Brett had found a small table off to the side where they could have some privacy during lunch as they went over his finances and discussed his credit report. It was bad enough that Kyle was spreading his business around town. He didn’t need the two of them doing it inadvertently as well.
They started off making polite small talk as they looked over the documents on his phone, but it wasn’t long before they were sharing a few laughs and reminiscing about old times. And that only had him missing Sidney more than ever.
He’d been reluctant to accept her offer, knowing every minute he spent with her was only messing with his head and giving him false hope of renewing their relationship. But the temptation of spending more time with her was just too much to resist.
Sidney had always oozed warmth and goodness, and he missed having her in his life. Even though she was very clear about their “friends only” status and showed no interest in anything other than repaying a favor, he’d take what he could get. Because he’d rather have her in his life as a friend than nothing at all. And if she could help him get that loan for the garage, then that was just an added bonus.
Caught up in their conversation, neither of them seemed to notice that they had a visitor approaching until the man was practically on top of her and already leaning in for a hug. “Hey, Sidney. How are you?”
Her mouth fell open, but she managed to snap it shut in time to hug him back. “Oh, um…hey, Charles.”
Brett didn’t miss her uneasy tone or the way she cut her eyes over to him, as if she was worried about what he would say after seeing another man hug her. But she was a free agent, and it wasn’t up to him. She could damn well hug whomever the hell she wanted, and there was nothing he could do about it. Sure, he didn’t like it, but that didn’t mean he had to vocalize his feelings.
Besides, Charles wasn’t at all Sidney’s type. He looked like a golf nerd in his pink polo shirt and khaki shorts, as if he was some kind of country club caddy or maybe a frat boy. He was tall, dark, and probably good-looking by most women’s standards, and he had a perfect set of brilliant white teeth. But he didn’t at all have that rough edge and intensity that he knew Sidney loved so much.
Sidney glanced at Brett and then back to her friend. “Uh, so what are you doing here?”
Charles shrugged lazily. “Someone said this place sells the best hot dogs in town so I thought I’d come try them out. But I didn’t know you were here. I was sorry we had to postpone dinner last night because of a flat tire, but I’m looking forward to our date tonight.”
Wait, what? Brett’s head snapped in Sidney’s direction, and she immediately cringed. Even though she tried to smile a little, the guilty look on her face told Brett everything he needed to know. She’d had a date last night. Damn.
He guessed this explained what she had been doing out there all alone and why she had dressed up. He hadn’t even thought to ask her since he figured that she would’ve told him if she wanted him to know. Apparently, she hadn’t.
“Um, yeah. Me too,” Sidney said quietly.
“I didn’t even see your car out front,” Charles told her.
She nodded. “That’s because it’s not. It’s still parked at the garage across the street.”
Charles shaded his eyes like a pansy and gazed across the road. “Sounds like you need a new mechanic. How hard can it be to change a flat tire?”
Irritation swept through Brett, and he ground his teeth together to keep from saying anything.
Sidney’s face paled instantly, and she sat a little straighter. “Uh, actually, the car is fixed already. I just need to go pick it up when I’m done.”
Charles nodded. “Well, that’s good. Hopefully they don’t charge you an arm and a leg. Mechanics are crooked like that, you know?”
Brett blew out a breath and counted to ten in his head. Charles was lucky that Brett was seeing a therapist who had given him tools to control himself in this kind of situation. Otherwise, Brett would’ve already ripped off this guy’s arm and leg and beat him with them. The dickhead.
The three of them sat in uncomfortable silence before Sidney finally said, “Well, I guess it’s time for me to get going. I’ve got some errands to run before I head home.”
Charles smiled. “Same here. Hopefully you won’t have any more problems with that tire. Of course, that all depends on whether the mechanic knew what the hell he was doing when he fixed it.”
Brett rose from his chair, and Sidney stiffened instantly, clearly worried about what he planned to do. Charles was completely oblivious though and didn’t even seem to notice the thick tension hovering in the air around them.
Of course Brett didn’t like knowing that the woman he loved was dating again. Who the hell would? But he was sickened to no end as he watched her stiffen, all because she wasn’t sure how he would react to the news. He’d done that to her, damn it.
In the past, he’d always gone off the deep end. God, he was such an idiot. No wonder the woman left him. At least now he had finally learned to recognize his insecurities for what they were and had learned to control himself. In fact, he was more confident in his behavior than ever, and he was extremely proud of the progress he’d made over the past year. He only wished he’d made these changes sooner. Maybe then he wouldn’t have lost her.
Especially to this guy, of all people. Christ.
But Brett didn’t want to draw this out any longer than he had to. So he sucked in a slow, deep breath and steadied himself as he offered his hand to the other man. “It was nice meeting you, Charles. I’m Brett, one of Sidney’s friends.”
The guy shook his hand. “Great to meet you too, Brett. Sidney’s one heck of a woman, isn’t she?”
Brett glanced over at Sidney, who was sitting there with wide eyes and an open mouth. “That she is,” he said, smiling at her. “Thanks for all your help today, Sid. You two have fun on your date tonight.”
Then he did something that surprised even him. He turned and headed back to the garage to get his truck, leaving the woman he loved alone with another man.
After dinner at the Gypsy Cantina, Sidney slid into the passenger seat of Charles’s car and stared out the window. She’d been quiet most of the night and was certain that she’d been terrible company as far as first dates went. But she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Brett.
Actually, she didn’t know what to think. There was no mistaking the shocked look in his eyes when Charles announced that he and Sidney had a date. Brett’s head had swiveled in her direction so fast that she was surprised it hadn’t fallen off his shoulders. She hadn’t really planned on mentioning the date to Brett, but once it was brought up, it wasn’t like she could keep it from him.
Thanks a lot, Charles.
Unsure of how Brett would react, Sidney nearly panicked when he suddenly rose to his feet and faced the other man head-on. Her breath had stalled in her lungs, and her nerves had fired a warning shot to each of her limbs in case she needed to react quickly. Even though Brett had told her that he was in therapy and has changed his ways, she’d seen him in action too many times in the past to expect anything but the worst.
But then he’d surprised her.
Maybe it’s true. Maybe he really has changed, after all.
After saying good-bye to Charles at the hot dog stand earlier in the day, she’d headed directly for the shop to talk to Brett. She didn’t know why she felt the need to explain herself, but she did. Too bad she didn’t get the chance. By the time she arrived, Brett had already left.
She’d worried that might happen, damn it. Now she couldn’t stop wondering what it had all meant. Had he been upset about her date? Or did he not care at all? Maybe that was it. Maybe he was completely over her and didn’t give a damn who she went out with. After all, he had told her to have a good time on her date tonight. God. Had he really meant that? She just didn’t know.
“It’s starting to rain,” Charles told her, turning on his wipers to clear the splatters of rain drops from his windshield. “I don’t think it’s supposed to get bad until later tonight though.”
“That’s good,” Sidney replied absently.
“You okay? You’re not sick or anything, are you?”
She badly wanted to fake some stomach pains and ask him to take her home, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. “I’m fine. I think the weather is just making me a little tired.” She crossed her mental fingers, hoping he would take that as a hint.
No such luck.
Charles winked at her. “Don’t worry. I have something that is going to wake you right up. I hope you’re thirsty,” he said, pulling into a parking lot.
Sidney glanced through the windshield and gazed up at the Bottoms Up sign on the front of the bar, and her stomach twisted. As Charles pulled into an empty slot, she quickly scanned the surrounding vehicles until her eyes landed on a red pickup a few rows over. Damn it. Not only did Brett’s best friend and sister own this bar, but his truck was in the parking lot. The last thing she wanted to do was make anyone uncomfortable…including herself.
She wiped at her brow. “Um, I don’t know about this.”
“Oh, come on. It’ll be fun. We can grab a few drinks and cause a bit of a ruckus.”
Exactly what I’m afraid of.
While Brett had been nice to Charles during lunch, she didn’t want to push her luck. One incident of Brett controlling himself was hardly what she considered proof that he had changed his ways. He might’ve just been on his best behavior earlier. Who knew? But if he was inside drinking, that might make things a little more tense. Alcohol always had a way of complicating things.
Still, it was a small town, and they wouldn’t be able to avoid each other forever. The lug nut incident proved that already. They would both eventually have to get used to seeing each other around, even if they were with someone else…
Oh, dear God. She hadn’t even considered that before since she’d been so busy avoiding him. But now that she had, the thought of Brett with another woman made her chest ache. She peered up at the bar again and bit her lip, wondering if he was inside with a date at that very moment.
Unfortunately, there was only one way to find out.
She sighed. “All right, let’s do it.”