So I’d gathered.

“Do you know if she broke it off with the Ewing guy?”

“I honestly have no idea, but I can’t help but think it ended. By October, she didn’t seem to go to Ewing all that often anymore, and she just seemed sad.”

“Hidin’ a pregnancy might do that to a person,” I said, deep in thought.

“True.” She glanced over her shoulder and her face lost color. “I have to go.” She grabbed her purse, which was hanging from the stool back.

“Wait,” I pleaded. “What else do you know?”

Her fingers were shaking as she pulled her wallet out of her purse. Why was she so spooked? I glanced around the room, half-expecting Bingham to be glaring at us, but I didn’t see him or any of his known associates. No one else seemed to be sending threatening glances our way either.

“Greta,” I said, abandoning the draft station and moving directly in front of her. “Why are you so scared?”

Shaking her head, she handed me a ten-dollar bill. “Will this cover it?”

“Where are you parked?” I asked.

“Uh…down the street. Behind the café.”

“I’m gonna have Wyatt walk you to your car.”

Her brows shot up and she cast a quick sideways glance in his direction. “I thought you weren’t dating anymore.”

“We’re not, but he’s a good man.”

Too bad he wasn’t good for me.

Chapter Thirteen

I hurried down to Wyatt. My traitorous eyes took in his mussed dark hair and those lips I’d kissed. He looked jarred by my sudden appearance, not that I could blame him.

“I need you to do me a favor.”

“Okay,” he said without hesitation.

“Don’t you want to know what it is first?”

“Nope. You only have to ask, and I’ll do it.”

Was he trying to win me back? Dammit. Between this and his bit of kindness with Ginger, I was almost weak enough to consider it. Focus, Carly. “I need you to walk Greta to her car.”

His brow lifted slightly. “Has she had too much to drink?”

“No, she’s a bit spooked, is all. Can you do it?”

“Of course,” he said, already getting off his stool and slipping on his jacket. “Does she want me to take her home?”

I cast a backward glance at her as she stared at her now-empty glass. Which was when it occurred to me that I was sending the wrong brother. What with our talk about Lula, I’d completely forgotten to ask Greta about Max.

Holding up my hand, I said, “Wait a minute.” Then I hurried around the counter and intercepted Max as he made his way to the counter with several tickets. “If you want a chance to win her back, you’ve got a shot at playing hero, but you need to grab your coat right now.”

He shook his head as though trying to clear it. “What are you talking about?”

“Greta’s worried about walking to her car alone.”

His back straightened—Enforcer Max had made an appearance. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I was going to have another guy do it, but I thought maybe—”

He shoved the notepad at me. “On it.”

He made a beeline toward her, leaning in to say something across the bar. She listened then nodded, shooting me a questioning look.

I smiled and relief filled her eyes.

Two birds with one stone. I was good.

Max wrapped an arm around her back and led her away. I hurried back to the bar to fill the rest of the orders, scanning the crowd to see if anyone made a move to follow them. I wasn’t surprised when I saw Wyatt shift to Greta’s seat in front of the beer taps.

“What was that about?” he asked as I filled a mug from the draft.

I gave the room one last look before I turned to him. “Honestly? I don’t know. One minute she was fine, but next she wasn’t. I think she saw something—someone—who scared her. I have no idea who.”

“And the Max situation?”

“Let’s just say I think they like each other. They got a little misstart, and I gave them a push in the right direction.”

“Is that how you’d classify us? A misstart?”

“You ready to talk yet?”

“And are you going to move on to someone else if I’m not?” he asked in a gruff tone.

“What are you talkin’ about? Why would you ask me that?”

“Junior said he saw you with Marco. And that you two were…close.”

What would he have seen? Our hug? Me kissing Marco’s cheek? I could see how it might be misconstrued. “I never realized Junior was such a gossip.”

“So it’s true,” he said, sounding pissed. “You were with Marco.”

“With him could be taken two different ways, Wyatt, and frankly, if you and I aren’t together, neither one of them matters to you.”

The pain in his eyes nearly made me cave.

I was being harsh, and I knew it, yet he needed to hear the truth. “You know how to fix this.”

“I can’t. What little I can tell you won’t be enough to appease you, and I don’t have permission to tell you the rest.”

Permission? “Who are you protecting?”

He leaned over the bar and held my gaze, his eyes pleading with me. “I’m askin’ you to trust me, Carly.”

“So I’m just supposed to accept that I shared everything with you and you’re not going to tell me anything?” I asked, incredulous.

“I know it sounds bad.”

I couldn’t believe we were having the exact same conversation again, and in public no less. I shook my head. “I’m not doin’ this.”

“Were you with Marco today?”

My mouth dropped open. “I never took you for the controlling type, Wyatt Drummond.”

“And I never thought you’d be shallow enough to stage something with Marco in an attempt to make me jealous and force my hand.”

I gasped and I could see the instant regret in his eyes.

“Do you really think so little of me?” I asked, my voice breaking.

He cringed and ran his hand over his head. “No. But…if you…”

I shook my head, fighting tears. “You need to go.”

“Carly.”

“No. You need to go. Now.”

“I didn’t mean it, Carly. I was angry and hurt, and I—”

“I’m hurt too, and you don’t see me accusing you of awful things.”

“Aren’t you, though?” he asked. “I did everything in my power to save and protect you. If that doesn’t earn your trust, what will?”

He had a point, and my heart broke. “I trust you with my life, Wyatt. I have no doubt you would take a bullet for me, but you know that men have lied and kept secrets from me. You know how much that has hurt me. The only way we can make this work is if you’re open and honest with me, yet you refuse to do that. Hell, I don’t even know about your past girlfriends, because ninety percent of your life is a mystery you’re keeping in a locked vault.”

His jaw twitched, but he remained silent.