"It's not ready and I close in the next hour."
"A thousand dollars if you can get it to my place in two hours."
"Shit. Okay, yeah. I'll make it happen."
"Thanks."
Hanging up, I walked to the bedroom and started stripping the sheets. I hadn't changed them because they smelled like Della. My girl needed clean sheets. Once I had my room cleaned I dialed one more number.
"Boss?"
"Jimmy, I need your help. Close the dining room early. Tell everyone that there's a private member meeting or some shit. Just close it. I need the kitchen staff's help."
Della
"You didn't have to rent a car. I was fine with the bike," I told Tripp again when we pulled out of the car rental parking lot.
"Yeah, I did. Trust me," he replied with a smirk.
I was tired of arguing with him about it. He had been determined to rent the car and now it was too late to change his mind. I leaned back in the seat and stared out the window. I would be in Rosemary in five hours. I wasn't sure if I would go to Woods's house or if I would go to a hotel. Maybe I could call Bethy. There was always Tripp's condo. I could ask him for one last favor. I'd asked him for so many already.
"Are we going straight to Woods's place?" Tripp asked.
"Um . . . I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't blindside him. I could just go see him tomorrow while he's in his office. That way I won't have to just show up at his house in case . . ." I couldn't bring myself to say in case he's with someone else.
"What? You getting cold feet now? Can't do that. You want to get your man, then go get him."
"I'm not sure if that's the way I should do it."
Tripp shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. "Okay. Picture this: Woods is at his house with another woman. One he can't love like he loves you. You haven't been gone long enough for that. She's gonna get to sleep in his bed, where you belong, tonight. Unless you march up to his door and take back your man."
The idea of this faceless woman sleeping in Woods's bed and touching him made me physically ill. No. He was mine. She couldn't touch him. He was mine first.
"You're getting fired up, aren't you? Ready to take back what belongs to you? I think it's about damn time. Shame to let him sleep with her another night when he would rather be with you. She's just filler."
He was right. Woods wasn't in love with her. He had been in love with me. I could make him love me again. I could show him I wasn't weak. I was worthy of his love. I was going to fight for it. I would get him back---no one was sleeping over there tonight except for me. She was leaving. I'd make her leave.
"Take me to Woods," I told him.
Tripp let out a whoop and patted my leg. "Attagirl. You got this," he said.
I sure hoped I did. If not, I might've been on my way to making a complete fool out of myself.
When we were ten minutes away, I started having second thoughts.
"Maybe I should just go to your place tonight."
Tripp let out a short laugh. "Uh, yeah, no. Woods is already going to want to hurt me when he gets ahold of me. I'm not about to bring you back to Rosemary and take you to my place."
"But if he's with another girl . . ."
"Della, do I have to give you another pep talk? Because I will. You can do this. You came back here. You wanted Woods enough to come back and face this. It's time to face it, baby."
He was right. I knew he was, but I was scared of what seeing Woods with someone else would do to me. I'd come so far this week. I didn't want to turn into a whimpering lunatic in front of him. I wanted him to see the new and improved Della. Not the girl he had gotten rid of.
"He's gonna want to see you. I know you don't believe that but he will. I'm a guy. I know these things."
"He may want to see me, just not when he has another . . ." I couldn't say it.