L: Unfortunately not. Anything worthwhile is way too expensive and I am tragically poor.
E: Eww
L: It’s okay tho because I told you I was stealing your truck. So it’s really you that needs to find a new one.
He sends me a selfie sitting in the driver’s seat, presumably one he took during the day since it’s sunny in the background. He’s wearing his sunglasses, giving a self-assured grin as he poses in the most flattering way possible, almost like he was made for the camera. There’s a handwritten note edited over the image that says ‘mine’ in cursive with a small heart dotted over the ‘i.’
I study that picture for a long minute, unable to keep the smile from my face. Not only does Luke look good in the truck, but the idea of him showing off that he’s been driving it warms my heart. Still, I can’t help but write a snarky reply.
E: Nice try, but this isn’t a hostage situation. We don’t negotiate with terrorists, even if they are pretty.
Luke responds with a cry-laugh emoji, and then the conversation effortlessly switches to something else while I wonder if he noticed the end of that quip.
Even though Luke is joking about my truck, the conversation gives me an idea that feels inspired, and I immediately formulate a plan.
Chapter Thirteen
All That Glitters
Lukeisstaringatme. I mean, full-on paralyzed in shock, open-mouthedstaring. He turns to look at the shiny black Chevy sitting in my driveway before snapping his eyes back to me with a noise of flabbergasted disapproval.
“No,” he says simply.
“No?” I balk. “You can’t say no.”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“Because you can’t justgiveme a truck, Ethan!” he shouts. “Do you know how insane that sounds?”
“It’s not that crazy.”
Luke glares at me, those electric blue eyes piercing straight through my soul. “Are you okay? Are you actually mentally stable, or should I be calling the local hospitals to ask if they’re missing a patient from the psych ward?”
I roll my eyes and pinch my forehead irritably. Jesus Christ, this man is so dramatic. “Luke, it’s not that big of a deal.”
“Not that big of a deal?” He laughs dryly, putting his hands on his hips. “Ethan, that thing has to have cost over $40,000. You don’t just give it away for free unless you’re a lunatic.”
I shrug. “It’s not worth that much.” It was closer to $60,000, but that’s just semantics.
This isn’t going how I imagined. I had a whole plan about how I wanted to present this to him. I was going to offer it in a way that he couldn’t refuse, but the moment Luke saw me and made a fucking comment on how I’m serving ‘daddy’ and ‘breedable’ with my new haircut, I lost every ounce of intelligence I had and completely flubbed the reveal. I’m still not sure I’ve fully recovered control of my faculties after that.
“Look, I already told you this was my mom’s truck,” I lie. (It’s a terrible lie.) My mom wouldn’t be caught dead driving something like this, but Luke doesn’t need to know that. “She bought it for winter driving, but she hasn’t come up for the winter in years, so it was sitting in her driveway collecting dust. She gave it to me because she won’t use it. And I don’t need it. I already have a truck.”
“So,sellit to someone who can actually afford it,” Luke chastises. “Turn around and make some money off of it.”
“I don’t need the money.” Understatement of the century. “Butyouneed a car.”
“And I’ll find some cheap ass minivan on the side of the road or something!” Luke exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. “Not this. I can’t accept this.”
“I only took it because I knew you needed something, and it was available.” In reality, I bought it from a dealer in Florida on Friday evening. Mom helped me pick it out, then I drove it home over the weekend with an overnight stay in Tennessee. “She knows I’m not keeping it, so it’s not like I’m going behind her back. And I’m offering you something that you can actually use.I don’t want anything for it, and I’m not taking no for an answer. Take the win, Luke.”
“It’s too much,” he snaps, and there’s an edge to his voice that’s laced with something bitter and tense. “I get that you’re trying to help, but I… I just can’t, Ethan. Not like this.”
“Is your only concern about how much it's worth?” I frown.
He snorts. “That, and people will think I found myself a sugar daddy if I start driving around in this.”
