can hear. “Are you two officially together? What’s going on? He wouldn’t have brought you here if he didn’t want you to be his woman.”
“Abbie brought me here,” I point out, watching Crow speak to Saint. “And no, I don’t think we’re together. I mean, we haven’t even kissed yet. Why has he not kissed me yet?”
“Maybe because you’re kind of going through a lot right now?” she guesses, looking to Abbie. “What do you think? Why hasn’t Crow made a move on her?”
“He’s been looking after you. Maybe he’s waiting for the right time. You’ve only just left your house,” she reminds me.
“Oh my God, maybe he sees me like someone he has to look after, and not a hot, sexy woman,” I say, just as Izzy sits down with us, another platter in her hands. “Maybe he feels like I’m his responsibility. He did see me when I hadn’t showered in days, so maybe he’s not sexually attracted to me anymore.”
I look down at my clothes. I could have put in more effort. I mean, I’m wearing the standard jeans and top. I cringe when I notice my feet. I’m wearing my Birkenstocks with socks. Why did I not change my shoes when I left the house? Or at least remove the socks?
“This is probably why he hasn’t kissed me,” I tell them, pointing at my feet. “We’ve solved the problem, guys.”
Private investigator of the year.
I touch my lip. When’s the last time I got waxed? Great, I’ve all but let myself go. To top it off, I put on granny panties this morning and they have holes in them.
The girls laugh, which gets Crow’s attention, and he comes right over to me. Maybe he noticed the horrified expression on my face, which I wasn’t able to mask in time.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, sitting down opposite me. “And what’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” I state loudly, sending threatening looks to the ladies. “Absolutely nothing. Would you like a chip with some dip on it?” I ask, smothering a Dorito in jalapeno hummus and shoving it in his mouth.
The girls laugh harder, and I don’t know where to look.
One thing I do know is, here, right now, I forget everything that has happened, and I feel almost back to my old self.
Almost.
Chapter Ten
Cam all but runs over when she sees me. “Oh my God, Bronte.”
“Hey, I’m back,” I say, hugging her and laughing as she picks me up in the air.
“I didn’t know if you were going to come back or not. I can’t believe what you’ve been through,” she says, putting me down and cupping my face with her hands.
When I saw Billie last night, she told me that she and Cam have been hanging out together since the night we went to Kamikaze. I’m not surprised since the two of them seemed to hit it off so well.
“I didn’t know either,” I admit. “But I didn’t get fired, so here I am. What have I missed? Who has been filling in for me?”
“Everyone has been pitching in. Abbie actually came in a few times, and whenever I haven’t had any bikes to work on, I’ve been manning the front,” she says, sitting down at the desk and showing me the schedule. “Luckily it hasn’t been too busy for once, so we’ve made do. How are you? If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.”
“I’m...okay,” I say, nodding. What else can I say? I’m never going to fully get over the loss of my father, and I know that. But I am going to have to learn to live with it, and hopefully over time the pain will lessen. Time heals everything, right? I might not fully believe that in this case, but it does give me a little hope.
Things won’t always be this bad.
“When I was in prison I lost someone really close to me, and I know how hard it is. I’m here for you if you need me,” she says, winking at me.
“I appreciate that, Cam. So, you never told me what you went to prison for.”
“You never asked.” She grins. “I was in there for stealing cars and motorcycles. Ironic, isn’t it?”
She walks away, my mouth left open.
I spend the next hour catching up on the admin work for the business, organizing the receipts and folders, which have all gone to hell in my absence.
Crow appears around lunchtime with his hands full of food. “I brought you lunch.”
“That’s cute. What did you