Ren’s expression changed in the reflection of the streetlights. “Believe me, running away was the stupidest thing I ever did. I should’ve gotten over myself and listened to my parents.”
She sensed there was more to the story. His normally devil-may-care attitude had dropped away. “What happened with the guy?”
Ren’s smile was grim. “Let’s just say I found out the hard way that he was not a good man.”
She frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. But it is what it is. And if I hadn’t made that colossal mistake, I may have never met Hayes.”
“How’d that happen?”
“He lived across the street from my parents. When I got picked up by the cops and carted home, I was all screwed up. Hayes caught me doing stupid shit and almost going back to Gordon—the guy. He set me straight. Pretty much decided I was going to listen to him and that was that. Bossy bastard.”
She laughed. “Hard to imagine the Hayes I know doing that. But . . .”
“But what?”
“I know him as Dmitry. I could totally see him doing that.”
Ren smiled. “I still can’t believe you two were talking all that time. I’m glad you were, though, and that it was you. He finally knows there’s a woman he can trust. I can’t tell you how huge that is.”
She nodded and looked out at the night. “Is that why I’m here? Why we’re doing this?”
“Huh?”
“The three of us. You already said you don’t normally date. And you two are together now. Hayes reached out to Lenore because he was lonely, but that was before you two reconnected. Y’all don’t really need me involved.” She shrugged. “You suspect I’m here for adventure. But why do you want me here? Am I here to prove that Hayes is back to the guy you used to know? Am I like the beta test? The final systems check to make sure he’s good to go?”
“Cora—”
“I mean, if that’s the case, it’s fine. Honestly. I’m going into this knowing you’re together and in love. And you just said tonight is supposed to be light and fun. But I like to know where I stand so that I can keep that clear. Is this like a one-big-night thing and then we move on?”
“Is that what you really think?” A car honked behind them because the light had turned green and Ren hadn’t moved. Ren cursed and punched the gas, then took the next turn, pulling onto the shoulder of a side road. He put the car in park and shifted to face her. “Cora?”
“Of course that’s what I think. There aren’t many alternatives to consider.”
Ren looked more than a little annoyed. “There’s a long list of other alternatives. How about, we like you? And beyond how much I like hanging out with you, you and Hayes have had this entire relationship online. I don’t know what all went on, but I know that you were important to him. That he was torn the fuck up the night he broke things off with Lenore.”
She looked down at her hands.
“We’re such a fucking mess,” Ren said on a laugh, “each of us trying to figure out the other’s motives. Maybe we should consider that we’re all in uncharted territory here and just figuring this out as we go along. That there is no master plan beyond the fact that we’re seeing where this goes.”
Cora’s lips rolled inward, the fervor of Ren’s speech getting to her. “So this is really like . . . a date to see how things go?”
He looked to the sky and laughed. “I love how you say that like you don’t believe it. Yes. Of course it is. Have you met me? I’m the opposite of the guy with a master plan. Did you miss the part where I got pissed at my parents and took off with an abusive psycho without thinking past the next day?”
She swallowed hard. “He was abusive?”
Ren grimaced like he’d just realized he’d let that slip. He let out a sigh and looked past her shoulder toward the darkness for a long second then back to her, meeting her eyes. “Yeah, he played dominant but was really a sociopath in disguise. Enjoyed using teen boys like me and loaned them out for sadistic games with his friends.”
Her chest squeezed at that. “Ren . . .”
He looked down, a rueful smile touching his lips. “Yeah, this is so not how I saw tonight’s conversation going. It was supposed to be way sexier and didn’t involve deep, dark confessions about my fucked-up teen years or my thoughts on dating.”
She reached out and grabbed his hand. “Hey, I told you that I didn’t need the car, but maybe I did need this.”
He peered up, questions in his eyes.
“Realness,” she said softly. “I’m not sure I could ever trust that guy. That guy is intimidating as hell. That’s one reason why I keep questioning how I play into all this. That guy can be a little too smooth, too perfect. But maybe I can trust this one. The one who’s still gorgeous and smart and has a hot car but who also isn’t afraid to be straight-up honest with me and let me see the not-so-shiny parts. Thank you for that.”