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“Per the dictionary, lonely means without friends or company,” she quips, hiding her pillowy lips behind her cup. “You don’t seem the type to have trouble gainingfriends.Or company.” She slides an appreciative glance myway, her long black lashes fluttering up and down.
I rake my hands through myhair, unsure about her appraisal.“Well, maybe I’m here to find my spark, like youare.” As I steal a quick glance around the coffeeshop, I’d be blind if I didn’t notice all the beautiful women in attendance, including the one in front of me, but none of them compare to Scarlett and never will.
Rowan studies me further and I shift in my seat under herscrutiny. At this point, I believe she’s here to consume my spirit by the way she’s peering into it.
“You’ve already found yourperson.”
My stomach dips. “How do you figure?”God, I need to up my game.
“You’re in love with someone and she or he doesn’t know it, and this is your last-ditch effort to find someone that will workinstead.”
My mouth gapes open. Is she apsychic? I crane my head down to check out my shirt, making sure I didn’t somehow write my feelings in bold ink on my sleeves.
“Knew it. I see this all the time, especially in myfield.Anyway, what do you do?”
Head spinning and thankful she didn’t pry any further, I launch into my favorite subject.
“I own a company with my brother, a sporting facility called Survivalist and Outdoor Sporting or SoS forshort.”
“Ah, so you’re like a Bear Grylls, but here in America?” Interest lights up hereyes.
“My buddy Isaac is more like Bear, but yeah, it’ssimilar.There’s rock-climbing, a gun range, hiking, you nameit.” My legs stretch wide under the table and I ease back in the chair, getting comfortable. Maybe speed dating isn’t too terrible.
“Sounds lovely. I can tell you loveit.” A staff member walks by and snags Rowan’s empty drink to trash it, looking at me to see if I need anything. I shake my head and turn back to Rowan.
“I do. It’s one of the few places I feel normal—useful.Originally a New Yorker.”
Her eyebrows lift and she hugs her chin with her palm. “Far away from home, cowboy.”
“Yeah, long story, but I grew up there and ended up here in good oleMontana.You? What’s your story? You don’t look a day overtwenty-three.”
“Close. Twenty-six. On an assignmenthere.I work in freelance photography and got a gig with the localmagazine.” She points to her bag at her feet, weighed down by a large camera sticking out of the top.
“Photography, huh? If you have some time in your schedule, I might be interested in hiring you for some work around thefacility.My friend takes the pictures for me, but she’s been super swamped with her family and archerytraining.I need to update the website with some of the newer expansions we’vedone.”
Her phone lights up as she taps it with an acrylic nail. “I might takeyouup on that.Thank you, Greyson. It was nice to meet you.Our time’s up, but I wanted to say, you ought to tell whoever it is you’re pining over how youfeel.Life istoo short. Toodles.”
The buzzer blares and I dumbly stand up and head to the next table.My mask must be slipping if a total stranger can read my face thateasily.Scrubbing my hands down my jeans, I take my seat and hide my surprise at the blue-haired female in front ofme.
So it goes, round after round, me making small talk about the summer weather or the continuous road construction to be polite when all I want to do is leave and run around the track to ease the ache in mychest.No one even comes close to generating a semblance of a spark, not one iota, not even the glowing ember of afire.I’m destined to be alone forever and after tonight, that sounds appealing.
I’m too old for this shit.
It’s the second to last table and I’mexhausted.My head hurts, my throat is tired of talking nonsense and I’m plotting how I’m going to get Savy back for this when I plunk down into the chair a little harder than I meantto,gripping the edge of the table to stop myself from tipping itover.
“Greyson?” her voice pierces the noise as I whip my head up to face her, my heart leaping out of my skin insurprise.
