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Chapter Six
Philomena
Shopping with Lizzy had been a lot of fun. Not only did we hit every shop around, we went into some of them twice. Standing by the SUV I said, “I think we did more walking today than I did on my hike earlier this week.”
Lizzy chuckled. “And we didn’t need to worry about bugs, bears, or any other wild animal leaping out at us.”
“I don’t know about that. Some of the shoppers at the clearance rack seemed really aggressive,” I replied. And I think you were one of them.
Lizzy was so easy to get along with. We laughed so much that today my ribs were sore. It’s how Crystal and I were when we went out too. I hoped Lizzy and I would keep in touch when I went home. Not that I come up north all that much, but maybe I would if I had reasons to.
I would call the adventure perfect, but there was one thing missing. Clark. I don’t know if it was because I wanted to hear it, but his name came up more frequently than I thought it would while I was out with her.
Lizzy seemed to enjoy dropping Clark’s name any chance she could get. It was evident she knew him better than he let on. Clark said they weren’t involved and I believed him. So why was Lizzy talking about him so much?
“You seem to know a lot about Clark,” I prodded before parting ways.
“Not as much as I wish I did,” she sighed.
Shit. Maybe I was wrong to believe him.
Lizzy continued. “I mean if I did, I could share that information with you.”
“With me?” Lizzy nodded, and I added, “Why?”
Lizzy rolled her eyes. “Please. You really need to ask?”
“Apparently so,” I said.
“You like him.” It was a statement, not a question.
“I find him…intriguing,” I replied, not ready to label what I felt. I found him physically extremely attractive, but there was more than that which had me daydreaming about him. He made me laugh, even though I wasn’t sure he was trying to. But Lizzy gave me a lot more to think about. And I know, there’s a lot more to learn about him too.
Not that it matters.I’ll be home and this will just be a memory.
Lizzy smiled. “Never thought about him like that, but then again, some of my names for him aren’t all that nice.”
“That’s funny, because all you’ve done is gush about all his wonderful qualities,” I reminded her.
“Of course. What kind of friend would I be if I told you the truth,” she joked. Then she got a serious expression and added, “Clarks actually, he’s a good guy.”
“But?” I could tell there was something she wanted to say.
“The Heart men are…tough. They keep their feelings to themselves. But from what Joyelle said, when they do fall, they fall hard.”
“Lizzy, Clark and I are just enjoying some time together. Soon, I’ll be back in Florida, and he’ll be in Boston.” And whatever this is will be over.
“Clark has dated a lot of women. I mean, a real lot.”
I don’t want to hear this.
“Which has nothing to do with me,” I stated firmly. Was she trying to warn me off so he couldn’t break my heart? I might be only twenty-four, but I wasn’t so young that I believed Clark and I could have a happily-ever-after.
“True. But what you might not know is he never brought any of them around his family. Not one, except for you,”
I thought about it for a moment and realized that wasn’t as sweet as Lizzy was making it out to be. “He didn’t bring me to meet the family. You guys ran into us at the ice cream shop.” If not for that, I probably wouldn’t have met any of them.
“That’s true, but he could’ve stopped us from all going out.”
