Page 28 of The Hometown Heartbreaker

I almost laughed. “Like, a drink, drink?”

“Yes, liquid in a cup that you bring to your mouth and ingest.” He grinned. “Cupid’s Arrow.”

Dawson had always maintained that Gio had a thing for me, but I’d never believed him. Surely, he was just asking as a friend. Either way, it probably wasn’t the best idea. I had enough going on in my life and didn’t need any more complications.

I opened my mouth to invent an excuse, but my brain sabotaged me. “Yeah,” I agreed. “I could use some alcohol and greasy food.”

“Great. I’m off at eight. I’ll text you.” His pager beeped and he stood as he checked it. “You want me to walk you back up?”

“No, I’m good. Thanks for the coffee, G.”

He gave me a nod and disappeared back inside, leaving me in the sunlight with a caffeine spike and a weird, buoyant sensation that felt suspiciously like something close to hope.

I lingered outside until the wind picked up and the chill crept past the hoodie Dawson had given me, then headed back in. I didn’t want to think about the fact that he remembered how cold I always got, or that I never remembered to bring a sweater. My heart didn’t have the bandwidth to process that information. Those were the things that mattered to me. Not flowers. Not jewelry. Not fancy restaurants. A hoodie because you know I get cold and always forget to bring a sweatshirt after not being with me for twelve years—that’s romantic. Which is why I was absolutely not going to dwell on it.

It shouldn’t surprise me. Dawson’s love language is acts of service. Which, again, I wasn’t going to dwell on, because he doesn’t love me. He cheated on me a dozen years ago, only someone delusional would think that he still had feelings.

Right? Yeah. Right.

The automatic doors whooshed open and I headed back inside. The lobby was busier now, a couple of little kids zoomed past the nurses’ station, one on crutches, chased by a mother who looked two seconds from tears. The world spun on, no matter what.

I stepped into the elevator with a woman pressed into the corner, scrolling through her phone. She wore scrubs, but unlike Nurse Jackie, these looked tailored and expensive, like she’d ordered them in six different colors from some boutique in LA. I recognized her instantly, although it took my brain a beat to connect her to something non-hospital related.

It was the woman from the wedding. The one who’d danced with Dawson, all shiny-haired, honeyed limbs, and endless smile. She pushed off from the wall and began to walk out, but when she saw me, she retreated back into the corner and stayed on.

“Hi,” I said, mostly because I couldn’t not, as I pressed the third-floor button. I didn’t do well in awkward situations. I’d been known to get hives, which Dawson used to tease me about, saying I was literally allergic to being uncomfortable.

“Hey,” she replied. Her voice was deeper than I’d expected, rich and musical. “You’re Buddy’s granddaughter, right?”

“I am, yes.” I nodded. “Sadie.”

“Dr. Chang.” She offered a hand. Her fingers were so slim and delicate, and her nails were perfectly manicured with a gloss finish. She had really great nail beds, which was an odd thing to be jealous of, but I’d always wished I had better nail beds. “You can call me Angie. I’m the attending in the ER. I was on the night your grandfather was admitted.”

“Oh, wow, okay, that’s…” I stumbled over my words because as a side effect of my allergy to awkward situations, small talk had never been a survival skill of mine. “Um, yeah, thank you.”

She smiled, but there was something inscrutable at the corners of her mouth, a tension that I couldn’t quite place. She turned her attention back to her phone. “He’s tough. I just moved here, but everyone says he’s somewhat of a legend in Valentine Bay.”

“Yeah, that’s what he tells me,” I joked with a grin.

Just moved here? I wondered if she and Dawson were serious. Had she moved to Valentine Bay for Dawson? I checked her left hand for a ring but didn’t see one. That didn’t necessarily mean anything. A lot of engaged people, especially in fields where they would have to take their jewelry off and on, opted not to wear their wedding or engagement rings.

Was Dawson engaged? I was kicking myself for not asking him more questions. No, not more questions, any questions about his personal life.

We fell into silence as the elevator climbed. Above the faint hum of the machinery, I could feel Angie watching me, not unkindly, but with a species of curiosity that bordered on appraisal. I wondered what she’d heard about me, if anything. Had Dawson mentioned our history? If he hadn’t, had someone else?

Despite not living in Valentine Bay for over a decade, I was pretty sure the majority of people still knew about me, about us, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe I’d just frozen our relationship in time because I left, and everyone else, Dawson included, has moved on.

“So are you staying out at Lockhart Ranch while you’re in town?” she asked, not looking up from her phone as she scrolled.

“Um, for now⁠—”

The elevator doors opened on my floor as the intercom paged Dr. Chang to the E.R.

I lifted my hand in an awkward wave as I stepped off. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around.”

She was already pressing the down button, not paying me any attention. The doors closed without another word, leaving an odd taste in my mouth for the entire interaction. I walked back to Buddy’s’ room and wondered if Angie had remained on the elevator just to ride it with her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend.

I was so tempted to text Dawson and ask him about her, but I knew it was none of my business. Still, I wanted to know, was it serious? She was a drop-dead gorgeous doctor, he’d be an idiot if it weren’t serious.