His tone shifted immediately, cautious. “What about it?”
“My car,” I started, then stopped, because suddenly my throat didn’t want to work. “It, uh… decided today wasn’t its day.”
There was a pause…long enough for me to picture him leaning against the bar, brow furrowed, that half-skeptical smile tugging at his mouth.
“You’re kidding,” he said finally.
“I wish.”
“Let me guess.” His voice turned teasing again. “The old dead battery trick. Classic move. You’re really committing to the bit.”
“Drew.”
He chuckled. “You could’ve just told me you didn’t want to come. Less paperwork.”
“I’m serious.”
Something in my tone must’ve landed, because the laughter drained from his voice. “Wait. You’re not joking?”
“Nope.”
Silence stretched between us, thin and fragile.
“So you’re really not coming.”
The hurt in his voice cut straight through me. There was no accusation, no anger, just quiet disappointment that felt worse than anything else.
“Iwascoming,” I said quickly. “I swear. I packed, I woke up early, I even made coffee to go. The car just… didn’t start.”
“Right.”
“Right? That’s all you have to say?”
He sighed, and I could hear the rustle of movement on his end, probably pacing behind the bar. “Mel, come on. You’ve got to admit the timing’s a little convenient.”
My chest tightened. “You think I’m lying?”
“I think you get scared,” he said gently, which somehow hurt more. “And sometimes scared looks a lot like stuck.”
I pressed my hand to my forehead, pacing the length of my apartment. “This isn’t about fear. This is about an engine that sounds like a dying animal.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, and when he finally did, his voice was softer. “Okay. Then let me come down there.”
“What? No. Absolutely not.”
“Why not? I can be there by—”
“Because it’s stupid,” I snapped, and then instantly regretted it. “I mean—it’s far. You’ve got the bar, Callum, the whole town depending on you to host their weekend festival.”
He gave a quiet huff of laughter, but there wasn’t much humor in it. “You make it sound like I run a kingdom.”
“You kind of do,” I said, forcing a smile he couldn’t see.
He didn’t laugh this time. “Mel, if you wanted to back out, you could’ve just said so.”
“I didn’t back out.”
“Then what’s stopping you from renting a car?”
