Slow Ride (Fast Track #5)(58)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Yet he didn’t want to fight and he didn’t want her to regret she’d chosen him.

So he still said nothing.

“ARE you okay?” Kendall asked her. “You look a little stressed.”

Tuesday was more than a little stressed. She was supernova mega-stressed and she was alternating between wanting to throw up and cry hysterically.

So she’d taken what she thought was a smarter route and was drinking a glass of wine. “I’m totally stressed. What if this benefit is a massive failure?”

Kendall rubbed her arm in a gesture of comfort but Tuesday hardly noticed. She was glancing around the room, looking for anything that could be improved at the last minute, making sure everything was in place and the serving staff was poised for the crowd who was about to enter.

“Hey, it’s not going to be a failure. You’ve done a fantastic job. The room looks amazing, there are a ton of donations to be auctioned off, and there are a crapload of people attending. Relax.”

Relaxing was not going to happen. Not until it was eleven o’clock, the last guest had left, and she had some indicator of success. “Thanks, but I’m just going to worry. It’s the way it is.”

“I get that. Where’s Diesel?”

“I don’t know. He’s around here somewhere.”

They had hardly seen each other all week and they’d driven to the benefit separately. Tuesday had been so busy with final details that she’d barely had time to text him, let alone hang out or spend the night with him. Not that he seemed to care. If she weren’t so insanely worried about tonight, she would have been worried about the fact that he seemed remote, like something was bothering him. She would worry about Diesel tomorrow. Tonight she had to pray that she actually raised money and didn’t let cancer patients and survivors, and all the friends and sponsors who had so generously donated to the auction, massively down.

It didn’t exactly surprise her that the man would retreat right when she needed him the most. Diesel wasn’t big on emotional vulnerability.

She took another big swallow of her wine.

“Are you sure you should be drinking?” Kendall asked her.

“Yes.” She didn’t even hesitate. She wasn’t going to survive this without her old friend Merlot. For the first time she paused and actually looked at her best friend. “I can’t believe you’re wearing heels.”

“I think this exceeds my limit for the year,” Kendall said. “They hurt like hell.”

“Well, thanks for wearing them. You look fantastic.” Kendall was in a red cocktail dress and nude pumps. It was a good look on her. Tuesday fiddled with her necklace. She was wearing black, which initially had just seemed easy and smart. Half her wardrobe was black and it was spillproof. Now its mourning hue seemed appropriate. This event was going to kill her. Or it was going to die, a horrible unsuccessful failure of a fund-raiser.

“So do you.”

“I have sweaty armpits.” Which made no sense because her dress was sleeveless. She drained her wineglass. “Okay, I need to find a waiter to get another drink, then we can open the doors and let in what are hopefully the masses.”

She headed for any man wearing a black uniform who could supply her liquid courage.

KENDALL went in search of her husband, hoping she might spot Diesel along the way. She wanted to warn him that Tuesday needed to be monitored. She would never forgive herself if she got drunk at this event, and Kendall knew all too well Tuesday could lose count when she’d skipped dinner and was tipping the glass back out of nerves.

Evan was actually talking to Diesel by the doors, so she managed to kill two birds with one stone. Taking a split second to admire how hot her husband was, Kendall approached them.

“Hey, baby.” Evan kissed her cheek.

Kendall loved being married to him. He was her first and her last love. They may have taken a wrong turn and spent ten years apart, but they were more than making up for it now. Even something like an unexpected pregnant onenight stand hadn’t been able to drive them apart once Kendall had contemplated a future without him. “Hey. So what are you going to buy for me tonight?”

“Anything you want,” he said, sweeping his arm in the direction of all the many beautiful auction items.

Kendall laughed. “Yeah, right. You’ll change your mind when I want you to bid on a twenty-thousand-dollar trip to Bora Bora.”

“Yeah, that might be out. But only because of our schedule, not because I wouldn’t buy you the world if I could.”

Someone really wanted a piece of ass later. Kendall rolled her eyes.

Diesel made a face. “Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you, Monroe?”

Evan grinned. “It’s the truth.”

“Uh-huh. Thanks, babe.” Kendall turned to Diesel and lowered her voice. “Hey, uh, word to the wise, Tuesday’s already on glass of wine number two. You might want to keep an eye on her.”

Something flickered in his eyes. “She’s a grown woman. She can have a glass of wine if she wants one.”

His response surprised Kendall. She would have thought he’d understand what she was saying. She had thought he’d shown a very protective nature toward Tuesday, something she had really appreciated seeing. Her best friend might be independent and snarky, but she needed someone looking out for her just like anyone else did. Kendall thought she’d seen the potential for that person to be Diesel. Tuesday certainly seemed happy with him and they’d been spending a ton of time together.

“I just meant that it would be a good idea if she doesn’t go beyond three glasses and I don’t want to say anything to her mother. This event is going to be hard enough for her.”

Diesel sighed. “Yeah, I know. I’ve got an eye on her, don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks,” Kendall said. But she felt a tinge of concern. Tuesday had been dismissive when she’d mentioned Diesel. Now he looked annoyed at having to watch Tuesday.

Something was not right and Kendall didn’t like it.

TUESDAY had a nice buzz going. She wasn’t drunk at all, she was just happy and relaxed and making the rounds of all her many guests with aplomb and a big smile. The auction was going well. The items were receiving on-par bids, some going even higher than she had anticipated. The waitstaff was doing their job well circulating with finger foods and champagne, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Diesel’s car was front and center in the middle of the ballroom. It had been getting a great deal of attention from both current and former drivers and stock car enthusiasts. She was so proud of him she wanted to just kiss the snot out of him in front of everyone. Seriously, that was her boyfriend, and he rocked. He’d taken a piece of junk and made it the envy of everyone with a penis in the room. And Kendall. She probably dug it, too.