Page 114 of Blindly Yours

“Great, that’ll pay the bills,” Malcolm replies dryly.

“It’d get me out of this mess…” I mutter under my breath.

“How’d you meet?” he asks.

“I’m done talking about this,” I reply firmly.

He’s quiet for a moment, and I bask in the silence I’ve been asking for all along. But it’s short-lived.

“I miss you.” His voice oozes sadness I don’t buy.

Here we go again.

“I’m not the same person I was when I was with you, Malcolm,” I reply without looking at him. “You miss who Iwas. But that girl is gone.”

“That’s ok,” he says quickly. “I can learn to love the new you. Whoever that is.”

I shake my head at the empty field outside my window. He’s so desperate and pitiful, I can hardly believe I ever saw something in him. “You can’t give me what I need. Not anymore.”

His voice grows gentle. “Tell me. Tell me what you need.” Then I feel the warmth of his hand on my thigh.

My heart drops and I turn to reprimand him, but at the same time, there’s a tap on his window. We both peer up to see a man outside. Malcolm rolls down the glass, and my heart slides into my throat when I realize who it is.

“Craig said you needed some help?” Nate peers in at Malcolm as rain pelts his forehead. “Do you have a spare?”

Malcolm, whose hand is still on my thigh, smiles and shrugs. “No idea actually. I’ll pop the trunk and you can look.”

Nate nods and starts to turn, but just as he does, his eyes meet mine. And then they fall to Malcolm’s hand.

I shove it away quickly.

“Rose?” he asks in disbelief.

I run my hand shakily through my hair and start to sweat. “My mom was supposed to pick me up, but she sent him. Uber was an hour away. I…”

“You know each other?” Malcolm interjects. He extends his hand out the window to Nate, whose mouth hangs slightly ajar. “I’m Malcolm, by the way.”

Nate’s gaze flicks to Malcolm for just a second, and then back to me. The pain in his eyes cuts through my soul, and I immediately regret every decision I’ve made today. He ignores Malcolm’s hand and steps back. “Right, we’ve met.” He lowers his gaze to the tire and raises his brows. “The tire’s completely shredded.”

Malcolm sits back and shrugs. “Yeah, I don't know how that happened.”

Nate meets his gaze again. “No way this happened at the speed limit.”

With a laugh, Malcolm shakes his head. “Nah, I think I pushed close to ninety passing some slow douchebag back there. Caught a slippery spot and skidded for a bit, but I just steered ‘er out. Must have nicked something on the shoulder, but I needed new tires anyway.”

The look on Nate’s face is so cold I think the drizzle may turn to snow around us. His eyes meet mine for just a moment before he gestures toward the tire again. “You destroyed your rim too. It’ll drive, but—”

“What?!” Malcolm quickly pushes the door open and climbs out to assess the damage with a scowl. “Shit.” He sighs and pulls his coat over his head as he follows Nate toward the trunk. “Wait, you’re the guy who fixed Rose’s ceiling, aren’t you?”

“That’s me,” I can hear Nate reply. His tone is so clipped and bitter, I’m sure I’ve dug myself into a hole much too big.

I clamber out of my own side, ignoring the rain, and coming around the back of the car as Nate pulls the spare tire out. “Really, I was just getting a ride,” I plead. “I couldn’t tell him no.”

Nate stills and lifts his harsh eyes to mine.“Really?”

“I would have called you, but you were at the appointment with Kara and I didn’t want you to stress when you should be listening to the doctors.”

“Wait.” Malcolm shuts his trunk and glances back and forth between us. “Thisis the guy you’re seeing?”

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