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I smiled. “Oh. I suppose it is.”
He sipped his beer from the bottle. “I think you look more like a Maddie than a Madeline, though.”
I laughed. “I’m glad you didn’t say I looked like a Hooker.”
Milo pointed his eyes to the empty seat next to him. “Join me for a drink?”
“Oh…no. I, uh, just came to give you the money I owe you.” I dug the cash from my purse and extended it to him.
He waved me off. “Use it to buy the next round.”
I supposed one drink couldn’t hurt. My neck was killing me. I didn’t like to fly, and an entire day of waiting at the airport had made me tense, not to mention the stress of not knowing where I was going to sleep tonight. Maybe a drink would help me loosen the knot.
I nodded. “Sure. Why not.”
Milo motioned to the bartender while I settled into the seat next to him.
“Ed. This is my sister, Maddie. Maddie, this is Ed.”
The bartender reached over to shake my hand. “Nice to meet you, Maddie.”
“You, too.”
“What can I get for you?”
“Umm. I’ll take a vodka and cranberry, with lime, please.”
Ed rapped his knuckles against the bar. “Coming right up.” He looked to my left. “You want another Coors Light, Milo?”
“Sure thing. Thanks, Ed.”
I laughed as the bartender walked away. “Is your name really Milo or are you getting into character?”
He shrugged. “I sort of like Milo better. Thought maybe I’d change mine. So I’m trying it on for size.”
I couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not. “Whatever you say.”
“So, Mads, what’s your excuse for not having a hotel room tonight?”
I sighed. “It’s a long story.”
He lifted his shirt sleeve and twisted his arm to look at his watch. “Just what I thought.”
“What?”
He shrugged. “I have plenty of time for a long story.”
I chuckled. “Well, to keep from boring you to death, I’ll give you the abbreviated version anyway.” I paused to think about how to explain and decided not to sugarcoat things. “I’m here on what was supposed to be my destination wedding and honeymoon. My ex-fiancé called off the wedding a couple of months ago. Our tickets and hotel were non-refundable, so I opted to make use of them and get out of town for a few days. Lately he’s started making contact with me again, telling me he’s missed me. So I figured it would be a perfect time to come do some soul searching. But two days into my ten-day trip, I realized it was a bad idea and decided to go home. Only I didn’t check the weather before I checked out this morning. So I wound up sitting in the airport all day, and by the time they canceled my flight and I realized everything in the area was sold out, my hotel had already given my room to someone else.”
Milo’s brows rose. “Whoa. That’s a pretty shitty story.”
I laughed. “Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better.”
“Sorry.” He chuckled.
The bartender brought over my drink. “You want to start a tab?”
“Put hers on my tab, Ed.”
“Oh, no, that’s okay. I’m just going to have this one, so I’ll pay for it.”
“I insist.” He winked at me. “Mom wouldn’t like me letting my little sister pay.”
I placed the forty dollars I owed him in front of him on the bar. “Thank you. At least take the money I owe you for the room.”
Fake Milo nodded. “So what happened?”
Why did I seem to keep getting lost in conversation with this man? “What happened, what?”
“You said your fiancé called off the wedding. Was he always an asshole and you just figured it out now, or is there more to the story?”
“That’s sort of a personal question, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “I’m your brother. You can tell me anything. Plus, I’m thinking I might need to go kick his ass for hurting you—defend my sister’s honor and all.”
I liked Fake Milo. He had a dry sense of humor. But there wasn’t an easy answer as to what had led to the demise of my engagement. Though it looked like the man next to me was waiting for one.
“No need to kick his ass. I actually take part of the blame.”
His eyes widened. “Say what? You take part of the blame for that asshole canceling the wedding?”
“Well, not for how he handled it, but perhaps for what led to it.”
“What could possibly give him an excuse to cancel a wedding? If you’re not sure, you don’t propose.”
How to explain…
“Well, when he first met me, I was a free spirit, fun-loving—the total opposite of him. But you know, opposites attract, right? Even though he was more straight-laced, he was attracted to my wild personality. But over the years, I lost my way. I became…more like him. And I think despite a mutual respect for each other, he woke up one day and realized he needed to step back before he made a lifelong commitment to someone who wasn’t the same person anymore.”
