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She narrowed her eyes at me.
“Fine. I’m kind of into that type. Sometimes.”
We both glanced at the door. Right on cue, some girls in matching cropped tee shirts came in.
“Still heading out?” she asked.
Even the promise of pretty girls looking to blow off steam wasn’t doing it for me tonight. I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to stay here. I didn’t know what I wanted anymore.
“Yeah. I think so,” I told her.
But that all changed when the front door to Rook’s burst open and a familiar face rolled in. Zoe. She looked cute as hell, but totally out of place in fitted, dark blue nurses’ scrubs, her hair in two French braids, and glasses on. She still had on her ID badge from the county hospital as she marched up to the bar, sat down, and slammed down her credit card.
“Double vodka cranberry,” she said.
She didn’t see me. She was a woman on a mission and that mission was to get hammered.
Maya handed her the drink. “Close it out or…”
“Keep it open. Maybe just make a second to have on deck. I’m going to be here for a while,” Zoe told her. “It’s been a night.”
I couldn’t explain it, but suddenly, I knew where I wanted to be tonight. I turned my barstool around to face Zoe, seeing that she had already pounced on her cocktail and had downed half of it.
“Hi there,” I said with a cheeky wave. “You look like—”
“I look like a woman drinking off a fucking horrible day. So join me or shut up,” she snapped.
I made eye contact with Maya and winked. Our code. She poured me a ginger ale and slid it over to me.
“What’s going on?” I asked Zoe.
“Why do you care? You don’t want to know about my life.”
“I’m sorry I said it like that the other night. I…”
“Said it like what?” she spat out. “You just told the truth. I was yammering on about my kid and my ex and myaggressively mid-thirtiesproblems. You want to go on with your young, hot guy life and your young, hot guy problems.”
I tried not to focus on the fact that she’d called mehottwice in under five seconds. Instead, I sipped my ginger ale and put on my most charming, soothing,slow down before you do something you’ll regretvoice.
“Try me,” I told her. “I promise my young, hot guy mind can handle it.”
She finished drink number one and reached for her backup. She started to calm down a little but, I noticed that her eyes were a puffy and red. Her makeup was smeared. She’d been crying. “You really want to know?”
If I was being honest, I wasn’t sure.
“It’s cool,” she said. “It’s a lot.”
“Lay it on me.”
She rolled her eyes.
“No, I mean it,” I said, sincerely. “I can try.”
Five
Zoe
After the meeting with Mrs. Tupper, I arrived at Desmond’s house and let myself in, greeted by the smell of Desmond’s cooking. It smelled good. Familiar. When Desmond was trying impress me, he’d pull out all the stops with the fancy French dishes and the cream sauces and the wine.
