She flushed. “It definitely wasn’t my smartest move, but?—”
Shit, that wasnotwhat I meant. “No, not you.He’sthe idiot. He had a shot with you, and he screwed it up so he could hold on to some actress?”
“Not just any actress—his girlfriend is Kate Caruthers.”
“Please,” I frowned. “She’s beautiful, sure, but it seems like that’sallshe has to offer. You’re the total package.”
It slipped out, and Gwen’s cheeks went pink.
“I mean, there’s more to you than just your looks.”
Damnit, I was making it worse.
Gwen grinned at me. “Thank you?”
“The problem is your taste in men,” I blustered. “You seem to be attracted to assholes.”
She snorted out a laugh. “Oh, you think so, huh? Well, you’re one of them, mister.”
I paused. She was right.
“Please. I havenothingin common with either BenorIan,” I insisted. “I’m an outlier.”
“Eh, not so fast,” she countered. “There actually are a few similarities. They’re both very attractive, and…” she gestured up and down my body as if stating the obvious.
“And they excelled in their careers, which goes without saying for you. But I don’t have much dating data from you to work with. It’s not like you and I had arealrelationship. I have no idea if you’re possessive like Ian was. Or if you’re a love bomber like Ben.”
I’d never been possessive because I’d never felt all that invested in any of my relationships—not even my marriage. Miranda and I had made it to the altar, but my motives for proposing hadn’t been true love but obligation, even if I hadn’t consciously realized it at the time.
Mom had been dying, and she’d been so desperately sad about all the things she’d be missing—like seeing her sons settled and happy. My relationship with Miranda had been new, but she’d been amazing about being there for me after Mom’s diagnosis, and things got serious in a hurry. I’d thought I could see a future with her, and I’dknownthe wedding would make Mom happy…
Which, in retrospect, was nowhere near a good enough reason to get married. No wonder our marriage fell apart. We spent way longer divorcing each other than we did having a functional marriage.
“Anyway, I’ve learned my lesson,” Gwen continued. “My heart was too trusting. From now on,” she mimed locking up her heart and tossing the key over her shoulder.
I understood how she got to that point, and honestly, after my shitshow of a divorce, I felt the same. But Gwen vowing to keep her heart under wraps left me feeling…moody? Angry? I couldn’t define the emotion; I just knew I didn’t like it.
My phone rang and my immediate reaction was stress. A call after ten usually meant something was wrong. Gwen furrowed at me.
“My friend Kevin,” I explained. “Excuse me for a minute.”
I walked into the bedroom to have a little privacy to take the call.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Hey, yeah, we’re all fine. I just need to run something by you. Is now a bad time?” There was a shuffling sound, like he’d pulled the phone away to check the clock. I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. When it came to showing up for the people he cared about, Kevin was the most reliable man in the world. When it came to actually having an awareness of what time it was? Yeah, not so much. “Shit, it’s late where you are, isn’t it?” he exclaimed a beat later. “Sorry. Should we talk tomorrow instead?”
“Now’s fine. Spill it.”
I could tell by the tension in his voice that something was up. I stared out the window at the city bustling away despite the late hour.
“Reality is crashing down on me, bro,” he said. “Yeah, I’m excited about the baby, but man…it’s a lot. Syd and I have been running numbers and looking at our insurance coverage, and shit isn’t adding up. The fact is, my class enrollment isn’t where it needs to be if we’re making ends meet for three instead of two.”
“Hold on,” I said. “You’re not thinking of closing, are you?”
Kevin’s flight school wasn’t a big business, but the pilots who studied with him came away from their lessons hyper-qualified. He was an incredible instructor, gifted with the technical aspects but also equally good at managing personalities.
He sighed. “I probably should, but you know what that place means to me. No, I’m actually considering taking on a part-time gig loading bags in addition to teaching. Jerry already said he’d hire me on the spot. The pay isn’t great, but it’s steady work, and as long as I clock enough hours, it should fill in the gaps. I wanted your take.”
