“Tomorrow, but?—”
“Done. Let’s go to The Grapevine. I’m dying for their stuffed pork chop.”
“Thank you,” I said, venturing a guess. “Jambalaya?”
“Obviously,” Pia teased. She knew the jambalaya from a local favorite New Orleans-themed restaurant, The Big Easy, was one of my favorites. “So what was your standby?”
“A banana and bag of Ruffles.”
Pia laughed. “Nice.”
For some reason, packing my lunch, or in tonight’s case dinner, was one of my least favorite chores. “In my defense, Becca called off. My original plan was to run out for something.”
“Uh huh.” Pia looked skeptical. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. That bracelet you made for me, the one with the turquoise stones?”
“Yeah?” I opened the bag. With no customers, there was no time like the present to dig in. If someone came in, I’d bring my food to the back.
“A couple checked in yesterday and she asked where I got it from. When I told her a friend made it, she asked if you could make her one. She said, and I quote, ‘whatever the cost.’”
Pia knew I only designed jewelry for friends. The idea of starting it as a business, plus long hours at the pharmacy, wasn’t in my immediate plans. A girl could dream though…
“Whatever the cost, huh?” I asked, intrigued. Taking a bite of jambalaya, I groaned at how good it was. Which made me immediately think of… him. “Oh my God,” I said between bites. “How about this one? The hottest guy ever came in this morning.”
“Ooooh, I like it. You weren’t kidding when you said you were ready to move on.”
I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, I’m not going there. But you have to hear this. He was mega hot. Outdoorsy type, brown hair, very well built… even beneath a jacket I could tell.”
“Sounds to me like you’re going there,” Pia hedged.
“I’m not, trust me. The thing is…” I took another bite, unable to help it. I was starving. Finished chewing, I said, “He was probably around thirtyish, and I’m telling you, a ten out of ten.”
“Obviously there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”
“A big one. He was picking up… VitalFlow.”
Pia’s jaw dropped. “Get out?”
“Seriously.”
“Wow. That’s nuts. I didn’t know men could have that problem so young.”
“It’s much more common as men get older, but there are some things that can cause it in younger guys.”
“Such as?”
“Psychological factors, medications, other health conditions. It was just… surprising.”
“I bet. Tourist?”
“I assume. I’ve never seen him before.”
“You’ve been MIA since coming back.”
“True,” I admitted. “But he definitely isn’t from here. That’s not a face you forget. Plus he’s about our age, so I’d know him for sure.”
“Did you talk to him?”
“A little.” I thought back to our brief conversation. Aside from his good looks, and really affable smile, he also had one of the deepest voices of any man I’d ever met. Extremely sexy. “Poor guy.”
