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He looked mortified.
Or ready to laugh.
She couldn’t tell which (or which she preferred). Mortification, she decided. After all, why shouldn’t Tom Donalan feel bad for the way he’d dumped her? And a mighty dumping, it had been. But she didn’t want his pity. Or anything else from him, either.
Correction: She did want something from him. She wanted to spend time inside his precious building.
“Oh, relax. It was just a high school romance. I was over you within two weeks.”
He didn’t say anything, not that she expected a response, but it felt even more awkward now than before. So she began to babble, because that’s what she did whenever she got nervous. And it was hard not to be nervous around the guy she had practically begged to take her virginity. She wished she could say this was an exaggeration, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.
Tom, please, just do me.
Had she really said those words to him? Yep. She most certainly had. The Night of The Great Humiliation Part One, as she liked to call it. She wished she could say that over the years the sting had eased some. But it hadn’t.
She kept her eyes on the road ahead and told Tom all about her current life back in Tampa. Her part time job at The Blue Monkey, her roommate Jen and her crazy antics—which elicited a laugh from him and startled her into glancing his way. She was shocked to find that the truck was parked in front of her brother’s house.
How long had they been here?
It was only a ten minute drive but she’d managed to talk non-stop. He, on the other hand, hadn’t gotten in one word. Geez. She’d probably bored him to death.
Only, he didn’t look bored. He looked—
“So what about you? Are you happy?”
He broke eye contact. “Happy enough.”
Allie waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. She’d practically spilled out her entire life for him and all she got in return was two words?
Great! She was happy.
He was happy enough.
They were good. Move along, people, there’s nothing more to see.
“I hate to ask again, but is there any way you can postpone the demolition on the building? Just for one more day?”
“I know you think I’m a dick, and I don’t blame you. But it’s not up to me. We can’t build the new rec center until the old building comes down. There’s a schedule—”
“And a budget, yeah, yeah, I know.” It was like talking to a brick wall. She decided to try another angle. “You must have spent time in the building. Have you ever seen or heard anything strange? Anything that might lead you to think the place might be haunted?”
“There’s no ghost, Allie. Trust me on this.”
Trust him?
Strange as it seemed, on this, she did trust him. At least, she believed that he believed what he was saying. Funny, even after all these years she could still read his expressions. When he said he knew nothing about a ghost, he meant it.
Which meant there was nothing left for her to do but reach into the back seat of his truck and pull out her overnight bag. Tom got out of the vehicle and opened the door for her. Gentlemanly enough, she supposed, but she also had the feeling he was going to try to walk her to the front door.
“I got this,” she said, but he ignored her and kept walking alongside her anyway. There was probably no use in arguing, so Allie let it slide.
The front porch light snapped on, which meant her sister-in-law knew she was here. Knowing Mimi, she was probably peeking out the window as well. Allie tested the door and found it unlocked, but before she could twist the knob, Tom placed his hand over hers, stopping her cold. “Hold on. I want to say something.”
She glanced down at their hands then lifted her gaze to meet his. For the first time tonight he looked nervous. Oh, this was golden. Tom Donalan was about to apologize for breaking her heart. Ha! It’s just a little too late for that, buddy!
“I was really sorry about your grandmother,” he said quietly. “I wanted to come to the funeral. But under the circumstances, I thought it was best I stayed away.”
Allie snatched her hand from his. He was apologizing for missing Buela’s funeral?
