Ace.
I left him on that plane with no number, or promise, or messy goodbye on purpose. I had enough of a mess chasing me without adding to my troubles one devastating man with a filthy mouth and a weakness for teasing me.
That was the smart choice. Annoyingly, I seem to be having an emotional response to my own intelligence.
Where is he now?
Probably fine, gorgeous, and already flirting with some other woman over snacks and ruining her life too. I haven’t forgotten a second of our time together.
“Hey.” Clio nudges me with her shoulder, then glances up at the sign and back at me.
“You’re staring at a chocolate shop like it holds the answer to your life.”
“I was thinking.”
“That much was obvious.” She tips her head, studying me. “About what?”
“Nothing.”
“Adelaide, come on, it’s me you’re talking to.” She huffs.
“It just reminded me of something.” The second the words leave my mouth, I know I’ve made a mistake.
Clio’s whole face lights up. “Oh, no. That was terrible. You can’t say it reminded you of something and then expect me not to become obsessed.”
“It’s not interesting.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
“It was a thought. A passing one.”
She narrows her eyes at me, then looks at the See’s sign again like it’s handed her a clue. “A person?” she asks.
I say nothing.
Her mouth drops open. “Itisa person.”
“It’s not a thing.”
“That was not a denial.”
“It was the spirit of one.”
Clio grabs my wrist and starts walking toward the shop.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re going in.”
“I don’t need chocolate.”
“You absolutely do, and then you’re telling me why a perfectly normal candy store has you standing in a parking lot looking like you’ve just seen the Ghost of Bad Choices Past.”
“That’s wildly dramatic.”
She glances back. “You know me. Wildly dramatic is where I shine.”
That, at least, is true.
