Page 4 of Falling for the Wrong Guy

“Yeah, he was pretty spectacular. I wonder if he’s just passing through,” Isla said. “He looks like someone who trouble follows, so it’s probably for the best.”

Ella laughed. “Where’s your sense of adventure, old woman? A new stranger in town might be just what we need to get through this gloomy season.”

“Not sure if this town needs a new stranger, no matter how good-looking,” I said the last part more to myself. I picked up a cloth to wipe down the counter.

“What happened to your hand?” Isla asked.

“Oh this? Funny you should ask.” The farther I got from the incident, the more comical it became in my mind. “I had a fight with a gull and I lost.” Both my sisters instantly shook off their own problems and came together with looks of concern. It was what I loved about my sisters and one of the main reasons I held onto my sometimes unwanted position of guardian and problem solver. No matter what happened, no matter how many arguments we had, we were always there for each other. We always had each other’s backs—so much so, it often seemed that when one sister was in trouble or sad, the others could sense it without even talking to them.

Isla gently held my fingers, and for a second, my mind shot back to the few moments when the man took hold of my wrist and the worried expression that came with it. “A gull attacked you? Where were you?”

“It’s nothing really, and in the gull’s defense, I was carrying a tuna sandwich, so it was my fault for being so provocatively armed. But the worst part was when?—”

Ella’s phone rang. She glanced at it. “I’ve got to take this. It’s my agent.” She added an eye roll as she walked outside to take the call.

“What was the worst part?” Isla asked. Her phone rang next. She huffed at the intrusion but pulled out her phone anyway. The glowing pink blush and smile assured me Luke was on the other end of the call. She gave me an apologetic grin.

“Go on, answer it. And think about what I said. Otherwise, start looking for a different location.”

“Hey, Luke,” she said as she walked out.

They both held their phones and continued their conversations as they headed back toward the cottage, the small, quirky home with the amazing ocean view we inherited from Nonna.

“And the worst part was when I fell in the water,” I continued to the empty diner. “But that mysterious stranger you were ogling—he helped me out of the water. Of course, it was his gull, but that’s beside the point. Did I mention he was, indeed, devastatingly handsome? The man, not the gull. But don’t worry, I probably won’t come down with pneumonia, and I’ll still have to cook tomorrow, all while running this whole wonderful establishment.” I laughed to myself.

Most of the time, we had each other’s backs.

ChapterFour

Dex

The fog had lifted, and the rays of sunlight helped my mood. I didn’t have the time, or the right, to be selfish or take my own predicament too seriously. I had other people to think about, namely the two people walking out of the green front door to greet me. Max was a big boy of three now, so the baby waddle had been replaced by a much sturdier run. His cheeks, however, were still just as round as the day he was born. He raised his short, stubby arms in the air, causing his Elmo sweatshirt to ride up above his round belly. I leaned down and swept him into my arms. He immediately showed me the plastic dinosaur he had tucked in his chubby fist. He growled to let me know this was not just any dinosaur but a particularly fierce one. I returned a growl, and Max dropped his head back with a belly laugh. He squirmed to get down and continued the growl all the way up to the door.

“He’s been holding that dinosaur for the last two hours, so he could show it to you.” Angie looked pale and tired. Her thick brown hair was in a ponytail, and she was wearing a faded Grateful Dead T-shirt. I hugged her, and she held on for longer than usual.

“Any updates?” I asked.

She shook her head once. “No improvement but also no decline, so I guess that’s something.”

“I plan to visit him once I get that bike up and running.”

“That would be great. It’s hard for me to get there. I’ve got my neighbor, Mary, babysitting while I’m at work, but I don’t have the heart to ask her for more. I can’t afford more either.” We stepped inside, and the expression on Angie’s face turned grim. “Besides, does he even know we’re there? I sometimes find myself talking about the day and telling him about something funny Max did and then I’m ridiculously disappointed when he doesn’t respond. And the incessant, haunting sounds of those monitors.” Angie’s voice broke, and I hugged her again.

“We’ll get him home, Ang. I promise.”

She swiped at a few tears and forced a smile. “How about a sandwich?”

“Peanut butter,” Max called from the front room, where his dinosaur was now doing backflips across the coffee table.

“I’m afraid that’s about all we’ve got,” she said.

“Peanut butter and jelly sounds great. I’m going out to the garage to see what kind of shape the bike is in.”

“I’ll call you when the sandwich is ready. And the toolbox is on the shelf.”

Max raced toward me and grabbed my hand tightly. “I go, too,” he said.

Angie poked her head out of the kitchen. “No, Max, you stay here and help me make the sandwiches.”

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