Page 13 of Their Stormy Reunion

“I’m going to stand here until you answer the question.”

“Fine. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of her, all right?”

“So, my friend is now an official stalker. That’s great news.” Zarek ran his hand through his black hair.

“I’m not a stalker, I just have stalker tendencies.”

“I fail to see the difference. And be careful with that knife.”

“Anyway, she definitely doesn’t want to see me again. I fucked up big time. It was just like the old days where her dad totally blew her off and treated me like their long-lost son. I just don’t get them. Do you know all the great things that Fallon has accomplished?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“My stalker friend has kept me informed and shown me the articles he’s printed out. So yeah, I’m aware.”

Fuck. He’s right. I had done that.

“Well, she’s pretty incredible,” I defended myself. “I always knew she could do anything. Before she even graduated from college, she had companies knocking on her door to recruit her. It was that one app she created in her junior year that put her on the map.”

“Didn’t she have something lined up where she could work from home?”

“Yep. That was Fallon, she always had everything lined up,” I sighed. “She’s amazing.” My words echoed in my ears.

“Yeah. She is. It makes a man wonder why someone would have put on a bullshit performance to get out of marrying her.”

My balls shriveled up. Why had I ever told Zarek what I had done?

“You didn’t tell Chloe, did you?”

“You swore me to secrecy, remember? I took that shit seriously. What’s more, if I had told Chloe, she would have told Zoe, who would have told Fallon. I don’t know what would have hurt Fallon more—you actually fucking Lindsay, or you pretending that you were going to fuck her.”

“Lower your voice.” I looked around the common area, and the only person who was there was Rick. He was engrossed in some true crime show, so I was safe. “Why are you here anyway? Aren’t you off shift?”

“I left some shit in my locker. Figured I’d come up here and bust your balls. It’s not like going home is any kind of treat.”

I thought about what he was saying. It was the truth. Most of Zarek’s outside activities were couples’ things, and without Chloe he was kind of shit out of luck. “Maybe it’s time to get a hobby. They do quilting over at Dorothy’s Antiques on Tuesdays and Saturdays.”

The look on Zarek’s face was precious.

“How in the name of all that’s holy do you know that?”

“I go in to talk to Dorothy Sheridan from time to time. She is a fucking hoot. Every time I go, I get a great story.”

“What do you mean?”

“So, I walk in and it was two days after her great aunt died. She was on the phone with her cousin, talking about the services. I offered my condolences.”

“Okay…” Zarek tilted his head.

“Dorothy tells me that her one-hundred-and-four-year-old grandmother is upset about her younger sister dying.”

“Well sure she is…” Zarek said again.

“But here’s the kicker. Dorothy grins at me and tells me the real reason her grandmother is upset is that her one-hundred-and-two-year-old sister never did take care of herself.”

Zarek burst out laughing. “No shit?”