Just as quickly as the thought came, Deven felt a surge of guilt. This should’ve been Justin, comforting and nursing her back to health. And she hadn’t even told him what was going on. She had wondered what, if anything, she would say to him once he called. He hadn’t, but Deven didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. And it did nothing to calm her nerves.

“I did want to give you something,” Paul spoke up as he pulled a business card from the middle console. He held it out and Deven accepted it with an inquisitive frown.

“What’s this?”

“A therapist,” he said. “Dr. Felicia Bradshaw. She’s really good with grief counseling and . . . well I didn’t know if it would help considering those feelings because of the loss of Jamie. Just everything.” He seemed flustered but his benevolence had Deven’s spirits lifting. He was truly a sweetheart.

“Thank you,” she said and tucked the card in her purse. Maybe she would get up enough nerve to use the reference. Either way, it was so extremely thoughtful of him that she couldn’t even be offended.

Paul pressed a button on his touch-screen radio and immediately, an instrumental ballad of a jazz song flooded the car. Deven recognized the saxophone belting out the chords to Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone.”

“You like jazz?” he asked, turning up the dial to raise the volume.

“I do, but I don’t think this really counts as jazz.”

Paul feigned offense. “This definitely counts. Just listen to the notes.” He hummed along to the music, wiggling his fingers in the air as if he were playing an imaginary piano. Deven relaxed in amusement.

“Okay, it’s not classical jazz. More so contemporary,” she said. “I’ll let it slide because it’s the King.”

“You know I’m just teasing with you. I’m not a big jazz fan. Not like Amber.”

Deven turned to watch the city zip by outside of the window. He didn’t realize his absent comment had ruined the mood, though she knew it was innocent enough. A friend talking about his girlfriend. That’s what normal, platonic friends did. So, why did she feel so damn insulted? She wanted to inquire more about Amber, but it didn’t feel like her place. Where did they meet? What did she look like? Why her? Things were different now. Paul may not have realized it, but Deven certainly did. She would never admit it to him, but his attraction to her was part of that alluring chemistry between them. Now, Deven just felt awkward in his presence.

The tension had shifted, thick and suffocating. Paul obviously sensed it too. Deven felt him looking at her profile, but she just swallowed and kept her eyes trained on the road.