was probably the least stubborn one in the family, but it seemed that he still had his moments.
“Fine.” I quickly dismounted and relinquished the bike before settling into the front seat of his SUV. A couple more people honked, and through the rearview mirror, I saw Leo give his audience a nonchalant wave.
Once we were finally moving, I waited for him to speak. But he said nothing as he kept his eyes on the road and turned out of the university in the opposite direction of the house.
“Where are we going?”
“To dinner.”
I glanced at the clock on the dashboard to make sure I hadn’t somehow lost a few hours without realizing it. Nope. “It’s only three.”
“I don’t care. I’m hungry.”
He said this without looking at me still, his tone one I’d only heard him use with Tristin. It didn’t suggest anger, exactly. More frustration mixed with exasperation.
“Is something wrong?”
I watched as his hands tightened on the steering wheel, then loosened and tightened once more. “I can’t believe you’re asking me that.”
He was still giving nothing away about what was going on in his head, and it was driving me crazy. Leo was my predictable Sharpe. But, right now, I was seriously confused.
“I don’t understand.”
When he stopped at a red light, he finally turned his head, his eyes glinting with an emotion I couldn’t decipher. “What the fuck were you doing? Did you even look?” He pushed his fingers through the front of his hair. “I could have hit you.”
Wait. That’s what this was all about? He was freaking out because I’d almost pulled out in front of him?
“I stopped in time.”
“Barely,” he shouted. “If I’d been driving any faster, you would be roadkill right now.”
“The speed limit is only twenty on campus. I would have been fine.”
“And you think none of our fellow students ever break the speed limit?”
Yet another honk sounded from behind us, and Leo returned his attention to the road. I might have been wrong earlier. Pretty sure the primary emotion emanating from him was anger over even frustration and exasperation.
Softening my voice, I said, “I really don’t understand what we’re arguing about right now.”
“We’re arguing about the fact that you were being reckless and you don’t even seem to realize it.” He released a labored sigh. “Do you have any idea what it would have done to me if I’d hit you? If I’d hurt you?”
The missing pieces suddenly clicked into place, and I wanted to lie down and summon a freaking house to fall on top of me.
I was such an idiot.
Violet. The accident. How had I missed it?
“Fuck, Leo. I’m so sorry.” I reached over and placed my hand on his thigh. “I didn’t even think...”
He nodded but didn’t say anything else, and I didn’t either. I was at a loss for words. He was right—I hadn’t been careful, and I knew better. Moss Harbor might not be Seattle, but it wasn’t middle-of-nowhere Kansas, either. I had to pay more attention to my surroundings.
About ten minutes later, he parked in front of a classy-looking bistro and got out of the SUV. I followed, still unsure what else to say. I’d seen Leo charismatic and defeated. Flirtatious and frozen. But I’d never seen him like this. Like he’d fumbled the football, and I’d picked it up and hit him over the head with it. Repeatedly.
Leo requested the most private table on the patio, and the hostess was more than accommodating. Not that I was about to complain. Right now, I had no interest in complaining about anything.
He didn’t bother looking at the menu, ordering a charcuterie plate and beer as soon as the waiter appeared. When the platter arrived with meats, cheeses, fruit, nuts, seeds, and crusty bread, I was still trying to decipher half of the ingredients on the overpriced menu. Should I know what boquerones were?
“Get the Alaskan cod and chips,” Leo said, answering my unspoken question. “You won’t regret it.”
Fish and chips. That sounded safe enough and was something I’d never gotten to eat in Kansas. “Okay, thanks.”
Silence fell between us again once the waiter was gone, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I hated seeing Leo like this and hated even more that I was the cause of it.
“I really am sorry.”
He finished chewing and took a long swig of beer before responding. “I know. I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Are you sure? Because you seem mad.” Though his tone had softened, I could still see the tightening