Page 79 of First-Time Caller
But I can’t. I shouldn’t.
“Yeah,” I say, trying to swallow around the sudden weight in the middle of my throat. “Of course. I’ll be there.”
“All right.” He doesn’t move. “I’ll see you then.”
I nod again. It’s a wonder my head doesn’t roll right off my shoulders. “Yeah.”
“On Monday.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Bye.” He slips both hands over his hair.
“See ya.”
He stands on the other side of my kitchen table and doesn’t move an inch. He watches me carefully, brows furrowed, face in stern concentration. His hand squeezes at the back of his neck, the same way he does at the station when he’s trying to work through a problem. He blows out a breath and steps backward, the thread looped between us pulled tight.
“I’m leaving now.”
“I’ve heard rumors about that,” I say lightly, crossing my arms over my chest.
He cracks a smile. His whole face changes when he smiles. All those hard lines smooth out and he softens into something approachable. He drifts from my kitchen to my living room while sneaking looks at me out of the corner of his eye, and I watch him move around in my space.
“Thanks for breakfast,” he says while he’s pulling on his boots.
“No problem.”
“I’ll—I’ll see you Monday,” he says again.
“Get out of my house,” I reply with a laugh while he grabs his coat.
He rolls his eyes at me before he disappears out the front door, and as it snicks shut behind him, I collapse in my chair. I press two fingers to the edge of my smile, my cheeks straining under the pressure of it.
The forgottenHeartstringsphone sitting in the middle of the table buzzes with a text.
AIDEN:Bye.
I laugh out loud.
AIDEN VALENTINE:Welcome back toHeartstrings, Baltimore. We missed you over the weekend.
LUCIE STONE:We really did. You guys make life more interesting.
LUCIE STONE:What did you get up to this weekend, Aiden?
AIDEN VALENTINE:Oh, you know. A little bit of this, a little bit of that.
LUCIE STONE:Anything fun?
AIDEN VALENTINE:I had lots of fun. What about you?
LUCIE STONE:You know what? I had some fun too.
This is good.
This is the reminder I needed.
I needed it broken down in black and white. Lucie is here to find a date. Someone who is capable of giving her all the things she deserves. She is not here for piggybacks down the street in the middle of the night, or slow dances in bars, or questionable Skee-Ball lessons from emotionally unavailable men. I told myself I’d never let myself get hurt by love, and I meant it. I’m doing just fine without it.
