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“Of course. That’s not what I meant.” She studies me for a moment. “Can we meet for dinner later?”
I take a minute. “Um…I have a thing. At the rec center. A demo with Rosie.” I really do but it comes out sounding like a lie.
“Oh, okay. Tomorrow then?”
I nod. “Maybe. I’ll call you.”
A frown turns down the corners of her mouth. “Okay. Um, well, I should go.”
I venture a look at her and see she’s hurt and confused, which kills me. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
She leaves and I return to the bench. Rosie looks up at me. “I know. I’m a terrible person. I’ll call her tomorrow.” She cocks her head. “I promise.”
I’m still on the bench waiting when Mitch comes down the hall without Allyssa. I expect him to walk on by, but he doesn’t. He comes right up to me, which Rosie doesn’t appreciate. She sits up and growls, and Mitch stops walking.
“Geez, call her off. I just want to talk to you.”
I tell Rosie to lie down. “It was just the way you came up. She can pick up on your aggression. So can I, actually. What do you want?”
He takes another step back from Rosie. “You’re acting foolish, man.”
“Excuse me?”
“Allyssa. You totally just blew her off.”
I shake my head. “No. I didn’t. And why do you care?” He’s right. I did. But I don’t need him telling me so.
“Allyssa is my friend. And sure, I’ve always held out hope someday she’d change her no lawyer policy. But for some reason, she likes you. Don’t tell me you don’t see it. Normally, you two are sickeningly chummy. Today, you’re acting like you barely know her. So, what gives?”
“How is any of this your business?”
“It’s my business because, as I just said, she’s my friend. And she deserves to be treated with respect. Through all your weird banter, there has always been respect. So, what’s going on?”
I give him a polite smile. “Mitch. It’s none of your business. So just walk away.”
He raises his hands and backs up a few steps. “You don’t know what you’re giving up, man.” He turns and walks away and I seriously consider having Rosie attack him from behind. Not a brutal attack. Just a leave-me-alone attack.
He is right, though. I just treated Allyssa poorly. But he is wrong about one thing—I know exactly what I am giving up.
17
Allyssa
Ican’tdecidewhetherto be hurt, confused, or just angry with how Link treated me at the courthouse. He’s never been rude to me. Even if he was in a bad mood about something, he never took it out on me. But this time, I knew he wasn’t in a bad mood about something else. He was acting this way because of what happened between us at the reunion. He’s running scared and handling it really badly.
I decide to be the grown-up in the situation and give him some time and space to figure things out. Which will be hard because I don’t need time. I know exactly what I want. I want him.
I try to stay busy at work and avoid going places where I might run into him, but the Halloween party is in a few days and unless he flakes out on that, I’m bound to see him there. I want this resolved before then. I call Mark and ask him to meet me for lunch. He might know what’s going on in Link’s head.
I’m already at the restaurant when Mark slips into the booth across from me. “Mexican food. This must really be an emergency. Are we drinking margaritas, too?”
“No. I have to go back to work.”
He dipped a chip into the salsa. “So what’s up?”
I’m doubting my decision to call him and try to come up with some other reason for the last minute invite.
He smiles and points at me. “Link.”
