What The Heart Craves (Complete)

Chapter 4 - Part 2

Lacey

"It's okay, mom." I was already trying to figure a way out of getting a lift with Adonis, even though I didn't want to put off my job search for another day.

"It's no problem. He assured me it was no trouble." She stopped what she was doing to fix her curious eyes on me. "Is there a reason you don't want him to drive you?"

There was no getting out of this without making my mom suspicious of my feeling. I had no choice but to smile at my mom. "No, it's fine."

I walked towards the stairs, trying to calm my nerves. My hurt bubbled below the surface, mixed with my anger. I didn't want to see him, never mind get a lift into the city with him. Why on earth had he offered to give me a lift? His actions left me more confused than ever before. It was like push and then pull; it made no sense.

But I'd moved on and allowing him to drive to and from work wasn't part of that plan. I went to my room and got my phone. I called Reece.

"Can you meet me in town in an hour?" I asked her, a little breathless. My heart was racing.

"Sure," she said. "Where?"

"I'll text you the address," I said. "I'm going for a job interview."

"See you then. Good luck." She was in college, but luckily on Mondays she didn't have any classes. I texted her the address.

I set my chin with determination before I descended the stairs. The sound of the TV made me head for the living room first. I found him was sitting alone, watching TV. His eyes brightened, and he smiled at me when he noticed me standing in the doorway. He switched off the TV and stood up. I didn't return the smile. It was too hard to pretend everything was all right when it wasn't.

"You ready to go?" he asked, and I gave him a silent nod.

I didn't miss the slight surprise at my standoffishness. He followed me out and we walked to his car. It was a sleek black SUV with tinted windows. He opened the passenger door for me and I got it. He closed my door, and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

Despite how angry I still was with him, I couldn't help feeling nervous at his proximity. His car smelled like him and I clasped my hands together when he opened the door and slid into the driver's side.

"Where are we going?" he asked before he started up the car.

I'd gone online and checked out a few adverts for a serving job that didn't need previous serving experience. There had only been a couple which had narrowed down my job search. I gave him the address of the first restaurant and he programmed it into his GPS.

He backed out my driveway, and I turned to look out the window. Usually I loved to be around him and I would use this time to revel in my hidden feelings, but this time it just hurt to be so close to him and remember what he'd said to my brother.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, and I pressed my lips together for a moment before I answered him.

"What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow in his direction. He had his eyes fastened on the road.

"You know. You're supposed to be keeping your stress under control for your migraines." His voice was matter of fact. I couldn't help bristly at his remark. "Any job will have some amount of stress."

Annoyed, I turned to face him.

"What do you want from me, Gray? I can't just do nothing. At some point I have to get a job and I'll deal with it," I replied watching him as he shot me a side glance before turning his eyes back on the road.