Things had been so strained between the two of us for the past few weeks. Maybe I should have texted Jackson, or Grady, or Forrester. Maybe Grant had decided that whatever happened to me on dates from now on was my own problem. I guessed I couldn’t really blame him. I’d told him in no uncertain terms to butt out of my business.
I threw the phone down on the seat next to me and got onto the freeway.
A moment later it started to ring.
“Grant?” I said.
There was a confused voice on the other end of the line. It was a woman’s voice.
“Grant? No. This is Cassie.”
“Cassie?”
“Is that you, Lacey?”
“Yes,” I said.
I was too surprised to say anything else, too taken aback to tell her where to go.
“Thank God. I was so worried about you. Something awful has happened.”
I thought about Rob and his buddy trying to warm me up for a threesome.
“Really?” I said, noncommittally.
“Yes, Rob’s in hospital. Someone beat him up at the club. He’s in a bad state.”
I wanted to tell her that I didn’t give a crap what happened to Rob, but I found myself instead saying, “That’s awful, Cassie.”
“Yes, and Lacey?”
“Yes?”
“The only person he’s asked for is you. Will you come? We’re at Mercy.”
I didn’t know what to say. I’d just escaped Rob. I thought he was a scumbag. I’d been terrified at the club with him and his friends. And I didn’t trust Cassie as far as I could throw her. She was the last person I wanted to be talking to.
My mind went to Grant. Why hadn’t he called? Why hadn’t he responded in any way? He wasn’t even picking up his phone, and I’d told him I needed help. Was he that angry with me? Was he really done with me?
I’d blown it. I never should have slept with him. It had ruined everything.
I should have known better. If there’s a guy who feels unattainable, a friend you feel is always going to be beyond your reach, then for God’s sake, don’t ever sleep with him. It will ruin everything. A friend is something you can count on. It’s rare in today’s world to have a true friend. You don’t want to screw that up for one night of passion. I hadn’t just lost my chance at having a relationship with Grant. I’d lost him as a friend too.
“Lacey?” Cassie said. “Are you coming?”
I sighed. I had to face facts. My life wasn’t going to get any better on its own. I was the only person who could change it. I was thirty-four, I’d been cheated on in all my previous relationships, and the man I loved couldn’t have been less interested in me if I’d told him I was dying. He didn’t even respond to pleas for help anymore.
“Yes,” I said weakly into the phone. “I’m coming, Cassie. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Chapter 20
Lacey
WHEN ROB SAW ME HE burst into tears. I was standing in the corridor outside the trauma center, still dressed up like a playboy bunny.
“Lacey, thank you so much for coming.”
“Of course, Rob,” I found myself saying.
His face was bandaged and he’d received several stitches across his nose.
“What happened?”
“You don’t want to know,” he said. “Some mad man came into the club and started beating everyone up.”
“Some mad man?” I repeated, wondering if Grant had responded to my text after all.
“He was just berserk, Lacey. He beat up three of my guards and kicked the shit out of Duke.”
I wanted to smile but I stopped myself. I wondered if it had been Grant but I knew it couldn’t have been. The time for fantasies was over. If it had been Grant, he’d have answered my phone call. Plus, there was no way he could have gotten to the club that quickly. It was time for me to get real. There was no knight in shining armor looking out for me.
“You look terrible,” I said to Rob.
He came over and put his arms around me, then started sobbing into my neck. I held him, showing him more sympathy and affection than I felt. No one liked getting their nose broken, but it wasn’t the end of the world. He could at least be a man about it.
“I’m so sorry, Lacey.”
“For what?”
“For everything.”
“What are you talking about, Rob?”
We sat down on two of the uncomfortable plastic seats in the waiting area.
“Do you want some coffee?” he said.
There was a really crappy looking coffee machine across the corridor and I reached into my purse for some change. I got us two coffees and returned to my seat.
“Is Cassie here?”
“She had to leave, but that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Lacey. I feel so bad.”
“For what? Having Cassie deceive me?”
“Yes, that, and everything. I should have treated you better. I know you weren’t enjoying our date. I know I was being a complete scumbag.”
“You were,” I said.
“I just really wanted to have a threesome with you and Duke. It’s a little thing we do sometimes. Call it our way of breaking in new girls that we think are relationship material.”
“Relationship material?”
He nodded. “But I already know with you, it’s completely inappropriate. You’re too classy for that sort of thing.”
“You really don’t know anything about me, Rob.”