Haven shook her head as he descended the stairs of our third-floor walk-up. “I’d do him,” she said succinctly.
“That’s not sayin’ much,” I teased.
She shrugged. “True. I’m just saying, I dig the whole brooding bad boy with a heart of gold thing he’s got going on.”
“What makes you think his heart is gold? From experience, I’d say it’s more likely he’s heart-free and happy.” I grabbed my phone and charger, turning in a circle to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything else.
“Holding grudges will get you nothing but an ulcer, Maeve. You’re going to be around this guy on the daily for the foreseeable future. Can’t you just let it go?” Haven asked.
I sighed, then circled my arms around her, hugging her tight. “I’ll try, for you. Miss you already.”
She kissed my cheek with a loud smack. “Miss you too, honey.”
After I hugged Liam, then Haven again, I trudged down the stairs, preparing to meet my fate. Color me surprised when a red, beat up pickup truck waited for me, Santi leaning against the side.
When he saw me coming, he opened the passenger door, which creaked slightly, and held out his hand. I ignored it, thankfully making it into the tall truck without wiping out. He shut the door behind me, narrowly missing my foot.
He didn’t talk when he got in the driver’s seat. He just buckled up, checked his mirrors, and carefully pulled into traffic.
After several minutes of silence, I reached for the decrepit radio. “Mind if I put on some music?”
His eyes drifted to where my hand sat on the dial. “I wouldn’t mind except the radio went bust about a decade ago.”
“Oh.” I slumped back in my seat. Did he truly drive around in this thing without music? I found that hard to even fathom. I took out my phone and ear buds, pleased to find the battery fully charged on the former.
I stuck one of my earbuds in my ear and swiped through my playlists, searching for the right one for a road trip. When I found the perfect list of music, I went to slip in my other ear bud, but the rumbling grunt coming from the man next to me had me pausing.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“You’re going to sit there with earbuds in the whole trip?” he asked, like it was the rudest thing he’d ever heard. And maybe it was, but putting up a barrier, even if it was only an audible one, would make this easier for us both.
“Yes?”
“Nah. You want that, I’ll drop you off at the train station.”
I laid my hands on top of each other in my lap. “That would be just fine, thank you.”
Another rumble, followed by a groan.
“Would you like some water? I packed an extra bottle.”
“I’m fine.” His hands tightened and loosened on the steering wheel. “And I’m not really going to drop you off.”
“Do you not want me listenin’ to music?” I was perplexed at what his problem was.
“Listening is fine. Sitting a couple feet away from me, pretending I don’t exist, is what I object to,” he said.
“Okay.” I pressed play and unplugged my earbuds. The Donnas filled the cab of the truck. “If you wanted to hear my music, all you had to do was ask.”
His lips twitched beneath his scruffy beard. Whether they were trying to twitch into a frown or a smile, I couldn’t say. Since this was Santiago, a man whose smiles I could count on one hand, I’d venture to say he was frowning at me.
In my mind, I was frowning right back.
In reality, I pulled on an old sweatshirt and got cozy on the bench seat of Santi’s truck, softly singing along to my favorite songs as we sped down the highway.
“I can’t believe you drive a pickup truck around New York,” I said.
He glanced at me briefly before returning his eyes to the road. “I keep it parked in a garage most of the time.”