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Melody, you can’t honestly miss ducks. You’re really losing it now. You need company. And real company. Not Silver Point slow and easy small talk.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled to Katie’s name in my contacts. It had been weeks since we last caught up, not since I had to tell her how much longer I’d be gone. And of course, I had to tell her everything about Derek.
“How are things going with Mr. Firestarter anyway?” she asked.
“Mr. Firestarter?” I snorted.
“Mmm-hmm. That’s what I’ve decided to start calling him. It’s pretty ingenious if you think about it. He’s so hot he starts the fires, and surprise, surprise, he’s the only one who can put them out.”
I laughed harder than I had in a long time. “You’re ridiculous.”
“And you’re not spilling the tea.”
A coy smile spread across my face, which I was certain she could probably hear in my voice through the phone. “Nothing’s going on with us. Not since the last time.” It was a clever lie. She didn’t know when the last time was.
“Melody Hart. I know you well enough to know when you’re lying,” she scolded.
“Okay, fine. Something did happen the other night,” I confessed. She erupted into squeals like a teenager. “Calm down. It’s really nothing major to report. I mean, it was. It washot. Insanely, unbelievably, mind-blowingly hot.”
“So why is this past tense? Why are you not in bed with him right this instant!? That’s what long vacations in the middle of nowhere are for! There’s nothing else to do around there anyway.”
“It’s not a vacation for him,” I groaned. “And anyway, I don’t know. Things are weird. There’s been progress on the house, but no progress between us. Nothing’s happened since. He’s just gone right back into professional Mr. Handyman mode. It’s so confusing. Sure, part of me knew it was nothing more than a fling, but…,” my lips pursed to the side.
I didn’t want to admit to her, and especially not to myself, how badly I wanted it to be more than just a fling.
“Maybe he’s waiting for you to make the next move,” she suggested. I could hear the noise of a crowded bakery in the background and wished more than anything I was there with her, gossiping over coffee.
“No way. I’m not falling for that again,” I huffed. “The last time I made the first move, I was humiliated.”
“But you were rewarded not long after that with dinner, dancing, and incredibly hot sex. Now, this? Come on, Mel. The guy obviously can’t resist you. You know what to do now.”
“No, I don’t,” I laughed. “That’s the thing. I am completely clueless! Evan and I met in college. There were different rules then. I don’t know the first thing about adult dating. Besides, he’s a widower. It’s complicated.”
“And you had your entire life plan derailed by that cheating asshole, Evan. It’s complicated for you too. So what? Everyone’s got baggage. That’s the only thing you really need to know about adult dating.”
I leaned back in my chair, rolling my head back to tilt my face up to the sky. It was gray and overcast, but the bright sun reflecting through the clouds was still enough to force my eyes to squint shut. I hated Evan for putting me in this position. It was supposed to be straightforward for me. I was going to marry my college boyfriend, and everything should have fallen into place from there.
But no. Evan was too tempted by Natasha. He gave up that whole life for a few good times with her. And now she had either moved on to some new guy of the week, or he finally realized what a huge mistake he had made. Maybe both.
“He’s been texting me,” I confessed finally. “And calling. He’s reduced himself to begging now. He’s desperate.”
“Who? Evan!?” she shrieked. The voices in the background faded for a moment, indicating that she had said that loud enough to silence the crowded cafe she was in. “Good. Let him beg. Let him suffer. He deserves it, and you…you deserve to move on to someone better. Like a hot firefighter slash carpenter slash widower.”
“I’m not even staying here after the house is finished,” I reminded her.
“Even better. It’s the perfect rebound.” Her voice grew stern and serious. “Now, you listen to me, Melody. You’re going to get off the phone. You’re going to go to your closet and pick out the sexiest thing you own. I’m talkingrevealingsexy. Pull out all the stops. I expect there to be cleavage and thighs showing. Then you go bat your eyelashes at Mr. Firestarter and flirt your cute little butt off. You hear me? Don’t call me back until you two have done it again.”
“There’s something seriously disturbing about how invested you are in my sex life,” I teased.
“I only want what’s best for you,” she defended. “Now, go.”
The call ended before I could protest anymore. Something about Katie’s plan didn’t feel right. Derek wasn’t like that. I mean, he was a man. He had eyes and urges. But he kept his especially well-hidden. I didn’t think a little cleavage was enough to overcome all the weirdness that had built up between us.
But with the storm rolling in, the internet was even more useless than usual, as in non-existent. And with the rain, a cold front was sweeping through too. It was chilly enough to detour me from walking or biking into town. Besides, I had explored every last shop and cafe I could by now and was running out of things to do outside the house. So the question really was…Did I have anything better to do other than try to seduce Derek again? Or, at the very least, I could try to get to the bottom of whatever he was thinking. And even if I didn’t accomplish any of those things, it was something to do. I had nothing to lose.
I gathered up my dishes from breakfast and tossed them into the sink. After glancing at the clock and realizing Derek and the crew would be there soon, I sent him a text to let him know the front door was unlocked for them, freeing me up to go digging through my wardrobe.
As I stood in front of my open closet, my bed lined with open suitcases as well bursting with clothes, I tried to put myself in Derek’s shoes. What would be the sexiest thing in the world to him?
