Page 87 of Dash of Bryce
Had he cared?
Apparently not.
Probably he'd been glad I was gone.Thischeery thought had led me to the liquor cabinet for a rum chaser to go with all of the spiked eggnog I'd already consumed.
I'd returned to the sofa where I'd drifted off for at least a few minutes – or maybe even longer – before I'd been awakened by activity across the street. Cole Henster had been leaving his house, pulling out of his garage and then away to who-knows-where in his familiar SUV.
That's when things had gone seriously off the rails.
Vaguely, I recalled not only toilet-papering the guy's wreath, but also talking to Drake, the guy whose grandfather owned Tango.
What washedoing in Cole's front yard?
And what exactly had I said to him?
Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good.
And then, there'd been my drunken conversation with Lexie. She'd caught me in the act of redecorating Cole's wreath. She'd practically dragged me back to the house and upstairs to bed.
Now, I desperately tried to think.Had I even told her what I'd learned?
I couldn't remember either way, but Ididknow that from start to finish, I'd made a total ass of myself.
Again.
And what about Bryce?Even now, he had no idea where I'd gone.I hadn't called him, had I?
I searched my memory banks and came up empty.Well, that was a relief.Already, I had enough to be embarrassed about without adding a good old-fashioned drunk-dial on top of it.
But had Bryce calledme?
I mean, surely hehadeventually, especially considering that I'd simply disappeared. I sat up straighter in bed.What if he was panicking right now?
Sure, I realized that our relationship – or whatever it was – might be over already, but the last thing I wantednowwas for him to file a missing persons report.
I stumbled out of bed and started rooting around for my phone only to find it several minutes later under the bed covers, as if it had fallen out of my jeans during the night.
With bleary eyes, I studied the phone's screen.No calls.
No texts either.
Turns out, Bryce hadn't cared at all. As the ramifications hit home, I felt new tears prick at my eyes.If only I could say the same.
Chapter 43
Bryce
My ass was cold, but my heart was colder as I watched the small silver SUV turn into the neighborhood park. Sitting in the back seat was a familiar redhead with her head down, as if checking her phone or maybe searching for her keys.
At the sight, something tightened in my chest.She'd come back.
With her vehicle parked nearby, I'd expected as much.
And yet, I still sat.
The park had three full-size swing sets plus the jungle gym and two tennis courts. From my seat on the swing, I glanced toward the courts and let out a low, chilly scoff.
No place to sitthere.
