Or at least an explanation for the tears puddling in my eyes. What the hell was wrong with me? All this pointless emotion over a guy? A guy I hardly knew?
No, it wasn’t about a guy. And it wasn’t really about Ryan and Emily, either. It was about me. And my bad luck or my faulty choices or whatever you wanted to call it. I’d thought being mayor might fill the hollow, and maybe it would yet. I just needed to focus on the positive. Time to suck it up, buttercup. I was Brooke Therese Callaghan. I could handle this. I just needed to count my blessings. I had a job, and my health, and my family, and kind of a cute figure . . .
Yeah. It wasn’t working. I still felt like crying. I either needed to get home fast and let those tears flow or come up with better blessings.
“Brooke?”
My mind was playing tricks on me. That voice sounded like Leo.
“Brooke!”
I turned, and there he was. It was Leo. Nice work, universe.
I stopped walking as he approached, taking a moment to appreciate, and lament, the way his jeans and jacket fit. They fit divinely, and my irritation flared. Why couldn’t he have just a little bit of a paunch around that midsection, or a thin spot in that raven-dark hair of his? Why couldn’t his teeth be just a little too big or his chin be a little too weak? But no. His abs were rock hard and flat, his hair was thick, his teeth looked like a toothpaste commercial, and his chin was Disney-prince square with just the hint of a dent. What a jerk.
“Hi,” I said, clearing the sadness and distress from my voice. “When did you get back?”
He reached my side, and there was a moment’s hesitation before he leaned forward to give me a quick and thoroughly unsatisfying hug. “I’ve been back for a couple of hours, but I was at Clancy’s. Where is everyone? I mean, all the regulars? I didn’t recognize anyone at the pub. And why are you dressed up? You look very pretty, by the way.”
I ignored the compliment. “They’re all at Gloria and Tiny’s wedding reception up at the Imperial Hotel.”
“Oh, that’s right.” He slapped a hand against his forehead. “I forgot that the giant and his neon bride were getting hitched tonight. But hey, if it’s at the hotel, then why are you walking down Main Street in the opposite direction?”
We were standing on the sidewalk not far from O’Doul’s grocery store. Not far from the spot where he’d rescued my shoe, and as much as I wanted to be glad that he was there, I couldn’t help but wonder why, if he’d been back for a couple of hours, he hadn’t tried to call me. Probably because, unlike me, he wasn’t wading knee-deep in a swamp of infatuation. Leo had a life far removed from this island. I was just a flicker of a distraction to him. This did not lighten my mood. The fact that he seemed just a little bit drunk didn’t cheer me up, either. “Long day. I’m tired. I’m heading home.”
“Home? It’s like, nine o’clock on a Friday night. How about we stop and have a nightcap, and I’ll tell you all about my trip.”
He listed to the side a little as he said this.
“I think maybe you’ve already had some drinks.”
“Yeah, but the good news is, I can’t drink and drive around here.” He laughed at his own joke, but I wasn’t in the mood to encourage him. I didn’t care that he was tipsy; I just wished those rum and Cokes from the wedding had left me in the same state. Unfortunately, they had not, and I was stone-cold sober. Heavy on the stone and the cold.
This whole grumpy, melancholy mood of mine was catching me off guard. I’m not a pointlessly grumpy person, and I’m not an emotionally indulgent person. I’m sensible. Sensible and intuitive enough to know that the origins of my snarly state of mind could pretty easily be traced back to the fact that this delicious man standing before me was really nothing more than a blip on the timeline of my life. If I chose to, I could throw caution to the wind and have myself a little affair, and it would be thrilling, but then it would be over and my heart would deflate like a balloon. It just wasn’t worth it. I wanted what