Chapter 7
“Are you going to talk to me about what’s going on?” Mabel asked the following evening as I sat nestled on her couch, a hot toddy in hand.
She’d sworn it soothed whatever ailed. I wasn’t so sure it could soothe a broken heart, but I was willing to humor her.
“Travis just wasn’t who I thought he was.” I sighed.
“In what way?” she pressed as she moved in closer beside me on the couch, taking my hand in hers.
“He didn’t tell his sister or his friends that we were… whatever the hell we were starting to be,” I muttered. “He pretended like he barely knew me. And then I overheard them talking.” I swallowed hard at the memory.
“Heard who talking?”
“Him and his sister. She’d picked up on something between us, despite him obviously not wanting her to. She said he’d be smart to date me. That I was smart and beautiful.”
“As you are,” Mabel put in proudly.
“He just said that I’m quirky,” I said hoarsely.
“Oh honey.” She sighed. “Maybe you misunderstood what he was trying to say.”
I shot her a teary look of incredulity.
“All right, all right. It’s not great,” she agreed. “But I know that man has feelings for you. Real feelings. I saw that within a moment of being around the two of you.”
“Yeah well, now we’ll never know for sure,” I replied, taking a sip of my drink.
“Was it the word or what it means?” she asked gently.
I thought about that for a moment, my finger skating over the rim of my glass. “What hurt most was him not acknowledging that we were dating,” I explained. “The fact that my being quirky was the first thing that came to his mind certainly didn’t help. Hell, I don’t mind having some quirks,” I was quick to add. “But the way he said it—it was like a dismissal. Like it was the reason for him to avoid the topic all together.”
May reached over and took my hand, squeezing once. “You know what I think, honey? You are unique. You’re special. You put your own stamp on things and you can be adorably, lovably quirky. If he doesn’t see that, then it’s his loss. But Emmie, I think he sees that,” she assured me gently.
I offered a sad smile before taking a sip of my drink. “You know you’re my best friend,” I told her sincerely.
“I know.” She smiled. “Now, how about a little half-naked Brad Pitt to cheer you up?”
We both knew it was really for her, but I went along with it anyway. “Sounds good, May.”
When I went back to the cottage later that night, I saw Travis standing on my porch before he saw me. I debated running in the other direction, but figured I’d have to face him sooner or later. He’d texted me more times than I could count, and I hadn’t responded to a single one.
“What do you want, Travis?” I asked with a sigh when he turned to watch me approach. I unlocked the door, walked in, and turned to face him, making it clear he wasn’t welcome to come inside.
“Why haven’t you responded to any of my texts? I came by the other night, too. I was worried,” he began.
I shrugged, eyeing him coolly. “I guess I’m quirky like that.”
He let out a breath. “Well, that answers what you heard,” he muttered, running a hand over his closely shorn hair. “I’m sorry, Em. I fucked that up.”
“Yep,” I agreed succinctly. “Listen, we can be cordial when you come to pick up Hudson. He loves to see you, and I want him to have that. But I’m not interested in carrying on any more of this conversation. I heard more than enough already.” I moved to close the door.
His hand came up to stop the door’s momentum. “Wait, Em.”
“What?” I clipped with frustration.
“The other night? You left too soon. You didn’t hear the part where I said how much I liked that you’re quirky. That you make me laugh. That you’re so different than me but the same in all the ways that count.”
“Yeah well, you still sat across from me all night and basically pretended like you didn’t even know me,” I retorted.
