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“How do you feel about taking a drive?” he asked me.
“Beats the hell out of going to an empty apartment.” He was a godsend. I needed a distraction, and a friend.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Stone said, putting the truck in gear and pulling into traffic.
As he drove uptown for a while, I unloaded the whole depressing tale on him. As I listened to myself, I still couldn’t believe it. “It’s inconceivable to me he could have already moved on, but by all appearances he has.”
“Nah. There’s no way in hell he’s really with this chick. He doesn’t have to say a damn word to communicate how he feels about you, V. That doesn’t just go away,” he insisted, maneuvering around Columbus Circle three times just for the hell of it.
“I don’t know how to get him back. I can’t even get through to him.” I rolled the window down and stuck my head out, letting the cool night air hit my face. Stone used the controls on his side of the truck to begin rolling it back up. “What are you doing?” I yelped, retracting my head inside the cab.
“You’re polluting my truck,” he said before he grinned and powered the window back down.
“You almost chopped my head off,” I protested dramatically.
He ruffled my hair like I was his kid sister. “Aww, it wasn’t that close.”
He laughed, and after a few seconds, I joined him, the sound foreign to my ears.
“Thanks for the distraction.”
“You’re welcome. If you figure out a way I can help, let me know.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “How’s Muriella?”
It was dark, but I could see his eyes shining with interest. He’d never pushed her—partly because Daniel had warned him off—despite having a crush on her since the first time he’d seen her.
“You should call her and ask yourself.”
“I’d rather see her in person.”
I bet you would, Cowboy.“You’ve always struck me as the kind of man who goes after what he wants. What have you been waiting on?” I asked bluntly. It was rare to have a one-on-one conversation without Daniel or Muriella around. I could have said something before—we were close enough for that—but I had been reluctant to put Muriella in that position, even if it was for her own good.
He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “There’s no one way to draw out a skittish horse. Each one requires its own special touch.” Stone turned toward me, his expression serious. “Muriella hasn’t been ready.” I didn’t disagree, but on the other hand, he couldn’t wait forever. “If I’d forced it, I’d have lost her for good.”
“All of that’s true. I don’t want her to get hurt—”
“I wouldneverhurt her,” Stone growled, teeth grinding.
“I wasn’t insinuating you would.” I paused, trying to best explain things without taking away Muriella’s right to tell her own story. “It’s delicate.”
“Daniel’s made that perfectly clear,” he said almost bitterly. “But I’m done waiting. There’s a time when you either take the leap or stay on solid ground and get nowhere.”
I placed a hand on his forearm. “Just—hell, you know what to do. I’m the last person to be giving advice anyway.”
The tension in his face faded, and he gave me a sheepish grin. “Think you could put in a good word for me?”
“I can do better than that.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Vivian
Eight Years Earlier
“I’ve heard “Holiday”no less than sixty-two times. No more.”
Six days of Madonna, and Daniel had reached his limit. The radio signals had been spotty at best since we’d begun our travels across the South Island of New Zealand. Lucky for us, I usually carried theImmaculate CollectionCD in my purse in case I had to work late and needed some psych music.
“Stop being so dramatic,” I groaned. “It’s only been forty-seven.” I pressed ‘play’…again.
