Page 2 of Waiting For A Girl Like You
Leaning forward in his chair, he needed to be closer to her. “Since you know so much about being a middle child, I’m guessing you’re one?”
There it was. That sadness creeping in again. “No. I’m the baby.”
“How many siblings?”
“One sister and one brother.”
“Same as me.” She already mentioned how things with her family were complicated, and he wanted to know more. “Tell me about them.”
“There’s not much to tell.” With a shrug, she avoided his gaze, choosing to stare out the café window instead. “It’s just me and my brother now.”
“Where’s everyone else?”
The question was intrusive, but that mysterious sadness in her wasn’t the only reason he asked it. The fear she radiated was just as loud, clinging to her actions and hiding beneath the melody of her voice.
“My mom died when I was little. I don’t remember much about her,” she said carefully. “Or my sister, really. They both passed away in the same accident.”
He was on the verge of asking more questions, but then she sighed wistfully, the sound coming from a place deep in her heart. He couldn’t help it and openly stared, completely transfixed.
“But I remember our home. It was big and white, with a library, beautiful gardens, and these giant oak trees. I thought I was going to spend forever in that house.”
He would find it. She had obviously loved the place, and come hell or high water, he would rebuild it brick by brick to see her smile like this again. “A library? Are you a big reader?”
“I am, and I like to write,” she replied. “I don’t write stories or anything. I journal. Someone told me once I should write down my feelings when the world felt too big, and once I started, I never stopped.”
“What about your dad?” he asked. “What’s he like?
As swiftly as her happiness came, it melted into nothing once more, the melancholy she seemed to wear like a second skin returning. “My dad died in a boating accident when I was a teenager. We lived on a sailboat for a bit. That was fun—he was fun—and I honestly think he intended to be the best dad for us.”
“It sounds like you loved him very much.”
“I did in the beginning, but he changed and went back to his old ways.”
Now he was getting somewhere.
“Drinking or drugs?”
“Both.” She fiddled with her coffee cup. “Then, on one of his benders, he just went overboard and never came back.”
The oddness of her explanation wasn’t missed, but he didn’t push. Now wasn’t the time.
“So that leaves just me and my brother.”
He took the opening. If the brother was the only one left, he was the complicated one. “What’s he like?”
“A doctor.” She wrinkled her nose. “Toby is a bit of an egomaniac.”
“I know the type.”
“I’m sure you do, but he’s mine, and I have to be the one to deal with him.” Her eyes rolled so high up in her head that he choked on his laughter. “And his girlfriend. She’s an even bigger drama queen.”
“A doctor’s girlfriend, huh?” he mused. “Is she one of those who latches on for the money?”
“You would think, but no. She has her own money and has been chasing after my brother since he was a teenager. Toby hit a growth spurt when he was sixteen and totally changed. All the girls noticed.”
“I mean, it happens.” He smiled sheepishly. “It happened to me when I went into the military.”
Her gaze dropped appreciatively, not missing any detail of his body. “You’re going to have to show me pictures of pre-military you.”
