time, guilt-ridden in her betrayal of him. But Eli’s sweetness and protectiveness had made it impossible for her to be mad at him. The man had told her he would be waiting for her when Ray made his inevitable exit. That was something that she could never have expected.
Chapter Three
Ray had called Eli all manner of unprintable things. He’d seemed angry with his friend, or ex-friend she should say. He’d hinted that, perhaps, Eli isn’t the good person she thinks him to be. But Eli had said the same about Ray. Mia can’t help but feel like she’s being pulled in two different directions. One of the men is lying, or at least not telling the whole truth. But which one?
As she gets into her car she’s more confused than ever, questioning everything she thought she knew about the only two men who had ever been in her life. Mia’s cell buzzes insistently, reminding her that she’d left it in the car in her haste and nervousness to see Eli. Five missed calls from Cassie and an irate text message. Alongside Cassie’s perpetual lateness, she’s also about as patient as a hungry dog. Dutifully, Mia plugs the cell into the dashboard holder and sets up the hands-free Eli had insisted in installing in her car. She smiles as she thinks how he had always been so protective of her. But her smile fades as she remembers she’d just put an end to that.
“Mia, where the hell were you today? I missed my gym buddy!” Cassie’s voice is accusatory, but Mia knows not to take it to heart; it’s just the way that her friend talks, years of law school and then dealing with an asshole boss has given her good practice.
Shit, the gym , she thinks to herself. She and Cassie had a long-standing Saturday gym date followed by lunch. For the first time in forever it had completely slipped her mind. “I’m sorry, Cass. It’s been kind of a crazy couple of days!” Mia bites her lip, not wanting to get into it right now, but Cassie has already noticed the wobble in her voice.
“Mia? What’s up? Is it this Ray thing?” She can almost hear the wheels in Cassie’s brain turning.
“Partly the Ray thing, partly the Eli thing.” She slows down, realizing she’d been speeding, almost unconsciously. She wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around her, too busy being buried in her own thoughts – not a good idea when you’re behind the wheel of a moving vehicle, she chastises herself.
“What’s the Eli thing? Is he being an asshole again? We exchanged a few choice words on the phone this morning. He was looking for you.” Cassie lets Mia infer the question.
“I’m sorry about that, Cass. He was worried. He hadn’t heard from me and you know how he gets.” Mia lets the car lead her towards the motel Ray is staying at, already feeling the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of seeing him.
“Uh-huh. And am I going to hear any more about that story? I’m your best friend, Mia. Stop holding out on me!” Cassie doesn’t even try to pretend to keep a reign on her impatience.
“I’m not holding out on you, Cass. It’s just that it’s not so easy to talk about. It’s all kind of fresh.” Mia shrugs, despite the fact that her friend can’t see her. She takes a deep breath and bites the bullet; after all she’s going to have to start telling people sometime. “I just broke up with Eli.” She rushes the words out and crosses her fingers, half-hoping that Cassie won’t grill her on the details.
Mia hears her friend blow out a long breath; clearly this had been the last thing that Cassie had expected her to say. “All right, and where are you now?” Cassie talks slower than her normal mile a minute pace, like she’s still processing what Mia has just told her.
“On my way to Ray’s motel.” She winces, knowing what she would be thinking in Cassie’s shoes. Mia had just broken things off with her long-term boyfriend, with the guy everyone –
Chapter Three
Ray had called Eli all manner of unprintable things. He’d seemed angry with his friend, or ex-friend she should say. He’d hinted that, perhaps, Eli isn’t the good person she thinks him to be. But Eli had said the same about Ray. Mia can’t help but feel like she’s being pulled in two different directions. One of the men is lying, or at least not telling the whole truth. But which one?
As she gets into her car she’s more confused than ever, questioning everything she thought she knew about the only two men who had ever been in her life. Mia’s cell buzzes insistently, reminding her that she’d left it in the car in her haste and nervousness to see Eli. Five missed calls from Cassie and an irate text message. Alongside Cassie’s perpetual lateness, she’s also about as patient as a hungry dog. Dutifully, Mia plugs the cell into the dashboard holder and sets up the hands-free Eli had insisted in installing in her car. She smiles as she thinks how he had always been so protective of her. But her smile fades as she remembers she’d just put an end to that.
“Mia, where the hell were you today? I missed my gym buddy!” Cassie’s voice is accusatory, but Mia knows not to take it to heart; it’s just the way that her friend talks, years of law school and then dealing with an asshole boss has given her good practice.
Shit, the gym , she thinks to herself. She and Cassie had a long-standing Saturday gym date followed by lunch. For the first time in forever it had completely slipped her mind. “I’m sorry, Cass. It’s been kind of a crazy couple of days!” Mia bites her lip, not wanting to get into it right now, but Cassie has already noticed the wobble in her voice.
“Mia? What’s up? Is it this Ray thing?” She can almost hear the wheels in Cassie’s brain turning.
“Partly the Ray thing, partly the Eli thing.” She slows down, realizing she’d been speeding, almost unconsciously. She wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around her, too busy being buried in her own thoughts – not a good idea when you’re behind the wheel of a moving vehicle, she chastises herself.
“What’s the Eli thing? Is he being an asshole again? We exchanged a few choice words on the phone this morning. He was looking for you.” Cassie lets Mia infer the question.
“I’m sorry about that, Cass. He was worried. He hadn’t heard from me and you know how he gets.” Mia lets the car lead her towards the motel Ray is staying at, already feeling the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of seeing him.
“Uh-huh. And am I going to hear any more about that story? I’m your best friend, Mia. Stop holding out on me!” Cassie doesn’t even try to pretend to keep a reign on her impatience.
“I’m not holding out on you, Cass. It’s just that it’s not so easy to talk about. It’s all kind of fresh.” Mia shrugs, despite the fact that her friend can’t see her. She takes a deep breath and bites the bullet; after all she’s going to have to start telling people sometime. “I just broke up with Eli.” She rushes the words out and crosses her fingers, half-hoping that Cassie won’t grill her on the details.
Mia hears her friend blow out a long breath; clearly this had been the last thing that Cassie had expected her to say. “All right, and where are you now?” Cassie talks slower than her normal mile a minute pace, like she’s still processing what Mia has just told her.
“On my way to Ray’s motel.” She winces, knowing what she would be thinking in Cassie’s shoes. Mia had just broken things off with her long-term boyfriend, with the guy everyone –
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