He plopped his arm back over his eyes. He never stopped petting Fleur.
Was he so drunk he didn’t recognize her? He always recognized her no matter what she did to her hair or her makeup. Her heart broke further.
“Soup.”
Lachlan’s hand stopped moving. “Wha’d ya say?”
“Soup. It’s what I used to call you.”
He lifted the banner again. He squinted at her. Instead of letting it drop, he sat up, wincing as he did. He studied her face, nodding. “Well, there you are.”
Gina flinched inside, remembering that those were the first words he’d ever spoken to her.
Lach squinted at her. “Itisyou, lass. Or, I’m dreaming.” He shook his head. “Didn’t recognize the hair.”
Gina absently touched her dark-brown bob. “I’ve changed my hair so many times I’m not sure what the original color is anymore.”
“Auburn. Lovely shade of it, too. Perfect for your pale skin and those unforgettable golden eyes.”
Gina looked away quickly. He remembered. And his tongue was just as silver, his slight accent just as seductive, and it melted her core as easily as if she’d gone back in time, God, almost three years now. She hadn’t felt this way for so long, and yet every complimentary word was like a slap across her face.
Why did you give up on us? she wanted to ask.Why did you walk away when we could have been together? I would have been yours, body and soul, if you would have let me.
But he hadn’t. He’d left as if she was just another job, a task checked off, mission accomplished. It didn’t matter, none of it. Not the joking, the flirting, the camaraderie. Not the way her heart felt light whenever she was with him. Not the proposal.And now look at him. If this was what retiring did to him, maybe she’d dodged a bullet.
This was a mistake. A huge, horrible mistake. Lachan was clearly washed up, and Gina couldn’t afford to let her emotions get the best of her. She’d learned to turn them off and on a long time ago and her time with The Repair Shop had perfected the skill. It was easy when you saw the worst of humanity day in and day out.
But instead of leaving the bar, she sighed and crouched beside him.
“I’d like to talk to you but this is certainly not the venue for it.”
“Well, I might be sober for an hour tomorrow. Would that work better?”
Gina almost walked out then and there. She didn’t need this. But then a tiny voice she hadn’t heard in a long time spoke in her head. A younger version of herself, one who hadn’t seen quite so much darkness, one who still held out hope.
Think about what he might have gone through these past couple of years. You’re right—this isn’t him, this isn’t the man you fell in love with. Soup would never act this way. Something must have gone wrong at the end to make him act like this.
Then she remembered the dog outside and her sadness turned to anger. Instead of looking into his eyes, she focused on the cheap plastic lei around his neck.
“You may not give a shit about yourself anymore, but the least you could do is take care of your dog.”
He frowned and tilted his head, then looked at Fleur. “This innit my dog. Wouldn’t mind having her though.”
“I’m not talking about Fleur, who, by the way, ismydog. I mean the poor animal outside.”
His brow creased further. “What poor animal outside?”
“Really? The one who’s tied up to the palm tree with an overturned water bowl. Looks half-starved, too. You can let yourself go, but ifyoudon’t come with me, I’m untying him and takinghimwith me.”
Lachlan was already getting to his feet so she scrambled to hers. “I don’t have a dog. Wouldn’t do that to a dog, ever.”
That stopped her. “You said the first thing you were going to do when you retired was get a dog.”
He marched unsteadily toward the door. “I look like I can take care of a dog?” he growled over his shoulder.
The bartender looked up just then and shouted, “Hey, asshole, you ain’t leaving until you pay.”
Gina reached into her wallet and slapped a fifty-dollar bill on the bar. “Keep the change.”
