“Okay. What the hell do I have to lose? I’m in,” he says.

I wait for the awkward to settle in next, but it never does. Trevor pulls up a chair and starts asking Cody a million questions about his shop and the business, ripping more pages from my book to make notes. Cody goes back to work, talking to him like it’s normal—like things between them have always been this easy. I catch Gabe’s gaze once or twice and try to gesture to him, but he just shrugs me off. Finally, when Trevor and Cody are deep in a conversation, Gabe comes over to stand by me and look through one of the boxes.

“Just let it play out, sister,” he whispers from the side of his mouth, so Cody and Trevor can’t hear. I shake my head at him, unsure of everything—how can he be so calm? “That’s what I told Cody to do. See where this goes. He needs this—he needs something.”

I understand. And since I can’t be that something, I know I need to help Cody have this—his shop and his memories of everything he’s ever loved.

Chapter 11: Rules of Engagement

Trevor stayed in the garage with Cody until the sun came up, and I ended up napping on a small leather couch in the break room. I startle awake when I feel arms sliding under me, lifting me. I almost whisper Cody’s name, thinking it’s him, when I open my eyes and see Trevor’s familiar jawline and chest. I stop myself just in time, and instead snuggle into him while I rub my eyes and try to get my bearings.

“Morning, sunshine,” Trevor says, lifting me to a stand.

I stretch my arms over my head and look around, wondering if Gabe and Cody are still here. I hear the sound of a soda cracking open and turn around to see Cody, looking tired and disheveled behind me. “You guys up all night?” I ask, knowing they must have been.

“Yeah, we got a lot done. I think this is going to really work,” Trevor says, confident as always. “I’ve gotta get to the airport though, take back this rental. I sort of wasn’t planning on being out this morning.”

The guilt on his face hits me hard, and I hug him tightly, my awareness still not completely caught up after my sleep, and my mind not remembering everything that’s pulling at me in a million different directions. “It’s okay. Thank you for coming. And…thank you for…” I gesture over my shoulder as I whisper.

“No,” Trevor says, holding his fingertips to my lips. “Thank you. I owe him this. And I’m going to work my ass off for him.”

I know Trevor means it, and I’m proud of him for doing something so right, making this hard choice. I keep reminding myself that Trevor’s lost something, too. The illusion he’d created that kept him tied to his father, believing in his father, burst the minute I confronted him about it.

“Do you have time to take me home?” I ask while I gather my things.

“I can’t. My flight leaves in less than an hour. I’m going to have to bolt if I want to make it as it is, I’m so sorry. Cody? Do you mind getting her home?” Trevor asks, and Cody just nods yes behind him, his eyes avoiding me.

Trevor leans in for one more kiss, then he lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses it right against the ring. Seeing his hands around mine, his ring on my finger, and knowing Cody is right behind me is hard, and I’m not sure how to feel—about anything.

“Okay, I’ll be back…soon.” Trevor says, picking me up and swinging me around once, before grabbing his jacket and the scraps of paper with his notes. “Cody, I’ll call you. Let’s get together next weekend when I come back, okay?”

Cody half waves and nods, not really showing any emotion, but Trevor seems satisfied with his response. He climbs in the small rental car and pulls around the driveway back on to the main roadway.

With Trevor gone, I suddenly feel out-of-place, just like I did the first day he left me alone at the Appletons’. I zip my bag, pull it next to me, and stand at the edge of the table waiting for Cody to give me direction—to tell me what to do. He’s still not making eye contact and is instead busy cleaning things up around the shop, wiping down the hood and window of the car that he and Gabe worked on all night.

“You guys finish that last night?” I say, desperate to find our way back to easy.

“Yep,” he says. Nothing more. Easy is a long way away, and I press my hand deeply into my pocket, wearing what I know is the main reason for this new block between us.

“Hey, if you don’t have time…I mean, if you’re busy…I can totally just call a cab,” I say, fumbling with my purse and bag, not sure whether I should sit or stand—or pull my phone from my purse.