Page 16 of Make My Heart Malt

Her head shakes in disbelief. “I don’t think you’re giving him a fair chance. He made you cookies that you fed to the neighborhood raccoons. I would swoon if a guy baked me cookies.”

I roll my eyes. “You don’t ghost your best friend for ten years and expect a fair chance. He had ten years’ worth of chances, and you know what he did? Nothing. So, I’m going to do the same.” I fight to keep the bite out of my tone since she doesn’t deserve my wrath.

“I don’t know how you have so much will power to resist him. Garrett Dawson on TV, gorgeous. Garrett Dawson in person disintegrates my panties.” She twists the end of her hair around her finger as she stares wistfully at Garrett.

I hate that she’s not wrong. Garrett’s always been good looking. As a teenager, he always had a boyish charm to him. But now, somehow time has made him even more attractive. My nipples pebble beneath my shirt. Dammit. Traitorous body. I spin around, avoiding both of them. “But he’s still a jackass.”

For the rest of the night, he sits at a table tucked away in the far corner, alone. By one in the morning, the bar has mostly emptied, the faint sound of a melancholic song echoing through the deserted space. Garrett’s still slumped in the corner, in the same spot he’s been all night.

I lean across the bar to where Nora is sweeping under the stools. “Tell him he has to leave.” I nod toward Garrett.

“He’s your friend, you tell him.”

“He’s not my friend.”

“You know him more than I do.”

“Please do this one thing for me.” I link my hands together, on the verge of begging.

“No, he’s your problem and you’re going to deal with him yourself. I have to run to the back.” She takes the broom and saunters to the other side of the bar.

“Ugh. Fine.” I huff. “See if I do you any favors,” I mumble under my breath. I stomp to the corner where Garrett’s seated, each footfall growing louder with every step. Crossing my arms over my chest, I come to a stop when I reach his table. “We’re closing. You need to leave.”

He lifts his head to meet mine. “Let’s talk for five minutes.”

“I have absolutely nothing to say to you.” I refuse to let even a hint of vulnerability escape. He doesn’t deserve it.

“After all these years, you really have nothing to say to me?” His lips tip up in the corner because he knows I have a whole lot I want to say to him, but it’s not worth a single breath.

“I could spend hours, probably days, telling you everything you did to hurt me, but it’s not worth it anymore. I’ve moved on.” Technically, I haven’t moved on. I'll never move on, but I don’t have it in me to hash it out with Garrett.

He rests his elbows on the table and leans in. “So that’s it. Just like that. It’s over?”

“What do you want?” I drop my arms to my sides in defeat. “A parting gift? It’s done, Garrett. I’m done.”

Without saying another word, he rises to his feet, and I retreat a step to give him more room. With one last glanceat me, his green eyes bore into mine. Then he turns on his heel and stomps out the front door.

Once the door slams behind him, I race over and lock it. With a heavy exhale, I finally let my shoulders sag. I expected him to put up a bigger fight than that, since he’s been doing it all night. At least it’s done. Hopefully, I won’t need to see him again until the wedding.

For the next thirty minutes, Nora and I finish cleaning the bar and restocking a few of the coolers. Once we’re finished, I turn off the lights and punch in the security code before leaving.

We’re halfway across the dimly lit parking lot when I catch sight of a dark figure leaning against my car. I reach into my purse and wrap my fingers around a small, plastic case, my thumb hovering over the trigger just in case. They have one ankle crossed over the other, and a baseball cap perched on their head. Immediately, I recognize that it’s Garrett. When I’m several feet away, he lifts his head.

I release my grip on the pepper spray and roll my eyes. I guess I don’t have to wait until the wedding. “Do you make it a habit of leaning against strangers’ cars?”

He pushes off and takes two cautious footsteps toward me. “It was the ‘I Don’t Eat My Homies’ bumper sticker that tipped me off it’s yours and not some stranger’s.”

“Oh yeah. That’s definitely not mine. I like meat,” Nora chimes in.

I glare at Nora before turning my attention back to Garrett. “Go home. I told you I’m done. I want to go home and go to bed.”

“This isn’t done. Me leaving was a shitty thing to do, but please give me five minutes. That’s all I ask.”

I scoff. “It was more than shitty. Plus, five minutes is more than what you deserve.” I open my purse and fish around for the martini glass key chain but I'm missing myphone. Shit. I glance over my shoulder at Nora. “I have to go back inside. I forgot my phone.”

“Do you want me to wait for you?” she asks.

“No.” I wave her off. “It’ll be fine. I’ll only be a couple of minutes. You can go. I’ll be alright.”

---