He nodded a thank you to Jordan after she set his coffee cup down on the counter. “When you get hit, it usually doesn’t.” He grinned before taking a sip.
“Hit?” I squinted at Owen. “What do you mean hit?”
“I knew the second I met your sister she was the one. Maybe it wasn’t totally crystal clear at first but, from the time I met her, I couldn’t leave her alone. Sometimes, connections are immediate, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. I’m guessing she’s a tourist or not from around here.”
“She was staying at the Anchor. She drove in alone from Brooklyn and wound up here.”
“A one-nighter with a tourist isn’t like you. Didn’t you say you’ve steered clear since the stage-five clinger Dominic couldn’t shake from Pennsylvania?”
A laugh slipped out. “I did, but there was something about her. And I—”
“Couldn’t stay away.” He chortled and shook his head. “So you keep saying. Sorry, dude. I think you may be fucked.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I can’t be fucked. I don’t even really know her or how to get in touch with her.”
“But you know enough to be this twisted from having to walk away. I get the feeling this isn’t over. You aren’t going to be able to let it sit.” His shoulders shook with a laugh as he drained the cup.
“She’ll be staying in a rental with her friends. She probably won’t even come in here.”
“I bet she does. And I bet she’ll brush you off a couple more times before she gives in. You just need to decide on your approach.”
“I don’t have an approach.” Talking about Caterina was as ridiculous as thinking about her. “It’s not like I can text her or ask her to tutor me in accounting.” We’d all heard the story too many times. My sister was brainy and had been burned by a jock, so, for the longest time, she wouldn’t give Owen the time of day until he got creative.
“She’s going to come to you. Call it a hunch. And when she does, step back a bit. Don’t be an asshole, but also not so accommodating.”
“I wasn’t accommodating.”
Jordan cleared her throat behind us before pouring Owen more coffee. “When she came in yesterday morning, he wouldn’t let any of us seat her and made her breakfast himself. It was beyond adorable.”
“Oh, Joseph.” Owen cracked up. “You’re so fucked. And whatever happens with this girl, I’m glad you put yourself out there for a night. We’re all a little worried about you being alone all the time.”
“Trust me, I’m never alone.” I nodded to where Jordan was taking another order with a new waitress shadowing her. Business was heating up, and two more waitresses were set to start this week. That was the kind of thing that filled me with joy when I wasn’t so damn distracted.
“Dominic is relentless enough. He doesn’t need help.”
“He’s a good friend who’s looking out for you, not just busting your balls. Life is more than work.” He peered at the clock over my shoulder. “I better head back.”
“You came all the way out here to drive back the same day?”
He shrugged. “Gotta do what you what you gotta do, right? I don’t like spending a night away from Bella if I can help it. We’ll be back out to visit soon.”
He rose from the chair and pulled me into a goodbye hug. “Remember what I said,” he whispered in my ear before slapping me on the back.
I always remembered what he said. Only this time, I had no idea what to do with it.
12
Caterina
I satat the breakfast nook—yes, this swanky rental had a breakfast nook—nursing an iced coffee as I waited for my friends to arrive. I was able to pick up the keys and settle into the house on Saturday and check out of the Anchor early, promising Lou I’d let him or his wife know if I needed anything.
After catching up on some work emails and letting my mother know I wasn’t in a strange hotel anymore, I had a relaxing day to myself, stocking the kitchen with plenty of food for the week for all three of us. I even tested out the grill with a hamburger last night, pairing it with the red wine I grabbed at the liquor store on the way back from the supermarket, relishing my last moments of solitude and trying to get my head screwed back on straight from the past four days.
The whole point of coming out here alone was to have time to myself to figure things out, but now it was getting lonely. I’d had a few moments of clarity last night before I dozed off on the couch after polishing off a pint of ice cream, non-alcoholic this time.
By tying all of my self-worth into my career, I let everything else in my life fall to the wayside: my friends, my family, and my relationship. Trent had been looking for an excuse to cheat—I realized that now. But I’d made it far too easy. Even though what he’d done was deplorable, he forced me to open my eyes and finally see the crappy path my life had taken.
The rental had already given me a little peace. At the very least, it prevented me from peeking across the street at Joe’s restaurant, trying tonottry to spot him.
