Page 95 of Hopeless Romantic
“That was before you talked her into going on the school sex trip.” Gray poured himself a cup of tea like a proper grandpa, then plopped down at the end of the circular bench that spanned around the table.
“I’m on a text thread with some of the moms from my parent group, who are chaperoning the ski trip. Hoping for a four-one-one on the situation.”
“It will have to do,” Gray said, moping. “Were there any new posts when you last checked?”
“Nah, but I’m betting she’s got a secret account. One where she posts all the good stuff.”
Paisley did, in fact, have a secret account, which Levi had unintentionally discovered. He did not make a fake profile of a cute boy-bander wannabe to friend her and troll. And he did not tell the dads. At first because he hadn’t had the time, but now because they were talking as if he were no longer in the room.
“Maybe it’s time to cool it with the cyber stalking, give the kid some space,” Levi said, thinking back to what Beckett had said, that what Paisley needed right now was a little freedom to explore. “She’s with over a dozen qualified parent chaperones. Everything’s fine.”
“As if you didn’t just sacrifice your bed for the chance to check in,” Gray accused, while counting his stakes in the game—mostly fives and ones, with the only matching properties in his possession being light blue.
“Oh, that was about a different female. Cute enough to cause a man to throw his best friend overboard for a phone.” Emmitt laughed.
“Ah, the reason he bailed on poker?” Gray held the tea bag by his thumb and pointer, his little pinkie in the air, and steeped his tea. “And we know it wasn’t because you were working. You had a visitor.”
“Who’s cuter than you.”
“She knows you’re leaving in a few months, right?” Gray’s gaze pulled from the game board for a second and met Levi’s. “Are you still leaving?”
“Of course I’m leaving. This trip is already fifteen years late.” But even as he said the words, his heart clinched. He’d considered asking Beck to join him, but that was crazy. They’d only been dating a few weeks, and sharing a sailboat with someone long-term was an even bigger commitment than getting married. There’s nowhere to run on a sailboat. Besides, she couldn’t get away. Not with her responsibilities.
And how fucked-up was that? Levi hadn’t had a spare second to himself in fifteen years, and now that he had the time and freedom to take this dream trip, the only person he wanted to share it with was a woman who didn’t have time or freedom.
“You didn’t sound so sure there,” Gray said.
“Just thinking. I don’t have to leave the first day of summer, you know. I was actually thinking I’d wait until you and Paisley left for Europe in July,” he said to Emmitt. “She’ll need someone to train her how to manage the kayaks and canoe rentals.”
“Do you remember the Shack Girl when we were her age?” Emmitt asked with a shake of his head. “Whose stupid idea was that?”
Levi and Gray both looked at Emmitt, who groaned.
“Right,” Emmitt mumbled. “My beautiful fiancée. What the hell was she thinking?”
“That giving Paisley some space and a summer flirting with boys isn’t the worst thing in the world,” Levi said, spinning the beer in his hand. When both men looked at him as though he’d suggested stripping naked and diving into the cold ocean, he shrugged. “She was just reminding me how we’re all going to have to get used to her growing up and going away. Better to know if she can handle a summer on her own before college starts, isn’t it?”
“Hell.” Emmitt pocketed his phone and took a drink of his beer. “When did this happen? Yesterday she was a feisty five-year-old throwing a tantrum; now she’s leaving for college.College. Christ.”
“Where do you stand on all this?” Levi asked Gray.
“Does it matter?” Gray leaned forward, elbows on knees, and started peeling the beer label. “The first part of the summer, she’ll be working; then she’ll be in Europe. Where the fuck will I be? She’s been my whole life.”
A heavy silence settled over the group, as the conversation took on a serious weight. This talk was a long time coming, but it was the first time Gray had initiated the topic. And by the way he shredded the beer label, there was some anxiety floating beneath the surface. Completely understandable. He’d only lost Michelle a year ago. Now Paisley was spreading her wings.
Levi’s chest ached for his friend.
“You’ve got your work,” Emmitt said. “And if you’d ever look up from your medical files, you’d see a line of ladies wanting to check out Dr. Doable’s stethoscope.”
Gray shook his head. “They’re not Michelle.”
“If there was one thing I learned from Michelle, something she made me promise when you proposed, is don’t wait for Paisley to leave to start rebuilding a life of your own. It’s only going to make everything harder when she goes.”
“I know. I just need a little more time.”
Levi shrugged. “I don’t have to leave this summer. I could wait until Paisley’s off at college. Be around to hang out. Bar can always keep me busy.”
Emmitt laughed. “You’re in such deep shit, man. The funniest part is you don’t even know it. You’re worse off than Gray.”
