What Iwantedto do was hop on a plane and fix this, whatever it was. But I'd flown out to California for a reason, and the reason hadn't changed.
The house in wine country was next on our list, and it was dangerously behind schedule – even more so after an electrical fire had gutted its kitchen less than twenty-four hours ago.
I'd gotten the emergency call maybe an hour after leaving Arden's bedroom late last night.
Into the phone, I said, "So, you wanna hear why I left?"
"Where?" Now, she sounded ready to cry. "My bedroom? Or the state?"
Like a dumb-ass, I realized far too late that she hadn't been asleep.She'd been crying.
The realization cut me to the core. In a softer voice, I said, "Both."
"How about neither?" she said with a choked sob. "Because I'm just saying, I don't care."
"Baby—"
But already, she'd hung up.
Shit.
If she didn't care, she wouldn't be crying.AndIwouldn't feel like a dick for hurting her.
I hadn't meant to. But I saw why she was upset.Last night, I'd been an ass.And then I'd left with no warning.
On top of that, she'd had a whole day of radio silence, giving her plenty of time to assume the worst.
I wanted to make it up to her.
Maybe what she needed was a nice surprise – something to make her smile until I returned to fix things.
A few phone calls later, it was a done-deal.
The surprise–she was going to love it.
Chapter 51
Arden
In the crew house living room, I woke to the sounds of knocking. It was a Saturday afternoon, and I'd fallen asleep on the living room sofa – mostly because I'd slept so badly after last night's tense conversation with Brody.
On the phone, I'd been awful to him, but I refused to regret it. After what I'd learned from my cousin, Ishould'vecalled Brody every name in the book.
But I hadn't.
I was savingthatfor the next time I saw him – whenever that would be.
As I rubbed the sleep from my aching eyes, I got up and trudged to the front door. Without much enthusiasm, I opened it up, only to come face-to-face with someone I never expected to see today.
It was Cami.
Her auburn hair was tied in a loose ponytail, and she was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and white sneakers. With a happy smile, she squealed, "Surprise!"
Huh?For a long moment, I was so disoriented I forgot to smile back. With sleep-addled confusion, I took everything in – the sleek town car idling in the driveway, Cami standing out on the front porch, and the battered suitcase resting by Cami's feet.
I was still trying to make sense of everything when Cami lunged forward and gathered me up in a hug so tight, it took my breath away.
For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt myself smile. And then, I laughed.
