know,” I say, cutting off any accusations about how I’m STILL not wearing an engagement ring. “He dumped me, okay?”
“When you had all that money?”
Thank you, Edgar. “Turns out the money didn’t matter to him,” I explain. “He just wanted out. Said he could do better.”
Edgar sputters. “Than ten million dollars?”
I take a very deep breath. “Better than me, apparently. The whole time I was in the coma,” I say, willing my eyes not to fill up, “the Media made such a big deal of our love story. It made him wonder what true love like that would really be like.” Good God, why am I telling them this? I need to shut up, before they start wondering what makes me so repulsive.
Guadalupe shakes her head woefully. “He probably had someone else.”
And a cut of the ten mil.
“Is he the one who gave you that bruise?” Jimmy is looking at my forehead.
“No!” I shout. “I mean, Keith isn’t like that. I had to head butt a car thief.”
They all look at me, mouths open, foreheads crinkled.
“Look,” I say. “I almost died in February. It took me a while to get back on my feet, but now that I am, I know I want to do something good and important with this life of mine. I want to help save HEYA.”
“But not with all your money?” Lupe seems skeptical.
“With your money.”
“We don’t have any,” she tells me.
I smile. “You will. I promise. And you’ll know what to do with it. What do you say?”
C HAPTER 10
“I got the job!”
I let out a screech of triumph, giving Dalton’s steering wheel another hug. “They hired me. Me. They hired me. ”
Tie a yellow ribbon ‘round the old oak tree...
I jab the button on my cell phone that silences the ring. As much as I love that song, my ring tone embarrasses me, even though I picked it and I’m the only one in the car.
It’s Jack. He’s the only one with the number. Jesus. He wants me to test something, and that means he’s invented something. While I was blabbing my most embarrassing secrets in order to land a job, Jack INVENTED something.
I slump back in my seat and answer my cell.
“Jack?”
“Lisa.” Crisp, commanding.
No Hello .
No How are you ?
No I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you .
“What?” I can be gracious, too.
“Can you test something today?”
Oh, no. What if I end up in the hospital again? “Uh, this afternoon?”
“Can you do it?”
Great. It’s probably something terrifying.
“Lisa?”
“Yes,” I say, sitting up. “I’ll do it. What do you want me to wear?”
“Whatever. We’ll be staying in the office. There are some things I’m working on here that I need your help with.”
“At the office?” I groan, relieved and put out at the same time. “You mean, like, filing? I signed up for harrowing adventures, not some nine-to-five bull.”
“Hey,” he says, almost laughing at my petulance, “you just had a head injury three days ago. How’re you doing by the way?”
“Fine,” I say, slapping into my words and ignoring his actual attempt to be nice. “Now that I get to sleep in my own bed.”
“Where else was I supposed to sleep?” he demands. “You were on the couch.”
It’s true. I fell asleep on the couch Friday night and would not budge. So, Jack slept in my bed, in my big beautiful bed, without me. HE SLEPT IN MY BED WITHOUT ME. Wrapped in the flower-sprigged comforter and leafy sheets that remind me of The Hundred Acre Wood.
Bastard!
After he got up, I went into the bedroom to discover that the covers were still warm from his body. STILL WARM FROM HIS BODY.
“Can you come?” He gets right back to the business at hand, as though sleeping in my bed, in my pajamas, didn’t affect him at all.
“I can be there in about an hour. Or so.” I have nothing to do right now, and I’m about fifteen minutes from Into the Wild, but I’m not just going to say that.
“Fine. So around three?”
Just like that. The guy’s life is so chock full of
“When you had all that money?”
Thank you, Edgar. “Turns out the money didn’t matter to him,” I explain. “He just wanted out. Said he could do better.”
Edgar sputters. “Than ten million dollars?”
I take a very deep breath. “Better than me, apparently. The whole time I was in the coma,” I say, willing my eyes not to fill up, “the Media made such a big deal of our love story. It made him wonder what true love like that would really be like.” Good God, why am I telling them this? I need to shut up, before they start wondering what makes me so repulsive.
Guadalupe shakes her head woefully. “He probably had someone else.”
And a cut of the ten mil.
“Is he the one who gave you that bruise?” Jimmy is looking at my forehead.
“No!” I shout. “I mean, Keith isn’t like that. I had to head butt a car thief.”
They all look at me, mouths open, foreheads crinkled.
“Look,” I say. “I almost died in February. It took me a while to get back on my feet, but now that I am, I know I want to do something good and important with this life of mine. I want to help save HEYA.”
“But not with all your money?” Lupe seems skeptical.
“With your money.”
“We don’t have any,” she tells me.
I smile. “You will. I promise. And you’ll know what to do with it. What do you say?”
C HAPTER 10
“I got the job!”
I let out a screech of triumph, giving Dalton’s steering wheel another hug. “They hired me. Me. They hired me. ”
Tie a yellow ribbon ‘round the old oak tree...
I jab the button on my cell phone that silences the ring. As much as I love that song, my ring tone embarrasses me, even though I picked it and I’m the only one in the car.
It’s Jack. He’s the only one with the number. Jesus. He wants me to test something, and that means he’s invented something. While I was blabbing my most embarrassing secrets in order to land a job, Jack INVENTED something.
I slump back in my seat and answer my cell.
“Jack?”
“Lisa.” Crisp, commanding.
No Hello .
No How are you ?
No I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you .
“What?” I can be gracious, too.
“Can you test something today?”
Oh, no. What if I end up in the hospital again? “Uh, this afternoon?”
“Can you do it?”
Great. It’s probably something terrifying.
“Lisa?”
“Yes,” I say, sitting up. “I’ll do it. What do you want me to wear?”
“Whatever. We’ll be staying in the office. There are some things I’m working on here that I need your help with.”
“At the office?” I groan, relieved and put out at the same time. “You mean, like, filing? I signed up for harrowing adventures, not some nine-to-five bull.”
“Hey,” he says, almost laughing at my petulance, “you just had a head injury three days ago. How’re you doing by the way?”
“Fine,” I say, slapping into my words and ignoring his actual attempt to be nice. “Now that I get to sleep in my own bed.”
“Where else was I supposed to sleep?” he demands. “You were on the couch.”
It’s true. I fell asleep on the couch Friday night and would not budge. So, Jack slept in my bed, in my big beautiful bed, without me. HE SLEPT IN MY BED WITHOUT ME. Wrapped in the flower-sprigged comforter and leafy sheets that remind me of The Hundred Acre Wood.
Bastard!
After he got up, I went into the bedroom to discover that the covers were still warm from his body. STILL WARM FROM HIS BODY.
“Can you come?” He gets right back to the business at hand, as though sleeping in my bed, in my pajamas, didn’t affect him at all.
“I can be there in about an hour. Or so.” I have nothing to do right now, and I’m about fifteen minutes from Into the Wild, but I’m not just going to say that.
“Fine. So around three?”
Just like that. The guy’s life is so chock full of
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