leaned closer, speaking in hushed tones, hoping she would follow suit. “There’s no reason to include the entire bar in this conversation.”
“I played by your stupid rules, Kellan. I kept everything light and casual and fun. I didn’t make demands or voice any expectations. I gave you exactly what you wanted. So I’m afraid I’m going to need you spell this out for me. Why are you breaking things off?”
There wasn’t anything to break off. “Veronica, I thought you understood I wasn’t interested in a relationship.”
She sneered. “Be careful throwing that R-word around. You wouldn’t want anyone to hear you and get the wrong impression. I think everyone here knows Kellan James doesn’t do relationships. He prefers to fuck his way through Southampton without ever feeling a single emotion. And I was a fool to believe I could change your mind about that.”
She wanted to change his mind? Jesus. Where was this coming from? “You wanted a relationship with me?”
“God, you’re a cold son of a bitch.”
Veronica rose from the chair, her cheeks flushed bright red with anger. Her voice had grown louder with every word until the rest of the conversations in the bar died.
“I’m sorry if I made you think”—he paused, still trying to understand exactly what he’d done to give her the impression they were a couple—“that I was your boyfriend.”
She laughed loudly, though there was certainly no humor in the sound. “Fuck you, Kellan.”
He watched as she stormed out of the bar and groaned when he realized his mom was standing just a few feet from his table.
“Mom.”
“Josh said I would probably find you here. Thought I’d see if you wanted company for a drink. Your dad is dozing, and I was going a bit stir crazy in that hospital.”
“I guess you heard all of that.”
Mom came over and claimed the chair Veronica had just vacated. “Oh yeah.”
“Don’t suppose you’d be willing to forget it all.”
She laughed. “Good lord, no.”
It was impossible to be angry with his mom. The woman had a way of making even the most uncomfortable of situations tolerable by retaining her humor.
“Mom, listen—”
“No, Kellan. I think I’d like to go first.”
He sighed. This night just went from bad to worse.
“You know, I’ve stood by for years as you’ve drifted in and out of short-term, meaningless relationships, because I figured you were just sowing your wild oats. But after listening to that woman, I’m concerned perhaps your choice to remain unattached stems from something else.”
“I’m pretty sure George Clooney was never subjected to all this speculation about his decision to live a bachelor lifestyle into his fifties.”
“You’re not George Clooney, dear. And even he is married now.”
He pretended she’d shot him in the heart. “That hurts, Mom.”
She laughed. “This, Kellan…this is the part of you that I’m worried is being lost. You have a wonderful sense of humor—you get that from me—and more than your fair share of your father’s charm. It’s wasted on these women”—she gestured toward the door Veronica had just stormed through—“who you don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of falling in love with.”
Kellan tried to ignore the sharp pain in his chest that accompanied the word love. She was right. “I’m not interested—”
“In love,” she interjected. “I call bullshit.” His father had basically said the same thing. So had Sara.
He rubbed his eyes wearily, but didn’t bother to argue. It was a fight he wouldn’t win. “Is there a point to this conversation?”
“I’m worried you’re avoiding close relationships because of what happened between your dad and me when you were a teenager. I noticed some tension between the two of you at my birthday party.”
Kellan was surprised his dad hadn’t told his mother about the conversation the night it occurred. They told each everything these days.
Then he realized Dad probably hadn’t wanted to upset her on her birthday. Of course, the next day everything had gone to hell, and his father had almost died in that car accident. “Dad thought I had a thing for Sara. I told him he was wrong.”
He made a critical error mentioning Sara’s name. Mom’s eyes lit up. “Now, she’s a woman you could definitely fall in love with. The two of you are perfect for each other. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’re already more than halfway to head over heels for her.”
Kellan couldn’t deny he’d begun to feel the exact same way. One weekend with her had proven they were more compatible than he could have imagined.
“Which is why I’m not