Page 62 of Can We Skip to the Good Part?
The tow truck arrived even faster than the woman on the phone had promised, and once the Mini was on its way to the shop, Max rescheduled a meeting and offered to take Ella home.
“It might seem like I staged this whole thing to spend an extra twenty minutes in your presence.”
Max tossed her a glance, holding the wheel with one hand, shades on, totally looking like the sexy corporate boss she was in life. “It had crossed my mind.” She added a smile and went back to the road. “If so, I applaud the commitment to the charade. Tow trucks aren’t cheap. Good thing you’re sought after by famous authors.”
“That’s right. I am! I almost forgot.”
They drove to the up-tempo sounds of Dua Lipa dancing the night away as Ella began to brainstorm ideas for Alexandra Raymond’s next contemporary small-town cover. The assistant had offered her a one-page description to get her started on the brainstorming path.
“Two impromptu adventures with you in a row,” Ella said, as Max coasted them into the driveway. Then she raised a brow. “Well, three if we count last night.”
“Why would we not count last night?”
“I don’t know the rules for these things, Maxine. I’m shooting from the hip.” She hopped out of the car and grinned when Max quickly followed her.
“I really like your hip. Both of them, by the way.”
Ella turned as Max covered the steps to the porch and slid her arms around her neck. “You sure you have a meeting? Because today’s been fun, but we can probably make it more fun.”
“What’s a meeting again?” Max asked and caught Ella’s lips with her own, and it felt like all was exactly as it was supposed to be. Her heart rate escalated, her toes curled, and her body went warm. That’s what happened when the two of them were together. Everything justworked.
“I thought I heard voices out here,” Rachel said, emerging with a proud smile. They froze. Ella felt the blood retreat from her face. Her fingertips went numb, and the effect crept across her skin.No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. The smile faded right from Rachel’s face. Automatically, Ella took a step back from Max and searched Rachel’s eyes, trying to communicate that this wasn’t all it seemed. Except it was. Rachel pursed her lips, her eyes wide with understanding. “I see. It was never Ariana, was it?”
This was a nightmare playing out in slow motion, and all Ella wanted was to wake up, rewind the last three minutes of her life, and do them all over again another way. “No.” She took in air. “And I’ve wanted to talk to you about that. I was planning on?—”
“Don’t. It doesn’t matter at this point.” She looked around. “And I’m obviously in the way here.”
Max took off her sunglasses. “Rachel, I think?—”
“I honestly don’t need to hear a word from you, who was kissing my best friend on my porch just seconds ago.” She turned back to Ella, and the hurt slashed across her features shook Ella to her core. “And I’m not sure what to say to you, except this: I thought we were friends.”
“I know.” She nodded. “And we are, Rach. God, I’m just?—”
“I can’t listen to this. Not right now.”
“Okay.” She rolled her lips in and dropped her head to her chest, surrendering to Rachel’s wishes. Max stood off to the side, seeming to understand that less was more. But all Ella could think about was fixing this immediately. While she did what she could to compose her thoughts and come up with the magical words that would do just that, Rachel went inside, grabbed a bag, and walked to her car, which was parked on the street. That’s why they hadn’t seen it in the driveway. She must have come home for lunch and hadn’t wanted to be blocked in.
With Rachel about to drive away, Ella couldn’t stand it another minute longer. She hurried down the driveway and stood next to Rachel’s window, panic rising in her chest making it hard to breathe. “I love you, and I’m sorry, and I want the chance to explain everything. Can we take a minute? Just the two of us inside?”
Rachel rolled down her window and looked Ella straight in the eyes. That’s when she saw them, the tears, big and plentiful, wet on Rachel’s cheeks. She’d done that. She’d hurt her friend, and she hated herself for it. In an instant, none of the reasoning, none of the justifications she’d given herself recently made sense. It was like a light had just been turned on in a dark room, and she saw the error of her ways so clearly now. She should have communicated, been honest, and allowed Rachel to hear her out. She’d crossed a line that she couldn’t uncross, and in the process, had done actual damage to the one relationship she’d always been able to count on.
“I need to get out of here, Ella.” Her voice was low and raspy. She hit her steering wheel. “And I have a damn director’s meeting in an hour and I can’t look like this.”
“Come back inside. I’ll get you a tissue. We can touch up your eye makeup.”
“Do you not get it? I don’t want anything from you. You’re a traitor. And a damn good one. Please step away from my fucking car.”
Ella, with tears of her own threatening, did as she was asked and watched Rachel pull away, driving faster than she usually did. That left Ella standing in the middle of the street, lost, guilt-ridden, and not sure what to do with herself.
Max arrived quickly and pulled her into a hug. She wanted to resist, to insist that everything about them felt wrong now, yet, somehow, she didn’t. Couldn’t. She needed Max in this moment, especially knowing it might be their last.
“It doesn’t feel like it right now, but it’s going to be okay,” Max murmured. Her warm breath against the side of Ella’s face was comforting. Being held was. Not that she deserved it. “You two are friends. You have some things to work out, but you will.”
Ella straightened out of the embrace and nodded. “I hope you’re right.” She looked down the now-empty street in the direction Rachel had driven. “But you didn’t see the look on her face just now. She’s never looked at me like that before.” Her voice had been reduced to a whisper, emotion having strangled what was left of it. The ache in her chest was near unbearable. “And she’s right. I’m the definition of a traitor.”
“No, you’re not,” Max said. “You were put in a difficult spot and reacted in a very human manner.”
“Don’t let me off the hook.”
