that if they’re getting married in a month, that gives me a lot less time to figure out what my next move is . . . where I’m going to live . . . whether I’m going to stay in New York or move to L.A.
I wasn’t expecting to have to make my final decision yet.
I thought I had more time.
29
Ace
“Good to see you, Ace.” Lou meets me at a coffee shop Sunday afternoon. “Jesus, it’s wicked hot out here today. You staying cool, Ace? You doing all right?”
I take a seat across from him, feeling the stare from a group of women sitting at a table a few feet away. Ever since I shaved, I’ve been “spotted” more often. I’ve even signed a few autographs, mostly for kids, because I keep going back to that night when I made Aidy’s nephew cry, and I can’t have that on me again.
“You look really good,” Lou says, finally noticing the shaved look I’m sporting. “Glad you lost that furry animal on your face. Never been a fan of those things.”
I smirk, snorting through my nose, and sit down with my black coffee in a to-go cup.
“Well aware of that, Lou.”
“Seriously though, there’s something lighter about you, and it ain’t got nothing to do with your looks.” He pulls his cup of coffee closer. “What’ve you been up to? You getting out of the city much?”
I nod. “Just the other weekend. Hit up the lake house.”
“Good for you. You do some fishing, did you?”
“A little.” I take a sip of coffee and stare out the window to my left, watching a couple stroll by holding hands. They’re laughing. Completely blissful and carefree. And up until Aidy came into my life, I’d forgotten what that felt like.
Lou studies me, his bushy gray eyebrows rising and falling and his head tilting every angle.
“You . . . you, uh, meet someone, Ace?” he asks.
“What?” I glance away, brows meeting. “Nah.”
“Don’t you lie to me.”
It’s not that I’m ashamed of Aidy. Quite the opposite. I’m just not in the mood to be grilled by this big galoot.
“What’s her name?” Lou grills anyway.
I lift the Styrofoam cup to my lips to hide a smirk. “There’s no girl, Lou.”
“Ah, fine. I won’t bother you about this girl who supposedly doesn’t exist,” Lou says with a side wink, swatting his thick-knuckled hand at me. “That’s not why I wanted to meet you anyway. Just wanted to see how you were doing since I was in town, run some things by you.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“Well, I’ve got some buddies who have this satellite radio show, and they’re looking for a host. It’s seasonal, and it’s mostly major league talk, but I think you’d be perfect for it, and damn, kid, I watched you on Smack Talk the other day. You’ve got a face for TV and a voice for radio. Ever think about heading that direction?”
“Nah.” I rotate my cup and then lift it, swirling the contents in the bottom. “That’s not me.”
“Well, you’ve gotta do something.” Lou’s voice is a little bit louder now. “You can’t sit around all the time wasting away. Write a book and go on a tour, coach a Little League team, hell, coach in the majors. You know, you could be an actor if you don’t like live television.”
Smirking, I shake my head. “I’ll leave the acting to Matteo.”
“Fair enough.” Lou exhales, eyes bugging out of his head as he blows a heavy, coffee-scented breath across the table. “Anyway, your future’s still bright, kid. Just wanted to come here and remind you of that.”
“Thanks, Lou.”
“Find a way to do what you love, even if you ain’t pitching balls no more,” he adds. “Follow your heart.” Lou stands, tipping back the last of his coffee. “I gotta go now, kid. You keep in touch. I want to meet this girl sometime, all right? Be good to her. Don’t screw it up because she makes you happy. I can tell. And if you say she doesn’t exist, you’re full of shit. I’ve known you a long time, Ace. I see clear through you.”
He pats me on the back, giving my good shoulder a squeeze, and yanks a dusty baseball cap from his back pocket, securing it on his head before he leaves.
Walking home a few minutes later, I think about texting Aidy. We spent Friday evening together, and she stayed over. Saturday she met with a few clients, and then we met at Finnegan’s for pizza with