“They’reengaged?” Mom stared at the invitation to Stephen’s engagement party.“’Please join us in celebrating the engagement of Mr. Anthony Stevenson and Mr.Stephen Keller.’” She sent it floating to the coffee table. “Can you imagine?Stephen Stevenson? Karma is cruel.” She shook her head, covering her mouth witha hand. “Not cruel enough, that’s for damn sure.”
“Whythe hell would they invite her to theirfreakin’engagementparty?” Liz snapped angrily. She glared furiously at our mother, directing heranger at the only other person in the room, because the person we were alltruly angry at lived exactly 55.1 miles away, and who the hell really wanted totravel that far just to punch him in the balls?
That’sright. I did.
“Doeshe even realize what he’s doing to her? Look at her!” Liz shouted. She pickedthe invitation up and shook it in Mom’s face before dropping it back down. “Icould … I could—oh, myGod! I could fucking kill him. Holly, do you wantme to kill him?” she asked soothingly, with a hand on my back.
Inodded with a sob, because him being dead seemed like a really good idea at thetime. Dead and out of my life for good.
Forgood. Oh God.
Myarms curled around my body as another bout of tears poured over my cheeks.
Momshook her head, signaling with her hand for Liz to cut the crap because sheclearly wasn’t helping. “Holly, nothing I can say is going to make this better,but—”
Isat up and pushed past Liz. “Then please. Don’t say anything at all,” I chokedthrough the waterfall coming from my eyes, and hurried down the hall to throwon any pair of yoga pants I could find and my sweatshirt.
Andsuddenly, I was more than ready to take my mom’s advice about gettingout—alone.
***
Butthe only place I knew to go was Reade’s. Sure, I could have gotten deliriouslydrunk at one of the two bars on Main Street, or maybe grabbed something greasyfrom the Golden Carousel diner, but second-nature brought me to the bookstore.
Hollyfreakin’ Hughes. Creature of habit.
Ipulled into the parking lot, removing the key from the ignition ofOl’ Rusty, and just sat there behind the wheel, staringinto oblivion at a life I was never meant to have. A man that was never reallymeant to be mine.
Isuppose I had subconsciously been holding onto the hope that Stephen would comeback to me. My heart had foolishly convinced my head that he was out there,thinking about me as I thought about him, and those thoughts were going tobring us back together. But that invitation in my hand had been a deathsentence to every last inkling of hope I possessed, and in that moment, Stephenreally was dead. The Stephen I knew.
StraightStephen.
Aftersnorting a bitter laugh, I squeezed my eyes shut and broke down behind the wheelof the van, beating my fists against the plastic as I mourned. I cried until mystomach hurt from the gut-wrenching sobs that had escalated, and I opened thedoor to vomit, only to dry heave just as someone was exiting the store. Icontinued to cry without abandon, despite being stared at by a total stranger,as guttural noises came from my body that I wasn’t even aware I could make.
“Ma’am?Are you okay?”
Avaguely familiar and cautious voice came from just a couple feet away, and hewalked closer. I looked up and through tear-stained eyes saw the man from theother day, the one Anna had run into. His eyes, a stormy blue in thesunset-dimmed parking lot, seemed to widen at the sight of me.
“It’syou,” he said almost in a whisper, and he rushed over to me, as though he knewme. Kneeling down beside the van, he looked up at me perched in the driver’sseat and placed a hand on my knee. “Are you okay?” he repeated, with moreconcern and less caution. His tone was gentle, the deep voice wrapping around melike a hug.
AsI hastily wiped away the tears that he had just witnessed, I managed to speakthrough my relentless sobbing. “Y-yes, I’m … f-f-fine.” I sniffed, thencoughed, all while trying desperately to maintain some semblance of composurein the presence of this all-too-kind stranger.
Kindand attractive, I then noticed, taking in the strong jaw line dotted with whatwas probably a permanent five-o’clock shadow. His almost-black collar-lengthhair was brushed back off of his face, the wavy ends curled under his ears tolightly embrace his face and neck with their wispy ends. It was obvious that hewas either incredibly skilled at keeping himself groomed, from his facial hairto his eyebrows, or he paid someone to do it—and they did it well.
Inthe dimly lit parking lot, I couldn’t see what he was wearing other than ablack leather jacket and a dark pair of pants. But my other senses were intact,and I could smell the expensive cologne radiating from him. I knew it at firstspicy whiff, eventhroughthe snot that packed mynose:Tom Ford TobaccoVanille. It just sohappened to be one of my favorites, and I caught myself breathing a littledeeper, just to catch the notes carried by the fall breeze.
Hismouth curled into a warm, knowing smile. “Okay, you don’t have to tell me thetruth, but you’reobviouslynot fine. Let me buy you coffee, at least.”
Iwrinkled my nose at the thought of drinking coffee for anything but a hangover,and then realized how rude I was being. After all, he had been needlessly niceto me, and I quickly added, “Actually, I’m more of a tea person.”
“Iguess I can deal with that.”
Helaughed a deep throaty chuckle and stood up, reaching a hand out to help mefrom the car. I wasn’t usually in the habit of taking the hand of strangers,and I certainly had never been in the habit of accepting invitations to haveany kind of beverage with a man I didn’t know from a hole in the wall. But hehad been so kind, and there was no reason to believe he was in the habit ofabducting unsuspecting women in parking lots. So, I listened to my gut and tookhis hand for the second time in just a few days, watching as my palm wasengulfed by his long fingers, and I was pulled onto my feet.
***
“Okay,wait a second.” The dark brows knitted together as his large frame leanedforward, arms crossed against the tabletop. “Just so I know I’m understandingall of this, answer something for me.”
Inodded and gestured for him to continue, seizing the opportunity to take a longsip of my second cup of lavender Earl Grey.
