Page 6 of Just Trouble

“Fix what? It’s been sixteen years.”

“She’s waiting tables, Daph.” He’s outraged by this, which makes me wonder how much exactly was between him and Sylvia. “The owner of the place calls her front-of-house, but she’s waiting tables and that’s what she’s been doing since she left.”

“Her choice,” I venture.

“She could have been married to Mike all this time!”

“Maybe she didn’t want to marry Mike.” I do a good Devil’s Advocate. Perhaps it comes with the territory.

“Or maybe I screwed up everything for them. Does Mike look happy to you? Has he had a relationship since Sylvia left? I’m pretty sure Sylvia’s departure broke Mike’s heart, and maybe it broke hers, too. I was a dick, Daph, and I’m going to own it. Don’t try to make excuses for me.”

“I’m not.”

“Good.” His eyes are blazing.

“Did you plan to mess them up, or was it just collateral damage?”

“No. No! Of course not. They were happy. I was just…”

“Being a dick.”

“That’s it. There was way too much Jägermeister involved in whatever decision I made then. I was angry and feeling provocative and Sylvia had the bad luck to be in my vicinity.” Luke gets up to pace, perhaps sensing that I’m not entirely with him on this. He’s as restless as a tiger.

“How does it make you different from Patrick to meddle in other people’s lives?” I have to ask.

Luke grimaces as he pivots to face me, so intent that he could be an avenging angel.

If he was, I’d give him my soul voluntarily.

“Haven’t you ever made a mistake, Daph?” he demands, an appeal in his tone that I can’t ignore. “Haven’t you ever done anything you wish you could erase completely, or that you could have a do-over and make a different choice?”

“Yes,” I say without hesitation.

He steps closer. “Well, what if youcouldfix it?”

I avert my gaze because I have this weird feeling, like I can have anything I want just for agreeing with him. It clouds my thinking in a big way. I have the urge to make a wish and I know what it would be. Does he? “How is buying five properties from your father going to fix anything?” I ask, knowing my tone is hard.

Luke holds up a finger. “That is the brilliance of the plan, the one I need your help making a reality.”

“I’mnotbuying a bridge in Brooklyn.”

“No, but I’m going to buy a diner,” he says, then points out the window. “Thatone. And you’re going to thank me for doing it.”

I follow his gesture, not understanding. Leon and Dotty’s diner has been closed for ten years. They sold the property to Patrick to fund their retirement to Florida. It’s been sitting there ever since. I’ll guess that even the cockroaches have moved on.

“You’re going to buy a diner?” I repeat.

“Yes. And Una’s house, too. And you’re going to help me.” He smiles and my panties smoulder, right on cue. “Please.”

Luke’s so determined that I wonder if he’s lost more than his friend.

I wonder if he’s lost his mind.

Please.

I’ve lost this battle before he even begins to make his case, and I have to wonder just how smart that is.

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