Once all Ellery’s purchases were accounted for and loaded into the back of the SUV, Logan signed off on the Bring-It-To-Me app, leaving an ample tip.
Back inside the SUV, he stared out the windshield.
“Why are we sitting here?” Ellery asked.
He started the engine, but left it in park.
“Listen, Ellery. You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to go to the wedding. I can take you home.”
“It’s kind of late to say that.”
“I took advantage of you, coercing you into coming with me just because I’m freaking out about going to this wedding.” The guilt was heavy.
“I could’ve turned you down.” She studied her fingers in her lap. “I wouldn’t have come if I hadn’t thought I could handle it. If you’d insisted on driving that little sports car, I’d still be in Austin.”
From his vantage point, only the left side of her face was visible, all physical evidence of whatever horrific accident she’d experienced hidden from his view.
“But I sprang this on you, and you didn’t have time to prepare. And tomorrow…the people at this wedding…some of them might not be nice.”
“I assume you mean they might stare at me…at my scars.” Her hands twisted together. “I’m not looking forward to it, but my counselor told me I need to stop avoiding events like this. And to be honest, I don’t think I could handle being in the car that much longer if you turned around and drove me home.”
I tortured her the entire drive. I’m a jerk.
“I can take you home in the morning. And this is my stomping ground, so I can get us out of Houston without ever getting on an Interstate, if that would help.”
Her eyes, deep blue in the dim lights of the parking lot, locked with his.
“Logan, I’m going to confess something that’ll make you feel better.” Her chest expanded with a deep breath. “I was a little flattered that you invited me, and that’s the real reason I accepted.”
As the cryptic meaning of her words became clear, disappointment settled in the pit of his belly.
“I get it. Kara told you about my money.” He tried not to sound bitter. After all, he’d used his wealth as a bargaining tool to convince Ellery’s roommate to give her consent. What had he expected? “Not every day a billionaire asks you on a date, huh?”
“Kara told me you were a billionaire, but not until we were almost here. That’s not why I accepted.”
“Then why did you?”
The rosy hue that graced her face made his pulse quicken. What was that about? He hadn’t felt attracted to a woman since the breakup. Perhaps his emotions were waking up in anticipation of seeing Allegra again.
“It’s the first time a nice-looking guy has asked me out since this happened.” She pointed at her scarred right cheek. “To be honest, it’s the first time any guy has asked me on a date since then.”
“Are men really that superficial?” He felt as embarrassed as if he were personally responsible, giving himself yet another mental kick for mentioning the scar when they’d first met. “A guy wouldn’t want to date you because of a little scar?”
“I honestly wouldn’t know.” She picked at a piece of lint on her sleeve. “I’ve never given a guy a chance, because I didn’t want to find out.”
“That sounds like something I would do, which pretty much means it’s a bad idea. Josiah says I’m socially awkward.”
“Who is this Josiah? You’ve mentioned him several times.”
Logan backed out of the parking space and drove toward the street, determined to take as many back streets as possible on the way to his mom’s house. Partly to shield Ellery from Houston traffic now that he understood how it affected her, and partly to stretch his time alone with her.
“He’s a buddy of mine…probably my only real friend. We’ve known each other since we were college roommates. He was there for me when Allegra dumped me.”
“So you and Allegra dated in college?”
“When I moved back to Texas for grad school, we started dating…sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“We only saw each other about once a month, since she was working in Houston as an event coordinator and I was in Austin at UT. But we were serious…at least, I thought we were. All the way up until the day I proposed and she turned me down.”
With the car stopped at a light, he looked her direction and found her lips pursed.
“Logan…” She turned concerned eyes toward him. “Maybe you just moved too fast for her and scared her off.”
“Evidently, I terrified her…She blocked my phone calls.”
“Okay, maybe terrified is a better term.” Her mouth twitched at the corners like she was holding back a smile. “You are a bit on the aggressive side. I can see why she might act like that if you asked her to marry you before she was on the same page.”
“You think if I’d moved slower, she wouldn’t have turned me down?”
“Maybe. It’s hard to say, since I don’t really know her.” Her shoulders scrunched. “But if I were her and saw you at the wedding, I’d give you another chance.”
Something warm grew in his chest. It must be hope. The light changed, and he started driving again, lost in his thoughts. He hadn’t considered what he would do if Allegra expressed an interest. In his mind, he would show up at the wedding with his new, improved body, and she would see him across the room…see how he’d changed. His goal had been to make her regret her hasty decision. But how would he handle it if she approached him? He might look better on the outside, but he was still the same awkward geek on the inside. No doubt, he would totally blow it if he and Allegra had a conversation.
“I’m not good at talking to women. Can you teach me how to not sound dorky? I want her to think I’m refined now. I’m going to blow it again if she finds out I still can’t talk about anything but computers.”
“There’s nothing wrong with your ability to carry on a conversation. You talked to me all the way here.”
