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He doesn’t know about my padded savings account, because he doesn’t know I use that money to secretly help my family and friends. He doesn’t know I ruined his relationship years ago or that I’m still attracted to Jo. He’s just being the good guy he’s become, always putting me first, doing right by his family.
I fit my most reassuring smile on to my stiff face. “I’m good financially. I just like staying busy, but you’ll be happy to hear I told Javier I’m too slammed to help him remodel his bathroom right now. And if I haven’t said it enough, thanks for being a great brother.” I pull him into a one-armed hug and pound his back. “Now go sweep Jolene off her feet with a romantic dinner.”
“Not a hardship.”
I give him a curt nod, then leave the happy couple, more determined than ever to reunite him with the woman he loves.
chaptersix
Callahan
I don’t normally linger with my coffee before work, but I have time to kill. Sleep eluded me last night, so I hit the twenty-four-hour gym earlier than my usual crack-of-dawn time. I pushed through my sets like a man possessed. Muscle strain. Sweat pouring down my back. With another half hour before I have to head to the Elroys’ for my Sunday work, I order a pastry with my coffee.
“You’re never here this early,” Delilah says, grabbing a to-go bag for my cinnamon bun.
“I was up early, and I’ll take the bun on a plate today.”
Her curly hair is tied back with a bright bandanna, and her apron reads,Life’s short. Eat more cupcakes.Her expression, however, reads,nosy meddler. “You also never order a treat or stay to eat in.”
“Do you make a habit of discouraging your customers from buying things?”
“Only when they act like their Bizarro selves.”
“Bizarrowhat?”
She waves me off and takes my money. “It’s a comic book thing. You’re acting like the Anti-Callahan. And”—she smiles at someone behind me—“you’re not the only one. Jolene, what are you doing awake before eleven?”
I swivel, only to find the source of last night’s sleeplessness. Jo jolts at the sight of me, looking like her head never hit the pillow either. I guess her dinner with Jake went late.
My muscles tense and flex, that gym workout clearly pushing me too hard. Jo glances at the door, as though she plans to leave. Then she heaves out a sigh and comes up to the counter.
“I had trouble sleeping,” she tells Delilah. “I’ll take a coffee to go.”
“Or you could sit with Cal since you two are never here at the same time. I actually put that bench seat in because of you guys.” She nods to the cute blue table in the corner. Unlike the other tables, it has one long bench on the far side only. “I always loved that you’d sit side by side as kids, people watching and cracking up. Thought the one-sided bench would encourage others to do the same, but people usually drag extra chairs over.”
That was exactly how we sat at the Broccoli Showdown yesterday. A way to enjoy each other’s company while observing the crowd. Growing up, it was even more fun. We’d add a game to the dynamic, guessing what people were saying at other tables. We’d also go to flea markets and invent stories about the origin of old knickknacks. This morning, I don’t feel like reenacting those fun days.
I debate taking my order to go, but Delilah hands me my plate.
I guess that’s that.
“Meet me over there?” I ask Jo.
She nods, seeming as unenthused about our morning run-in as me. Jake must’ve really worn her out last night.
Decidedly less hungry, I wander over to the bench and pick at my cinnamon bun.
Jolene smiles tentatively and scoots in beside me. “You look exhausted.”
“So do you.”
She balks. “Did you just say I look like shit?”
“Whoa now.” I hold up my hands. “You said the same to me.”
“I’m a woman, Cal. You never tell a woman she looks tired. Did your mother teach you nothing?”
“Aren’t you the girl who told me she wasn’tgirly? Figured you didn’t count.”
