I step behind the bar and glance around. Rowan’s still eating, and our gazes snag for a split second before I remember what I’m here for.
Where the hell did I leave my phone?
Ah, there it is, right by the sink.
I grab it and turn around to leave, but Brett blocks my way. “You don’t have snow tires on.”
Annoyance pulses at my temples. He’s right, I don’t. Which is extremely stupid when you live in Missouri, but I thought I had at least another week before the first snow, and my tire chains are sitting uselessly in my shed.
Still, I’ve got to get home. The weather forecast, which is playing on the TV right above me, keeps saying it’s only going to get worse as the night goes on.
“It’ll be fine. It’s only a fifteen-minute drive.”
“It’ll be close to an hour in this weather,” Brett insists. “That is if you even make it in that tiny Honda of yours.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
Brett’s brows pinch together. “B, this is crazy, you can’t—“
“I can drive you.”
My head snaps toward Rowan. His expression is unreadable, but when he looks at Brett, there's something in his eyes that makes the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand straight.
Rowan presses a paper napkin to his lips, crushes it in his fist, and slides off his stool. “C’mon, Blake.”
Heat skates over my skin. I can’t accept a favor from him. “No, that’s okay.”
“We’re going to the same place.”
He’s…got a point. We live next door to each other.
It’s just a drive. Don’t overthink it.
Pushing away my apprehension, I give him a nod. “Okay. Thank you. I just need to clock out and grab my purse.”
“Take your time.” Rowan grabs his jacket from a hook under the bar and starts putting it on.
In the back, Brett accosts me again. “That guy is not taking you home.”
I put in my locker combination. “Yes, he is.”
“Did you hear what he did with Abigail? The guy’s an asshole.”
I scoff. “You really think you have any moral high ground here?”
Shock flashes across Brett’s face.
What? He didn’t think I’d call him out like that? It’s probably not the smartest thing to do given he’s the one signing my paychecks, but I’m too angry to hold my tongue.
He narrows his eyes. “What’s gotten into you? Your behavior is getting out of hand.”
My behavior.Mybehavior?
I take a breath. “I’ve just had to work side by side with the woman you cheated on me with. You promised me I wouldn’t have to see her, and you lied. Again.”
“I. Had. To,” he seethes. “Look, I’ll just take you home right now, okay?”
“No, Brett. Rowan is taking me home.” I grab my purse out of the locker and walk over to the timesheet taped on the wall.
