His phone rang. “Oh, hi, Junior. Yes, I got them. Sorry, nothing personal, but no, I don’t want to have dinner with you.” Seth hung up, disgusted. It’d be one thing to have men chase him because they wanted him, but it was another thing entirely to be chased because of wealth and power.
At least Dustin didn’t constantly harass him, though Seth wouldn’t have minded the occasional phone call, and his bed seemed so empty at night.Maybe I should call himflashed through his mind when the phone rang again. He answered it without checking caller ID, a bit irritated at someone who wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Junior, I meant it. I donotwant to go out with you.”
“Junior? Who’s Junior?”
Seth’s blood ran cold. “Michael?”
AT ONEtime Seth would have welcomed a call from Michael, would have crawled through broken glass for the chance to hear the man’s sweet tenor again. Those days were long gone. “Why are you calling?” He barely restrained himself from hanging up.
“What? You’re not excited to hear from me?”
“Shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon?” Seth’s teeth clenched tight.
A sigh wafted over the phone. “I need to talk to you.”
“The last time you told me that you announced your engagement. You’re a married man now. Don’t you owe it to yourhusbandnot to be calling former lovers?”
“I’d hoped we were still friends. Speaking of, didn’t you notice when I changed my profile from ‘engaged’ to ‘it’s hopeless’?” Never had the normally confident Michael sounded so small and lost.
“I have better things to do with my time now than surf media sites.” The moment the words left his mouth, Seth was surprised to find they were true. He hadn’t been on “All About Me” in weeks.
“Well, me and Luther broke up.”
“What? Last I saw you were selecting caterers. How long have you been married? Two weeks!”
“We called off the wedding.” Michael’s voice dropped to a murmur. “Oh, Seth, I screwed up. Can you ever forgive me?” Seth barely bit off the “No!” poised on the tip of his tongue. Wait! Was that a sniffle? “Are you crying?”
“It’s such a mess! He lied to me! Lied!”
Seth wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know the details, but curiosity still got the best of him. “About what?”
“He told me he wanted me back, that he’d seen the error of his ways and wanted to make a commitment. The moment I got to New York, he sang a different tune. Nothing’s changed; he hasn’t changed. When I pressed him to set a date, he suggested we get married in Chicago instead of New York, where we wouldn’t even be legal.”
Seth didn’t know what to say.
“I’d really appreciate it if you’d meet with me face-to-face—just to talk.”
“Sorry, Michael, but I’m not even in Chicago.”
“I know. You mentioned on your profile that you were in Georgia.”
Oh shit.
“Optimist that I am, I checked out a local place called The Pitted Pig. Do you know it?”
The gummy worms Seth had eaten earlier must have animated, causing squirmy sensations deep in his belly. “The Pitted Pig? Where are you?”
“I’m in Possum Kingdom. Come and get me before the natives get restless.”
Seth staggered and nearly fell onto the settee, wondering if possums were immune to nervous breakdowns.
THEbarbeque wasn’t nearly as tasty without Dustin’s company. Seth sat across the table from a man he might have loved once upon a time, but try as he might, he couldn’t find any trace of those feelings now in his heart. Head down, hands trembling, Michael brought feelings of pity, nothing more. “I’m sorry he hurt you,” Seth said, hoping Michael didn’t read too much into the words. Any chance for them had come and gone, never to return.
“I have no idea why he even looked me up, told me he wanted me back.”
“Where are you staying now?”
“My things are still in New York. I didn’t know what to do. My family and friends kept asking for wedding details. I needed to get away for a while, so I came here.”
