Chapter 43

Emily

Vivian stared across the front desk. "Make it right? How?"

It was nearly noon on Monday – barely six hours after that ugly scene in the parking lot. I'd just finished telling Vivian everything that had happened, starting with the people hassling me on my job and ending with Reese bundling me back into his Ferrari and delivering me to the front door of Mom and Dad's place.

I didn't let him see where I actually lived, considering that it was in a mobile home out back. But as soon as his Ferrari disappeared down the road, I'd hustled from the main house and snuck into the single-wide trailer that I shared with Vivian.

Happily, she'd been asleep in her bedroom, which meant that I'd had some private time to think on my own. The only problem was, I hadn't come to any conclusions, which was why I was standing here, pouring out my heart in the front lobby of our hotel.

Judging from Vivian's face, she wanted to kill the guy.

I could sort of see why. My hands were a little scraped up from the pavement, and I had a lightly skinned knee, which I'd just shown her by yanking up the pantleg of my loose-fitting slacks. But at least my face was unscathed, so that was good, right?

And now I felt compelled to explain. "Yeah, I know he was a jerk, but hedidcome to my rescue."Again.

Vivian made a scoffing sound. "If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have needed rescuing in the first place."

This was actually a good point – and not a mark in his favor. And yet, he'd rescued me of his own free will. Both times, hecould've simply disappeared and left me to fend for myself. But he hadn't.

At the very least, this made him better than Jason who was never there when Vivian needed him.

And Reese hadn't stopped with just the rescue either. Sometime during the hours while I'd slept, he had even delivered my car from the pancake house parking lot to my parent's driveway – and without the keys, too, which made me suspect that he'd had it towed or delivered by some other means.

Did that count as another rescue?It sort of felt that way, especially considering that I wouldn't be standing here without it – unless I'd felt like walking the ten miles into town. The gesture reallywasthoughtful.

As my thoughts churned, Vivian continued. "And if he wanted to make it right, why didn't he give you specifics right then and there?"

"He wanted to," I said. "But I refused to listen."

"And you're willing to listennow?"

"Well…thatwasthe deal I offered. I told him that we could talk today after two o'clock if he was still interested." I felt a giant knot form in my stomach. "But really, for all I know, he might just forget the whole thing and leave town."

The words had barely left my mouth when I heard a familiar rumble out front. When I turned to look, I spotted a slick red Ferrari pulling up in the turnaround.

I stared in confusion.Well, that was odd.

I was still staring when Vivian muttered, "So much for giving you time."

I was only half-listening. "Huh?"

Vivian sighed. "You said you needed until two o'clock to think, and he knows that you worked all night." Her voice filled with concern. "But there he is, two hours early, as if he doesn't care one bit whatyouwant."

I was still looking at the car. "Actually…I'm not sure that's the case."

But Vivian was on a roll. "I'm just saying, if he can't respect your wishes about something so small, what makes you think he'll respect your wishes about anything else?"

I was squinting now. "But I don't think that's him."

"Why not?"

"Because that's not the same Ferrari." I cocked my head to the side. "Or at least, I don't think it is." I was no car expert, but the curves of the vehicle looked slightly different even if the color was the same.

From behind me, Vivian said, "So he's what? Showing off?"