“I’ll get what you need.You have time for a shower if you want one—the Chinese place usually takes an hour.And I got a bag of dog food from a neighbour.Might not be your regular brand, but it’s in the kitchen.”
He’d found food for Shiro?My eyes went watery.Why did my emotions always rise to the surface when people were nice to me?Honestly, it was easier to deal with Ridge’s yelling because over the years, I’d learned to shut down when he started up.Soft footsteps padded away along the hallway, but there was another knock five minutes later.
“Towels are outside,” Justin said, and I risked peeking out.He wasn’t waiting with duct tape and zip ties like some psycho, and the only thing in sight was a basket filled with two rolled-up towels and a collection of expensive-looking toiletries.Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, face wash, two kinds of moisturiser, eye cream… Wait, did I need eye cream?I’d had a facial almost every week for the whole of my marriage, and even Ridge told me I had a few years to go before I needed to consider cosmetic surgery.There was a hair-dryer and curling tongs, a couple of fancy hair clips, and a selection of make-up still in boxes.
Why did Justin have all this stuff?Beauty products in a basket?It was giving the whole “it puts the lotion on its skin” vibe.Oh hell, I’d been spending too much time with Saylor.Justin probably had a girlfriend, perhaps even a wife, although I didn’t recall seeing a ring.Maybe she lived here?She could be working out at the gym, or taking a yoga class, or watching a movie with friends.The realisation made me sag in relief.Justin wasn’t a creep making himself a skin suit after all.
But I still moved my coat in front of the door and encouraged Shiro to lie there as a furry doorstop while I took a shower.The stall was big enough for two with a rainfall head and side jets, and for the first time in days, I felt clean.It wasn’t just the grime of car living I was washing away; it was the filth I’d accumulated inside over five years married to Ridge.
I didn’t need an hour to clean up.Barely even half that.Ridge hadn’t liked tardiness, and I’d quickly gotten my routine down pat.Thirty-one minutes, and I was showered and dressed with my hair dry and curled.That would give me enough time to take Shiro out for a leg stretch before dinner time, and I’d be glad of the fresh air and thinking space.This looked like a nice area for a walk too.
When I tiptoed downstairs, Justin was sitting at the kitchen island, working on a laptop.That kitchen.Oh, that beautiful kitchen.I’d have dreams about that space.
“Everything okay?”he asked.
“Perfect.I’m just going to take Shiro for a walk.”
“Do you know your way around?”
“I won’t go far.”
“Wait two minutes, and I’ll print a map of the development.There are some nice trails nearby, and they’re floodlit.Solar lighting,” he added, in case I might judge him for living in a place that wasn’t environmentally friendly.
That lump in my throat was back.Justin really was going above and beyond.
“Thank you.”
“And I took a look at your car—you need a new radiator.If you pour water in the top, it runs right out the bottom.”
“That’s what I figured.”
“I spoke with a buddy who runs an auto shop, and he’ll order the part.It should be here the day after tomorrow.”
“No, no, no.”I choked back tears.“I mean, I really appreciate you going to all that trouble, but I can’t afford to get it fixed this month.”Or next month, or the one after that either.“I’m just going to make real short trips for now.”
Justin waved a hand.“Relax, he owes me a favour.”
“But—”
“And I’m calling it in for entirely selfish reasons.I don’t want to have to worry about you breaking down at the side of the road with your damn dog.”
That was it.I couldn’t hold back the tears.A stranger cared more than my own husband, and he wanted to get my car fixed as if it were no big deal.But it was.It was a huge deal.I felt as if I’d driven out of Maine and somehow landed on another planet, one where I wasn’t fighting every battle by myself.Where it wasn’t me against the world.
I cried even harder.
CHAPTER12
JUSTIN
Fuck.
Why was she crying?He’d only arranged for Jake to fix her car.Most women were happy not to worry about that shit.
“You…want to keep the old radiator?”Justin tore a sheet of paper towel off the roll and pressed it into Jessalyn’s hand.“The hole’s only going to get bigger.”
“I-I’m sorry I’m causing so much trouble.What can I do to thank you?I could clean your home?”
Was she serious?This wasn’t a tit-for-tat situation.
