Page 42 of The Huckleberry Bookshop

She leaned away to better take him in. Pale. Sweaty. Clearly unwell. “My word, you’ve wrecked yourself.”

“Nope,” he said, carefully rotating his shoulders. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah?”

“Totally.”

“So you don’t need to barf? Want to ralph? Feel the need to hurl? Upchuck? Vomit?”

He hunched over, hands on his knees, inhaling slowly, methodically. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Everyone else is wrong about you. You’re not just mean, you’re cruel.”

She laughed and slipped a hand into the crook of his elbow, her chest pressed against his arm. “Let me take you home,” she said gently, resting her chin on his wide shoulder. The poor man was in no shape to drive himself all the way to the city.

“Yeah.” He hoisted himself up and handed her the fob to his car.

“Why did you binge all of that?”

He didn’t reply.

“To get my attention?” Her tone was soft. “Because it worked. You’ve got me here. Ruined my date and everything.”

He groaned, running a hand through his dark hair. “I’d like to say I’m sorry, but he’s the wrong guy.”

“Yeah? How do you know?” She was more curious than upset. Probably because it had been clear within the first minute or two of meeting Glenn that they weren’t a good match. Friends, maybe. But a love connection? Not quite.

“You need more thrills.”

“Tried it. Didn’t enjoy how it all panned out in the end.”

Chad frowned as he moved to the passenger side. “Lonnie’s not the right kind of guy. Neither is Professor Loves-Beige. You need a man who straddles the line somewhere between the two.”

He wasn’t wrong. She’d swung from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Athena gestured toward the diner. “Want me to grab a bucket or something?”

He shook his head.

“You sure?”

“I’m not puking in front of you. Or in my car.”

“By sheer willpower alone,” she announced in a deep, dramatic tone as she unlocked his gorgeous machine. He really must not be feeling well if he was letting her get behind the wheel of this sensational beast.

She opened the driver-side door, and the scent of Chad’s dreamy aftershave wafted over her. It was going to be a long drive to the city.

“You need more laughs,” Chad said.

“That’s what Meddy and Jenny say.”

“They’re right.”

“Yeah?” She was realizing that with each passing year she was becoming less fun. Without even noticing, she’d been carving it out of her life, bit by bit.

Maybe it really was time to let go a little and see where serendipity took her.

“And where can I find more laughs, Chad?”

“Start with me.” He smiled at her over the Corvette’s roof. “You laugh at me all the time.”

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