Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“You know, I heard you swear you were done with relationships, once and for all.”
“I did say that, but only because it was getting exhausting. Aren’t you exhausted, Gin? You’ve been out there trying to find the love of your life for the last three decades, same as me. I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve had our hearts broken, how many relationships have failed over years, how many times we swore we were done with this shit.
“But that’s the thing about Daniel—he gives me hope. I didn’t think I had any left. And I’m happy when we’re together. He makes me feel good, and he makes me think maybe I have it in me to give it a shot, just one more time.”
“Damn it, Mal, now you’ve actually got me rooting for him.” She leaned back in her chair with a sigh. “And hell yes, I’m exhausted. Are you kidding me? Sometimes I think if I have to go on one more first date and have the same boring conversation about my job, and what I do for fun, and what I’m looking for in a partner, I’m going to completely lose it. But hell, if you can scrape together a tiny shred of optimism after all these years, then I guess I can, too.”
I grinned at her. “Maybe you need to find yourself a twenty-something cutie, like I did.”
Ginny rolled her eyes. “Please. What did we just say about being tired? You may have the energy to babysit, but I sure as hell don’t.”
When our lunch arrived, she shifted the topic to complaining about one of her clients, who she was scheduled to meet with that afternoon. She’d shown this guy almost a hundred properties over the last two years, and he’d found fault with every single one of them.
After we finished our main course, I asked, “Do you have time for coffee and dessert?”
“I’d better not. If I’m late, I’ll never hear the end of it.” When her phone buzzed, she muttered, “I swear to god, that better not be him, pre-complaining about something.”
Ginny looked surprised as she read the text message, so I asked, “Is something wrong?”
She raised her index finger to indicate ‘one minute,’ as she placed a call. It turned out she was calling her assistant, and when he answered, she said, “I need you to reschedule my two o’clock appointment. In fact, clear my schedule for the rest of the day.” He asked a question, and she frowned and told him, “Just make up some excuse. You know, like when I asked you to work on a Saturday, and you told me your grandmother died. Again.”
She ended the call and placed her phone face-down on the tabletop as I asked, “What’s going on?”
Ginny chewed her lower lip for a moment before meeting my gaze and telling me, “You know I love you, Mal. I’ve always thought of you like a little brother.”
“I’m two months older than you, and three inches taller.”
“Whatever. My point is, I did something you’re probably going to object to, but you need to know it came from a place of love and concern.”
“What did you do?”
“As you know, I tried to find out what I could about Daniel on my own, but who the hell am I, Columbo?”
“That reference makes you sound like you’re ninety years old.”
She shot me a look. “My point is, I could only do so much, so I decided to hire a professional.”
“A professional what?”
“Detective.”
“Wait. You hired a detective to dig into Daniel’s private affairs?”
“Yes, and it’s a damn good thing I did, because he found something big.”
“What the hell, Ginny!”
“Love and concern, remember?”
“But isn’t that a bit extreme?”
She shrugged. “Maybe, but like I said, I couldn’t do it on my own. And do you remember what you said to me after that first night with him? You said you thought he had a secret, and we needed to find out what it was. Well, I just did that, so you’re welcome.”
I sighed and scrubbed my hands over my face. Then I muttered, “Fine. So, what did the detective find?”
“Daniel didn’t crash that party because he saw a picture of you online, or whatever he told you.” She picked up her phone and tapped the screen. “He knew who you were because he spent the last year dating your son.” She held up the phone to show me a photo, and I took it from her and studied it closely.
It looked like it was taken at a party. Daniel had his arms wrapped around Brad, and he was beaming at the camera. Meanwhile, Brad looked bored. He was raising a drink to his lips as he stared across the room. There was such a mismatch in their emotions that I actually felt bad for Daniel.