Page 57 of Old Flames

“Love her? We’ve only just met.”

A lie, of course. He knew how he felt about July. It might not work out. They may never know a day of happiness, but it didn’t change how he felt.

“Love takes only an instant,” Sebastien said. “Vetting a partner over a period of months makes sense, but that has nothing to do with love.”

Leo reached for his pack of gum and popped two pieces in his mouth. A family in matching T-shirts approached the stand and ordered three ice-cream cones for the kids, and wandered off, as red as lobsters, to the next stop on their pilgrimage. Leo watched them go, took a breath, and said, “I’m in love with her.”

Sebastien tried to grin at him, but he had a mouth full of shaved ice. “There you go! Was that so hard?”

“Yes, it fucking was.”

“It gets easier.”

When would it get easier? Leo wanted to know. He’d been dogged by this feeling for a decade now. It had wrecked more than one relationship, a cursed bar of silver that doomed every maiden voyage. The worst part was that he couldn’t put stock in the feeling. He’d fallen in love before he had the chance to know her. For years he’d wondered if the feeling were not merely a device of his creation to keep him from committing fully to anyone? He knew now, with startling clarity, that it wasn’t the case, but you couldn’t love someone you couldn’t reach. July had crafted herself as a shadowy figure. Not even her best friend was allowed into her inner world. And there was such turmoil in there. He saw it in her eyes. She could hide a lot, but she couldn’t hide that.

Would she ever feel the same?

“Own your feelings,” Sebastien said. “If you love her, love her to the end. Take a risk. Heartbreak won’t kill you.”

“That’s a load of crap,” Leo said.

“Maybe,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m no expert.”

Matty returned, dragging Alexandre Montclair by the collar of his pink polo shirt. “Look who I found!” he announced.

Sebastien went pale.

“Don’t just stand there, man,” Leo said. “Express yourself!”

“You’ve been here this whole time?” Sebastien asked his long-suffering fiancé.

“My flight doesn’t leave until tomorrow,” Alexandre explained, contrite. “I couldn’t change it. Spring break. Everything’s booked. I meant to stay out of your way, but I bumped into him, and he wouldn’t let me go.”

“At your service,” Matty said, grinning.

Sebastien and Alexandre stepped away to talk under the shade of an awning.

“If they get back together, they’ll only have you to thank,” Leo said.

“I feel like sodding Cupid right now,” Matty said. “Can I buy you a drink?”

“I don’t drink.”

If he wanted to keep Mathis Taylor as a friend, Leo owed him the truth.

“Two waters, then?” Matty said, drawing his wallet, as if he hadn’t grasped the full meaning of Leo’s words, though surely, he had. “I won’t miss this heat when we’re gone.”

The Caribbean eatery was in a converted gas station on a quiet corner. The sunshine-yellow structure with white awnings offered outdoor seating and a convenient take-out window. Though none of these options were available now. According to a sign, Ciel was closed for lunch on Sundays. Dinner service began at five.

“Did they open just for us?” Ayesha asked.

“I pulled some strings,” Daphne said. “Welcome to the family restaurant! The best creole food in Key West!”

“Whose family?” Leo asked, confused.

“Mine,” Daphne replied. “My parents opened it twelve years ago. My brother runs it now. I’m an investor. It’s a family business.”

Leo wasn’t the only one struggling to understand. “Hold up,” Vicky said. “Your family was a short drive away this whole time and we’re only just hearing of it?”