“Are you leaving?”
Blinking, he looked up and met Alec’s gaze. His brother was standing in front of the Sunny Umbrella, putting his phone away.
He nodded. “I’m tired.”
“Sure.” Alec lifted the corner of his mouth. “Tell me, you and Rachel…”
“No,” he interrupted.
“You don’t know what I was going to say.”
“No, Rachel and I aren’t an issue.”
“Hm. You knew what I was going to say.” Alec scratched his chin. “Are you sure about that? I was under the impression that just the thought of me dating her was what killed your pencil.”
“And yet you’re going out on a date with her,” he replied stonily.
“She’s cute.”
Connor stuffed his fists in his pockets. Just to be safe.
“God, Connor, if you like her…”
“Who was that on the phone?” he interrupted gruffly.
Alec’s hand jerked to his phone. “No one.”
“Hmm. I think we’ve reached an impasse.”
Alec smiled. “Okay, you don’t want to talk about Rachel.”
“What was your first clue?”
His brother laughed. “It’s really nice to be here. Mallory wouldn’t have valued my privacy. I’d like another drink. Are you coming back in?”
He shook his head. “No. I want to go to bed. You have your key, right?”
“Yup.”
“Well then.”
He left Alec standing there, hoping that all he had to do was move away from Rachel so that the feeling in his chest would stop tugging at him like thorns caught on his clothes. But it didn’t help. He walked along the promenade, breathing in the cool sea air, trying to drive away the image of Rachel’s face. The thought that she believed her damned customized questionnaire, which said she was over seventy percent compatible with Alec. What if they were a match? If Rachel had finally been honest with herself, and the damn dating algorithm…
“Fuck.”
“It’s not proper to swear on the day of the apocalypse, Stone.”
Connor turned and saw Winnie lying on the beach five yards from the law firm’s front door.
“I thought the apocalypse was yesterday,” he muttered, pulling the key from his pocket.
“Thought I’d shake up the plan a bit. Chaos makes me feel more alive.”
Connor’s almost smiled. Maybe that was it. Maybe chaos with Rachel made him feel more alive. “Then I’m excited to see what tomorrow brings. If the apocalypse even allows for a tomorrow.”
He unlocked the door, but a rustling told him Winnie was up.
“Everything okay?” he asked, turning back. “If you’re too cold, you know you can ring the bell and sleep on the couch in the office, right?”
