Page 77 of Man Hands
Also, bacon-wrapped scallopsaredivine. I pull my notebook out of my bag and add “Wrapped and Stuffed Things” to my Top Ten List inprogress.
There is a montage of Tom and his guys demolishing stuff. Walls come down. Windows are added. There’s a big deck outside with killer views. It’s romantic. When I see him standing alone at the railing, looking out at the mountains, he lookslonely.
During the commercial break, I let Ash introduce me to some of Braht’s friends. They have names like Buck and Chandler. One of them is a VanHeimlich, and I study him to see if I can tell he’s abillionaire.
Nope. Just another preppy with an expensive watch. They all look aliketome.
I drink more champagne. Sneaking my phone out of my bag, I check the screen. It’s blank. Tom still hasn’t called ortexted.
But, hey. I knew this would eventually happen. He just got his career back, and so did I. This was the plan all along, right? The newer, more confident Brynn can handle this disappointment, even if Tom was really veryspecial.
I’m done pining for men who don’t want me. New Brynn doesn’tdothat.
New Brynn does, however, keep the fancy bar’s remote control in her purse. Just in case they feel like cutting off my TV privileges. And as soon as Ash allows me, I retreat to my bar stool for another hitofTom.
Everyone has celebrity crushes, right? I’m not beingobsessive.
Tom installs a ridiculous hot tub on the deck. Shamu’s tank is smaller than this eyesore. Tom actually rolls his eyes at it. I don’t even need the sound track to hear hisdisdain.
One of Tom’s buddies sticks his head out of the door and beckons. His face is grim, and I sit up straight, wondering what’s gonewrong.
When the camera cuts to a smirking Chandra, I almost drop my champagneglass.
“Uh-oh,” Sadie says from over myshoulder.
I watch while Tom greets Chandra. I can’t hear what’s said. But he kisses her on the cheek and thenwalksaway.
“It’s only a cheek kiss,” Sadie points out. “And, analyzing his body language, that was a reluctant cheek kiss,anyway.”
The show cuts to acommercial.
Feeling a little lightheaded, I turn around and survey the crowd. There’s a bocce game going on, two competitors in penny loafers are tossing their ballstogether.
Theirbocceballs. Because even though this is a great party, it’s not that kind ofparty.
I think about the last party my friends dragged me to—when my ex had walked in and I’d lost my marbles. Good thing, too. Because that’s how I’dmetTom.
But my life doesn’t need a repeat. There’s no boathouse, for starters. More to the point, there’s no Tom. I scan the crowd and find that I’m surrounded by a sea of people who like to golf. None of them know how to handle a nail gun. I can just tell. Some of these men get manicures more frequently thanIdo.
“What are you looking for?” Sadie asks the question cautiously, the way you speak to someone who might notbeokay.
“Tom,” I sigh. “I’m looking for Tom. I… I think I’m in lovewithhim.”
“Uh-oh!” Ash says, swooping in. “Here. Do a shot.” She waves at one of the bartenders. “We have a tequila emergencyoverhere!”
“No we don’t,” I say firmly. My eyes travel back to the TV screen. I see Tom on a bed of some kind, and my heart flops over like one of my mother’s Jell-O molds. Chandra sits down beside him. They’retouching!
I let out a tiny shriek ofdismay.
“Salt, tequila, then lime,” Ash recites with the same urgency a fireman uses to say stop, drop,androll.
But no. Hold your tequila and don’t pull the pin on your fire extinguishers. Because even though I can’t hear the program, I know what endings look like. I’ve had endings, and they look like Tom and Chandra on that screen. He’s saying something nice, and she’s lookingwistful.
Then she gets up andwalksaway.
“Yeah!” All three of us throw our arms in the air and cheer. Heads turn as preppies look over to see if maybe there’s a baseball game on. But it’s just Tom on the screen, getting up to check some tilegrout.
“He’s mine,” I say out loud. Then I say it again because apparently once wasn’t creepy enough. “MINE.” Then, “I’m doing this. I’m going after him, even though he hasn’t texted me back. Even though his plane was supposed to land an hour ago, and I haven’t heard a word.” The thing is, Tom loves me too. I can feel it in my belly, right near the bacon-wrappedscallops.
