Leave a mess—” before pressing the Off button and tossing the phone onto her just-made bed. It’s like a fever. Now that she’s in the grips of it, now that she’s made up her mind, it can’t wait. She has to talk to Derek, the sooner the better. But this isn’t the kind of thing she can say in a voice-mail message. Well, she could. Lord knows it’s been done before. But it’s not the right way to handle it. It’s the coward’s way, the way of the dog, the loser, the asshole. And whatever else she is, Jordie Cross is not an asshole. At least, she hopes she isn’t. There are enough of those in the world; there’s no crying need for any more. No, this isn’t something you should do over the phone. This is something you have to do in person. Derek is not going to take it well, especially not after last night. He’s going to be angry. He’s going to accuse her of all kinds of things, probably starting by asking what the conversation with Ronan was really about and what he was really doing there.
