Starfire (Peaches Monroe #3)(74)
Author: Mimi Strong

“Yeah, f**k Mondays,” I said. “You didn’t text me back today. How did the soft opening go? I had a look at the sales numbers, and they were good. We can afford to have two people working on the weekends, at least. Were you run off your feet?”

“Keeping busy was good. I didn’t have to think about you, off doing things with Dalton Deangelo.”

The memory of sex in the canoe and then getting dumped into the lake brought a smile to my lips. Yes, I had done things.

“How is Golden?” I asked.

“Never you mind.”

“Did you sleep with her? Because it’s okay if you did.”

“And I suppose that answers my unspoken question about what you got up to over the weekend.”

“You know, Dalton and I are getting married on Saturday.”

“Am I invited?”

“Would you come?”

“If you wanted me to.”

“Adrian, stop being so perfect. You’re too good. You deserve better, and I’ve done nothing but dick you around and hurt you.”

Cujo began to howl again.

“And I hurt Cujo,” I added. “When I think about what happened in the woods…”

“Stop being so hard on yourself.”

“Why? What makes me so great? I’m a college dropout with a dead-end job, or maybe no job. If you haven’t noticed, I go around shooting my big mouth off at people without a second thought to their feelings. I already act like one of those people with a reality TV show, so can you imagine what a monster fame will make me?”

“You’re scared.”

“Duh. Two points for Adrian.”

Cujo barked twice.

“Three points,” I said.

Cujo barked three times.

“Fuck me, Adrian, your dog can count!”

Adrian started to laugh, still facing ahead at the road as he drove into the parking lot for the park with the duck pond. He laughed harder once we parked, squeezing the top of his nose between his eyes with his fingertips.

Was he messing with my head?

“Cujo,” I said. “Count to three points.”

WOOF WOOF WOOF!

Adrian wiped his eyes. “I forgot about that trick. He can only count to three. He’s not a genius, but he is a very smart dog.”

“Cujo, two points.”

WOOF WOOF.

Tail wagging, he tried to come up into the front seat, but the cone around his neck got caught on the headrest and he got stuck, which only made us laugh harder.

We opened our doors and I let him out of the back seat.

He sat patiently, his gaze darting back and forth between me and Adrian for permission, the white spots above his eyes looking like reverse-eyebrows.

“Go get the ducks,” Adrian said, nodding toward the pond.

Cujo bounded off, a beast made of nothing but fur and pure joy.

If only human lives could be as simple as dog lives.

Adrian reached for my hand. “Let’s walk. We’ll do one circuit around the pond, then get some dinner.”

I pulled back my hand and slipped it in my pocket.

He nodded, his knowing expression breaking my heart.

Just a gesture, and two hearts shear.

He knew this was the end for us.

After a moment, he said, “Let’s at least have our walk around the pond. We’re already here.”

“Sure.” I started walking, my hands still in my pockets. We brushed elbows as he joined at my side.

Twenty minutes later, we were at the one-third marker when Adrian spoke.

“I’ll work at the store through the Christmas season, then I’ll probably be on my way in the new year. I’ll head off to a new city and get a fresh start. Have you ever been to Chicago?”

“Is that the Windy City? No, I’ve never been there. I’ve hardly been anywhere.”

“I’m sure you’ll go to lots of places.”

“All the places I read about in books. Not Narnia, though, obviously. Or Hogwarts.”

Adrian kicked a pebble off the path. “I feel like I’ve been to the moon. In my head, I know I haven’t, but my heart tells me otherwise. When I see those photos from space, I always think, I’ve been there.”

“Because you’ve been alone, and you’ve been lonely.”

“I know you don’t believe me, but I’m quite sure I’ve actually been there. I’ve walked on the moon.”

“You’ll find someone,” I said.

“She won’t be like you.”

“I hope not. That would be a disaster. You’d fight over every little thing.”

“Couples argue because they’re afraid of losing control. When I fall in love again, I’m going to surrender.”

The corner of my lip twitched. Surrender? So many great jokes came to mind, involving whips and chains and leather accessories.

I didn’t say a word, though, and soon the only sounds were our feet on the path and the ducks quacking at Cujo, who’d tired of the chase and lay on the shore, content with watching.

CHAPTER 35

Tuesday.

Four more sleeps until my wedding.

I tried to get to work at the bookstore early, but Laura got there even earlier.*

*Actually, I was late again.

We finished stocking shelves throughout the morning, and I covered the store while she went for lunch.

I looked around for more things to keep us busy, but everything was done. All we had to do was help customers.

When Laura returned from lunch, I disappeared into the new office we had at the bigger location. I closed the door, and called Gordon Oliver Junior.

And then I resigned.

He was disappointed to hear I was leaving, but offered to write me a letter of recommendation.

“I feel bad,” I said. “I’ve been so distracted lately, I probably haven’t been a good employee at all.”

“Peaches, on your worst day, you’re more fun to be around than most people on their best day.”

I laughed. “Fun?”

“At the end of the day, we all want to be with someone who’s fun. The customers love you because you care, and you’re honest. The store has an excellent reputation in town, and it’s because of you.”

“Gordon, don’t make me cry.”

“You don’t have to stay for the full two weeks of your notice,” he said. “That’s more of a professional courtesy for when nobody’s been hired yet. We do have Laura and Adrian, plus Amy wants to come back and work a few shifts after school and weekends.”

“I guess everything will carry on just fine without me,” I said, my voice thin and betraying my hurt feelings—silly as they were.