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WREN
Eva and I slept for most of the day. I hated alcohol, and Eva, and was never drinking again.
That was a total lie. I’d drink again. Just not today, and maybe no more cotton candy flavored cocktails anytime soon.
When we were finally showered and feeling more like ourselves. I decided to walk Eva to her car just to get moving a little. No way would I be doing my yoga today, but a short stroll to the driveway was better than nothing. Or so I thought. Until I saw Tate.
He was shirtless. In grey sweatpants.
My mouth watered.
He was so sexy it should be illegal for him to be seen in public.
“Holy fucking Dreamy Dick. Look at that.” Eva grabbed my arm and pointed at him. “Wren. Look. Can you see him? He’s so... and ugh, he’s even... and oh my god, he’s wet. Wren. Look. Right there. It’s Tate. Wet. And soapy. Are you looking? Wren. Can you see what I see?”
“I can see that,” I growled and pushed Eva toward her car. “Go home.”
“Oooh, want some privacy, huh?” She winked.
“I don’t want you to be an accessory to murder. You’re gonna be my alibi.” My hands clenched into fists as heat flooded my body.
Not the heat that was likely flooding Eva’s body. But burning, flaming rage. What did he think he was doing? What right did he have to invade my space? Touch my things? My dad’s things?
“Babe, you’re shaking.” Eva placed a hand on my arm.
“Eva, go. And if anyone comes asking questions later. I was with you at your place. We watched a movie, okay?”
“Alibi. Got it. Try not to mess his face up too much. Or his chest. Or abs. Or ass for that matter. Suffocation is the least messy,” she said with a nod. “That way, his pretty face and smokin’ body will remain intact in the afterlife. It would be a shame to destroy that for eternity.” She waved in Tate’s direction.
“Thanks for the advice.”
“Always happy to help.” Eva kissed my cheek and took off in her car.
I walked over to Tate who smiled widely. “You’re alive, I see. Feeling better?”
He wasn’t going to get out of this mess by being kind. I raised an eyebrow and took a deep breath. “What are you doing?”
“Washing a car.” He dipped down and placed the sponge in his hand into the bucket of soapy water before standing up and leaning over the top of the car to scrub the roof, giving me the perfect view of his ass.
Dammit. I shook my head and closed my eyes. I would not look at him. He was too distracting.
“Stop. Put the sponge down.” I wanted him away from my dad’s car. It was hard enough to look at them, let alone to watch him get up close and personal with them.
Tate ignored me and continued washing the car with so much care, it hurt to see. He lovingly swiped the sponge across the cherry-red paint with long, wide strokes, much the same way my dad used to care for the car when he was alive.
My chest ached.
I couldn’t watch him anymore. He needed to stop.
“Tate. Stop,” I begged again. “Please stop. Don’t touch the car.”
“Wren, I can’t. If I don’t finish the soap will...”
I didn’t hear the rest of his words as my feet carried me over to him. I reached for the sponge to stop him, but he moved it out of my way, and I broke. I pounded my fists into his back and pleaded with him. “Stop.”
“Whoa. Hey.” Tate dropped the sponge and turned to face me. “What’s wrong? I can’t leave it half washed.” He grabbed my shoulders and held me at arm’s length.
“Why?”
“Because the sun will wreck the paint if I don’t wash the soap off and dry it properly.”
“No, not that,’ I sighed. “Why are you doing this? How did you get into the garage?”
“Because they need to be looked after.”
“No. I have Nelson for that.” I sniffed back the tears that threatened to spill. I knew I was too emotional and acting crazy, but grief did that to a person. They were my dad’s cars. Nelson helped him out from time to time, and I knew he’d be the only one Dad would trust to care for them. Besides, I paid Nelson a lot of money so I didn’t have to ever see the cars. And twice in eight days Tate forced me to face them.
Tate rubbed the back of his neck. His forearms flexing with the movement. My stupid eyes betrayed me. “Not anymore.” He winced.
“What do you mean not anymore?”
“I let Nelson go.”
“You what?” I shouted and pushed him back. “How could you do that?”
“Could you really afford to keep up his monthly payments?”
“That has nothing to do with you.” I punched him in the chest. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
Oh my god. I needed to call Nelson and get him back here. He’d be freaking out right now. He needed this job more than I needed pizza. And that was saying something. His father was sick, and his treatment and medical bills were crazy expensive. That’s why I paid him way more than the job was worth. I wanted to help his father, the way my dad had tried before he died.
“I thought it would save you some money, and I really don’t mind taking over,” Tate said.
Shoot. He was still talking. I was working out what I was going to say to Nelson. How I was going to apologize to him for Tate. “You really are a bastard,” I whispered.
“What?”
“You heard. You had no right. Nelson, he’s... His situation is different.” I wiped a tear that fell down my cheeks.
“Oh, you mean his dad?”
That startled me. “What do you know about his dad?”
Tate stretched out a hand tentatively and pulled me close. He wrapped his arms around me, and I shivered from his touch. “Enough. I gave Nelson a severance pay. It should be more than enough to care for his dad for the next few years,” he whispered into my ear.
My hands clutched at his shirt, only he wasn’t wearing one, so I was grabbing his chest. His very naked, very firm chest. I should have been mortified, but I didn’t care. I was so overwhelmed with emotion that my voice was thick, and I choked on my words. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I have the money to spare and you don’t. Wouldn’t want you giving up your twice-weekly pizza.”
I laughed into his chest and his arms tightened around me. “Sorry for upsetting you.”
“But what about the cars?”
“Let me take care of them.”
“You would do that?”
“Since it cost me a small fortune, yes.” He shrugged.
“And when you no longer live here and return to your place in Malibu with the wench?”
Tate barked out a laugh. “She deserves that. When that happens, I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.”
“Speaking of the wench...” He rubbed his hands up and down my back. “I have something to tell you, and you’re not going to like it. But I’m going to take care of it.”
I pushed out of his arms, instantly missing the warmth that enveloped me, and wiped my eyes. “What?”
“Maybe I should show you. Come on,” he said, and led me inside.
Dread settled in my stomach, and I wondered whether I really would need Eva’s alibi or not.