“Sometimes, yes,” he told her and wanted to tell her so much more. He missed being able to share his dreams and his worries with someone who really cared about him. He was always on his guard of late, never knowing if what he said would end up in the news, and if it did, it was never an exact quote, but something contorted to fit the story they were after. “Eastyn–”
Snippet: “No?” She slid from her seat. “No.” He reached for her hand, but her twin eyes of fury made him let her go. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “It would be nice to see old friends. It’s been so long.” “In the media, it looked like friends always surrounded you,” she said as if the word friend proved vile. “New friends,” she added. “I thought you forgot all about us little folks back home.” About the book: Eastyn has her soda shop to run and specialty ice creams to create. Only the place is falling apart, and she may have …
“So…you aren’t pining,” he said and hemmed and hawed to say more but then decided what the hell. He might as well find out now. “Does that mean you’re seeing someone?” Please say no. Please say no, he chanted silently to himself.
“You first,” he said since it was the gentlemanly thing to do after all.
“I saw your performance on TV the other night,” she said as she reached for her soda.
“Yeah, which one?”
Her slender shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I’m not sure where it was, but someone had posted it online. I think you were at the Greek. You were really… uh… energetic.”
However, right now he needed to concentrate on his task at hand. A few seconds later he found the culprit that put the sign on the fritz. “There you are,” he murmured when he found the faulty wire. As he worked, the scent of something sweet a buttery wafted on the air, making him wondered what the delectable treat tantalized his senses could be, even his stomach rumbled as if anticipating a sample.
He caught sight of the jukebox in the corner which matched the color scheme to perfection. He thought he heard a record playing a few minutes ago but now it stood quiet. He glanced toward the doorway of the kitchen where Eastyn worked preparing her pastries or whatever she planned for the day. He wished she peek out just so he could see her face again. He hadn’t laid eyes on her for five years, but when he had, his heart slammed into his chest as if he’d suddenly been jolted awake.
How could he have believed the incident would never get back to Eastyn? The paparazzi watched him like a hawk. Of course, they’d get a photo of his tongue down the starlet’s throat, and he didn’t do anything to protect his privacy. It was like being caught proved a mission he couldn’t fail. It’d been a chicken shit way of breaking it off with Eastyn.
Why hadn’t Eastyn laid into him? He deserved it. He had hurt her with his stunt he pulled, kissing a woman he hadn’t even cared about, but he’d been stupid and full of himself. He was high on success and thought he could do whatever he wanted to do without consequences. Only it cost him dearly, didn’t it? He lost his best friend, lover and fiancée all in one fell swoop.
“Oh hell,” he murmured under his breath. He was jumping ahead, wasn’t he? He hadn’t even won the girl back.
When he arrived in town last night, he believed working with his dad would assist him in figuring this all out. Something about a tool in his hand always helped him sort out his thoughts, but he hadn’t expected his dad to send him straight to Eastyn first thing.
He pursed his lips and grabbed another tool. He would ring Sully tonight when he thought everything through. He needed a change is all. He just didn’t know exactly what that entailed. Other than he wanted Eastyn back in his life if she would have him. Lying in his bed last night, he contemplated not going back on the road. If he decided that, what would he do with his life? He couldn’t just hide out in his old room at his parents’ house. He needed a job, but his resume lacked in that department. There weren’t many callings for …
