AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not a problem,” he said, smiling softly. “I’m sorry everything went to hell for you.”
“Well, what did I expect.” I tried my best to give a playful shrug despite the fact Jeremy’s betrayal was still weighing heavily on me. “Hockey players are pigs, right?”
“Right,” Reed replied with a light chuckle. “I can only apologize on behalf of all of us.”
He was still smiling at me, but then his face became more earnest, and his blue eyes locked on to mine. "Seriously though,” he continued. “Regardless of what my brothers and I think of Hoffman, he shouldn’t have done that to you. You deserve better. Much better.”
He spoke firmly, and as I stared back at him, I could tell he meant what he said. If the rumors were to be believed, Reed had probably left a trail of brokenhearted girls in his wake over the years. But that just didn’t seem to match up with the way he’d treated me tonight, the things he was saying, and the way he was looking at me.
“Thanks” was all I could bring myself to say in response, and even that came out in a hushed whisper.
“Just kiss her already,” Parker yelled from the car.
“And on that note, I need to go pummel my brother,” Reed said with an awkward laugh. “Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
“You too, Reed.”
I watched him jog back to his truck before I made my way into the house. I’d barely closed the front door behind me when I heard my uncle call out from the living room. "What are you girls doing back so soon?”
“It’s just me,” I replied. This was typical Luke. If I got home late, he’d be annoyed, but because I was home early, he immediately became suspicious. I might have laughed if I wasn’t already dreading this conversation.
“I thought the movie didn’t end for another hour…” Luke continued as I entered the living room. He was sitting on the couch with a beer, watching a hockey game. He was struggling to pull his eyes from the TV even as he spoke to me, so it must have been a good game. I hoped he might be too distracted to get mad.
“Betty broke down,” I said. Though that wasn’t the reason why I was back so soon. I was home early because of Jeremy, but I was hardly about to tell Luke that my boyfriend had cheated on me. Discussing it with my uncle would be the most awkward thing in the world, and I was quite content to spend the rest of the night pretending Jeremy didn’t exist.
“Your car broke down?” Luke finally looked up. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“Mom’s always told me the car is my responsibility,” I said. “So, I got her towed to the nearest garage. I’ll know more on Monday.”
“You got it towed?” Luke’s tone was growing more concerned.
“Yes.” I didn’t want to imagine how he’d react if he knew I’d been on my way to a party too.
“Again, why didn’t you call me?”
“I didn’t want you to worry.”
“If anything, I’m more worried,” he said. “How did you get home? Who towed the car? Where is it?”
“It’s at Danny’s Garage,” I said, fishing Danny’s card out of my pocket and handing it to Luke.
“Danny’s Garage?” Luke frowned as he stared at the business card. “As in Danny Darling’s garage? Did he tow the car?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Luke shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I’ve heard of him,” he said. “Some people say he was involved in organized crime in Minneapolis back in the day.”
“What, like the mafia? That doesn’t sound right. He looked more like a lobster than a mobster tonight.” Luke was now staring at me like I was speaking in another language. “He was on his way to a costume party,” I quickly explained.
Luke just grunted in response. “And how did you get home?” he continued. “Did he drive you?”
“No, his son did.” As soon as I answered, I immediately knew I’d made a mistake.
“His son?” Luke sounded even more shocked than when he thought I’d gotten my car towed by an infamous gangster. I silently cursed myself. I should have lied and told him one of my friends picked me up. I wasn’t thinking clearly though. Jeremy was to blame. There was no room in my head for logical thoughts when the image of Jeremy and Heather kept popping up.
“It’s fine, Luke. Reed was really helpful.”
“Reed…Darling…” Luke’s voice had gone quiet as he peered up at me from the business card. Clearly, he knew about the whole Darling Devil thing.
