Our limo driver finally shows up and lets me into the car not long after Micah takes off. My eyes stay glued to Micah’s big form—hands shoved in his pockets, head bowed, looking at the ground—until I can’t see him anymore. A few minutes later, I peek out the window again when I hear muted footfalls approaching. Breathing a sigh of relief, I realize it’s Scarlett, Xander, and Max. Their conversation is low but appears heated, especially between Scarlett and Xander. I hate that my embarrassment tonight has caused their upset.
There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, so I do the only thing I can do, which is wipe my fingers under my eyes as the door pops open. Scarlett climbs into the limo first, followed by Max, then Xander. All three sit on the long bench at the side of the car, fake-ass smiles on their faces.
“You don’t have to hide what you were talking about or pretend everything is okay. I’m not that fragile.” I sniff and look out the window.
Scarlett nudges my foot with hers. Our eyes connect, and I’m guessing she can tell I’m all worn out. Done. “I’m sorry it took us so long. We were …”
“We were discussing some things with Beau.” Xander offers me a small, tight smile as he runs his hand through his dark hair.
I lift my shoulders to my ears. “I had to wait for the limo driver to get back to the car, but once he did, I was fine,” I fib.
The limo pulls smoothly out of the parking lot, and I release a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and drop my head onto the back of the seat. Thank goodness we are out of here.
Max frowns, noticing for the first time the suit coat next to me. “Where’d that come from?”
I lift my head to see him gesture toward Micah’s offering. Nothing he’s done tonight has made any sense—every single action at a cross-purpose with something else.
“Um …” A crease forms down the center of my forehead as the words get stuck in a fat lump in my throat. “It’s—” Oh boy. I certainly have their attention now.
Max groans and rubs his hands over his face. “It’s fucking Micah’s, isn’t it? We were in there talking about him, and he was out here with you, wasn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Scarlett slides over to the seat next to me, tossing the coat away from us and slipping an arm around my back. “What did he want?”
“I—” I shake my head. “I’m not really sure, actually.” I touch my fingers to my lips and look away.