AllFreeNovel
Share Us
An inkling of wariness washed over me as I remembered the last time I’d seen her. “Uh…” I hedged. “I don’t know.”
“It will also give me a chance to apologize in person.” She cut me off. “I know how I acted the other day was horrible, and I also know you haven’t been into Shirley’s because of it. It’s also really crappy of me to call and ask you for help after that. Truth is I don’t have anyone else to call.” She paused. Then, in a smaller, voice she continued. “You said we were friends, right?”
I grimaced. I mean, sure, I said that. Before she was cray-cray and tried to attack my boyfriend.
Speaking of. Where the hell was Max? And Win?
“Please give me the chance to apologize.”
I exhaled. I couldn’t just leave her at the diner alone. It was late. She had no way home. Sure, she acted irrationally, but maybe she really did want to apologize. Maybe if we talked now, it wouldn’t be awkward when Elite showed up in the morning for breakfast.
“I’ll come change your tire, okay? Then you can drive home.”
Her relief was palpable. “Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.”
“No problem. I’ll be there in a few,” I said, pushing away from the desk.
“Wes,” she called before I could hang up.
“Yeah?” I said, partially distracted as I remembered when Max called me back on the line earlier to tell me he loved me.
I’d never get tired of those words from his lips. Never.
“You’ll let me apologize too, right?”
“Of course,” I answered.
“See you soon.”
“Make sure you stay inside and keep the door locked.” I cautioned her. I mean, she might be a little jealous, but she was still a woman alone at night.
She made a small sound. “Are you worried about me?”
I grimaced. She really had a talent for hearing things that weren’t there. “Just want you to be careful,” I said neutrally. “See you in a few.” I finished, then disconnected the call before she could misconstrue anything else I said.
As I shoved my feet into my Adidas and fished around in Max’s dresser for another hoodie, I pondered maybe calling him to let him know what was going on. I decided against it because he was with Win right now, and it was the first time they’d had to really hang out together since my brother came home from Sweden. He would be leaving again right after Thanksgiving, so I didn’t want to intrude on their best-friend time.
Besides, I was a grown-ass man. I could handle a flat tire.
The drive to Shirley’s diner didn’t take long. There weren’t any cars in the lot when I pulled in, and I figured she must be parked around back. The lights inside the diner were bright, the sign on the door flipped to closed.
As I shut off the engine, the door opened, and Veronica stepped out. She was wearing her waitress uniform beneath an open black peacoat, and her dark hair was pulled up in those buns at her crown. She gave a little wave when I stepped down from the Jeep.
“Thank you so much for coming,” she said, wringing her hands as I approached. “I really didn’t know who else to call.”
I bit back the urge to ask her if she had any friends. It was mean and also invasive. Hell, up until several months ago, I was a loner too.
Or maybe she wasn’t a loner.Maybe she’s cuckoo for cocoa puffs and everyone runs away from her.
The thought wassoreassuring. But I mean, she was one girl. And not a very big one at that. I’d known her almost from the time I started coming here to eat. She only ever really acted crazy the last time I saw her. Maybe she was just having a really bad day.
“Where’s your car?” I asked.
“The employees park behind the diner, you know, to leave the parking lot for the customers.”
I nodded. “Lead the way,” I said, gesturing ahead of me.
The bell on the door tinkled when we stepped inside.
