Page 31 of Let Me Love You (Excess All Areas 5)

“What the fuck were you thinking?” the man asked, stepping to the back of the car to check out the damage.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’m insured. I didn’t realise you were going to stop so suddenly like that.”

“It was changing to red.” The man’s voice was loud, disproportionate to the damage. “Of course I was going to stop, you cow.”

“It was still amber. I was going to follow you through.” But in truth, she’d also been in her own head, she’d been distracted. Thinking about her day and being late.

“Stupid bitch. Now I’ve got to get it fixed.”

There were people around, so she didn’t feel totally unsafe, but she grabbed her phone and dialled anyway.

Asher didn’t answer.

Shit.

She knew she shouldn’t but…

“Chay,” Ben said, answering his phone. “I thought we weren’t going to do this for a while.”

“I just ran into the back of someone.” She turned and placed her hand over her mouth to shield her words. “He’s really angry, Ben.”

“Where are you?” Relief flooded her.

She told him. “How far away are you?”

“I’m at Nan’s. I’ll be there in two minutes.”

“Thanks, Ben.”

“Oi. Sorry to interrupt your precious fucking chit-chat, but what are your details? License for proof of address.”

“Oh, right.” Chaya reached for her purse, still in her car, and grabbed what she needed.

She handed them to him, and he took a photograph of them. “It’s not just getting it repaired. It’s the inconvenience. Was supposed to be going to Wales this weekend,” he ranted.

“You still can. It’s mostly bumper damage.”

He turned and glared at her. “You a fucking mechanic now or something?”

“No, but that was who I called. A mechanic. He can take a look and—”

“Perhaps if you’d been looking instead of… Whatwereyou doing, anyway? On your phone texting? That’s what I’ll say I saw from my rear-view mirror. You with your head down.”

Outrage filled her. “I wasn’t on the phone. Why would you say I was? I accidentally hit the back of your car. I didn’t do any of this to deliberately inconvenience you.”

The man leered at the vee of her T-shirt. “Still is, though. I’m going to need a hire car for the weekend. Why were you fucking—”

The screech of brakes made her jump as Ben pulled up behind her. He was out of the car and by her side at record speed. “You okay?” he asked, cupping her cheeks and looking into her eyes as if he could diagnose whiplash by sight.

“I’m fine. More of a shock than anything.”

“You swapped details already?” he asked, throwing his arm over her shoulder.

“I’ve given him mine. But he’s not given me his. He says he’s going to say he saw in the rear-view mirror that I was on my phone and didn’t stop.”

Stone-faced didn’t even begin to describe Ben’s expression. He stepped forward into the man’s space. They were the same height, but Ben was definitely fitter and stronger.

“She’s a fucking doctor, mate. One of those NHS workers you’d stand in the street and clap for. Why would you want to be threatening a young woman who’s easily a decade younger than you?”

---