“Then this guy came in and left me a thousand dollar tip after I served him. Can you believe it? I don't even know what to do with a thousand dollars.”
“Wow,” Brock murmured, staring at the bookcase behind her head. He was wasting time. If he was going to track down Rhys Dillon and do some investigating he needed to get on it.
“Are you listening?”
“Sure I am.”
“You don't seem like you care.”
“What?”
Brock snapped his eyes back to Sky's face. She looked angry. Really angry. Her nostrils flared and her eyes planted right onto his.
She groaned out a frustrated sound and looked away. “It's fine. It's typical. I should know by now you're not interested in conversation, or getting too close for that matter.”
“What?”
Sky pulled herself up and sat up, looking over at him with eyes that had a flash of something menacing. “Did you seriously not just hear me?”
Brock slowly shook his head. Where was her sudden anger coming from? “Of course I heard you.”
“What did I say?”
Brock bit his tongue. He had no idea what she said.
“You were busy at work?” He tried, but that must not have been what she said.
“Why do we even bother? I wish you’d admit this thing between us is just sex to you, and that you really don’t care. I’d be able to tell you to go to hell and move on.”
Her rage was clear, with hurtful words like that. They weren't true, but what was he to say? There were things about his life she just couldn't know about.
“I don't want to fight,” he replied, working to keep his voice level and low.
Sky crossed her arms and stood up. “You’re just playing me, Brock.”
“That’s not true, Sky.” Brock stood up. He was doing no such thing, but he didn’t have the time or the words to get into it right now, not when she was doing the crazy lady thing. “I need to go.”
She stared up at him. “Just like that?”
“I'll see you at the barbecue.”
Brock turned and put his feet into motion as fast as he could without full out running. The door banged closed behind him and he pounded down the outside steps, fingers tingling, and heart pounding hard in his ears. He would talk to her when she calmed down.
It was better if he didn't try. Or maybe it was better this way. He couldn’t give Sky what she wanted. Realistically, she was better off without him taking up this space in her life when he had no intentions of revealing who he was to her.
11
Sky paced around the kitchen, running her hand over the counter. She’d slept on the living room couch the night before. Staying up in her space above the garage was unbearable. To have made love then fought in that same space within minutes made no sense. It would be days yet before her dad came back from his business trip to L.A. Joleen was busy as ever. Lily was who knows where. At the moment, Sky felt more lonely than ever.
Trying Joleen’s number again, she clutched her phone tighter in her hand, listening to the ringing go on and on.
Just when it sounded like it would go right to voicemail, Joleen answered. “Hey hun. You all set?”
“Set for what?”
“What are you bringing to the barbecue?”
“What?”
“The barbecue at Brock’s mom’s place. It’s today, remember? I’m making a pie.”
“Oh crap.” Sky opened the fridge and looked inside. She’d completely forgotten about it. Dammit and that was the last thing Brock had mentioned before he scurried out of her place the last time she saw him. Now she had to prepare something for the party? It had been days since she went grocery shopping, and the refrigerator wasn’t even half full.
“You forgot? What’s going on, Sky?”
“Shit. Let me check for some wine. Maybe I can do a cheese platter.”
“A cheese platter? That’s what you’re bringing?”
“Christ, I don’t know.” Sky bent down and opened the crisper. She’d forgotten about the fresh carton of strawberries and small honeydew melon in there. With the banana on the counter she could probably toss something together. “And a fruit salad, I guess.”
“Couldn’t hurt.”
Sky sighed and tucked the phone under her chin so she could pull the fruit out of the fridge. “I don’t know if I want to go.”
“What? Why not?”
“Brock. We had a fight the last time I saw him.”
“About what?”
“He wasn’t listening to me. Damn, he never listens to me. He doesn’t really care about me.”
“Don’t say that.”
Sky huffed and set the fruit on the table. Where the hell was the cutting board? “It’s true.”
“He’s got a lot on his mind. Our men have tough jobs, honey.”
“Yes I know, but I can’t call Brock my man. He’s more like a friend with benefits.”
“Just give it some time.”
Sky licked her lips. “Yeah. I’ll throw away another couple years waiting,” she mumbled.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’ll see you in a little bit, okay?”