When the phone rang a third time, she sighed. "But what if it's an emergency?"
"It's not." I recognized the ringtone. Unless Jeff had gotten mobbed by a pack of orcs, everything was fine. I made a mental note to call him when I got home.
When the phone rang a fourth time, I yanked it out of my pocket and turned it off before tossing it into the back seat.
As it clunked onto the floor, Gwen muttered, "Oh, that's nice."
When I replied with only a shrug, she yanked her purse off her shoulder and opened it up to peer inside. With a little sniff, she pulled out her own phone and began scrolling through whatever.
As I turned at the next corner, her purse slipped off her lap and tumbled onto the floor, spilling out her wallet and eyeglasses along with a small ring of keys.
I had to say it. "Hey, that's nice, too."
She turned to glare in my direction. "Are you making fun of me?"
"Hell, yeah."
Her jaw dropped. "Seriously?"
"Hey, don't dish it out if you can't take it."
Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, I can take plenty."
"Yeah? Could've fooledme."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"One disagreement, and you look ready to pop." I gave her a serious look. "Unless you're mad about last night?"
She looked horrified by the suggestion. "No, that's not it." Her shoulders slumped. "Last night was wonderful…the best, actually."
"So this morning then?"
She shoved a hand through her hair and paused when she hit a snag. "I bet I look a fright."
"You want the truth?"
"Probably not," she grumbled.
She looked so disgruntled that I almost smiled. "You look beautiful. And I'm surprised you don't know it." When she gave me skeptical look, I added, "I'm not sucking up. I'm just being honest."
For some reason, this made her scoff.
I glanced at the clock. "Is there something you want to say? Or should I pencil that in for sixteen?"
"You mean sixteenminutes? God, do you have to be such a smart-ass?"
"At the moment?" I gave it some thought. "Yeah, actually."
"Why?" she demanded.
"Because I wanna know what's eating you."
"Alright, fine," she said. "I want to know who you really are." Her voice rose. "Because I’m pretty sure I have no idea."
Chapter 35
Gwen
