Boom - Sabrina Stark Page 0,91

more so after an electrical fire had gutted its kitchen less than twenty-four hours ago.

I'd gotten the emergency call maybe an hour after leaving Arden's bedroom late last night.

Into the phone, I said, "So, you wanna hear why I left?"

"Where?" Now, she sounded ready to cry. "My bedroom? Or the state?"

Like a dumb-ass, I realized far too late that she hadn't been asleep. She'd been crying.

The realization cut me to the core. In a softer voice, I said, "Both."

"How about neither?" she said with a choked sob. "Because I'm just saying, I don't care."

"Baby—"

But already, she'd hung up.

Shit.

If she didn't care, she wouldn't be crying. And I wouldn't feel like a dick for hurting her.

I hadn't meant to. But I saw why she was upset. Last night, I'd been an ass. And then I'd left with no warning.

On top of that, she'd had a whole day of radio silence, giving her plenty of time to assume the worst.

I wanted to make it up to her.

Maybe what she needed was a nice surprise – something to make her smile until I returned to fix things.

A few phone calls later, it was a done-deal.

The surprise – she was going to love it.

Chapter 51

Arden

In the crew house living room, I woke to the sounds of knocking. It was a Saturday afternoon, and I'd fallen asleep on the living room sofa – mostly because I'd slept so badly after last night's tense conversation with Brody.

On the phone, I'd been awful to him, but I refused to regret it. After what I'd learned from my cousin, I should've called Brody every name in the book.

But I hadn't.

I was saving that for the next time I saw him – whenever that would be.

As I rubbed the sleep from my aching eyes, I got up and trudged to the front door. Without much enthusiasm, I opened it up, only to come face-to-face with someone I never expected to see today.

It was Cami.

Her auburn hair was tied in a loose ponytail, and she was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and white sneakers. With a happy smile, she squealed, "Surprise!"

Huh? For a long moment, I was so disoriented I forgot to smile back. With sleep-addled confusion, I took everything in – the sleek town car idling in the driveway, Cami standing out on the front porch, and the battered suitcase resting by Cami's feet.

I was still trying to make sense of everything when Cami lunged forward and gathered me up in a hug so tight, it took my breath away.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt myself smile. And then, I laughed.

Into her hair, I asked, "How'd you get here?"

It was a valid question. Since college graduation, Cami had been staying with her parents, who lived nearly three hours away in Petoskey. She had a car, but it wasn't what you'd call reliable. And forget hopping on a plane. Between security checks and the lack of nearby airports, flying would've taken twice as long.

Of course, it would've been better than taking a bus, which I knew all too well from my own pathetic experience.

In reply to my question of how she'd gotten here, Cami pulled back and pointed to the town car, still idling in the driveway. "I took that."

I shook my head. "A town car? Seriously?" Okay, yes, I realized that the unfamiliar vehicle had obviously brought her here. But from where?

The airport?

Or the bus station?

On the porch, Cami glanced toward the vehicle. "Is that what you call it?"

"Actually," I admitted, "I'm not really sure."

The vehicle was long, dark, and expensive-looking. It wasn't quite a limo, but it wasn't a regular car either.

Whatever it was, it wasn't leaving. In a hushed voice, I asked, "Do we need to pay him or something?"

Cami shook her head. "Nope. It's already paid for."

"But what about the tip?"

She grinned. "That's paid for, too. And it must've been bigger than what he normally gets, because the driver was so happy, he smiled the whole way here."

None of this was making any sense. I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. So, Cami had tipped him ahead of time?

I felt like I was missing something, but I had no idea what. Absently, I murmured, "Really?"

Cami nodded. "Oh yeah. Like every time I caught his reflection in the rear-view mirror, he'd be grinning like he just won the lotto."

I didn't even play the lotto. But sleepy or not, I was suddenly grinning, too.

Cami was the closest thing I had to a sister, and