Page 120 of Look on the Bright Side

“This is a beautiful home,” she said as he came back in.

“Thanks,” he said, not looking at her. “It was built in the twenties. Great craftsmanship back then, you know? It was kind of a pit when I bought it, which is how I could afford it. It’s coming together bit by bit, though.”

“Are you doing it yourself?”

“My dad helps a little, but yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair…a good hand. A big, masculine hand. His tattoo peeked out from under his white T-shirt.

She sat on the couch and set her bag beside her. From upstairs, she could hear a kid laughing, a parent’s voice, more laughter, then the pounding of feet. It made her smile.

“Those are the Grishams,” Dante said, sitting in the chair. “Two kids. They love to run. A lot.” He smiled, his eyes crinkling. “I should’ve put in more insulation.”

“It’s a good sound.”

“Yeah, I think so, too.” He took a sip of water, looking at her. “So what brings you to Quincy, Lark?”

She felt herself blush. “I was in Boston for an oncology lecture, and I thought…I wanted to…you know. Ask you something.” Her face grew hot.

“Fire away.”

She could feel her heartbeat in her throat and wrists. “I was talking to Lorenzo the other day. And he told me…um…well, he told me about Brie, and I was wondering if…you know. If that had anything to do with, um, you kissing me.” Her face blazed.

“Why would Brie have anything to…oh.” He sat back and ran a hand over his face. “Okay, just for the record, you did kiss me first.”

She closed her eyes, grimacing. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” he said easily. “And secondly, no. I wouldn’t do that. I’m not a shitty person.”

“No, of course not. It was just…”

“What did he tell you?”

Lark squeezed her pinkie finger. “That he…never mind. Maybe you guys should talk.”

“No, maybe you should talk, Lark. That was the reason you came here, right? What did he say about Brie?”

She took a breath. “That she made a play for him. That he suspected she wasn’t…well, good enough for you.”

“And did he tell you how he…proved that?”

A sense of dread came over her. “No.”

Dante sat back in his seat. “You should ask your boyfriend for the entire story, Lark.”

“Can you just tell me instead?” she asked. She wished Connery were here. He would definitely lighten the mood.

“I’m not sure you want to know.”

“I do.”

He stared at his hands, clasped loosely together in front of him. “Yeah, okay. You probably should know, since you’re dating him.”

Lark pressed her lips together at the untruth but didn’t say anything.

“So…Brie was—is—very pretty. Lively. Always up for a good time. I loved her, and I wanted to marry her because I’m a dumb fireman who thought that was enough. I brought her home to meet the family, it’s all going great, she likes my sisters, brought wine for my parents. Then Lorenzo pulls up in his asshole car, casually mentions how he bought Mom and Dad their house, practically shows her his tax return. Fine. That’s what he does. We all know him. But for some reason, he doesn’t like her. Tells me she’s gonna break my heart. That she was materialistic and…not nice.”

He stopped for a second and looked out the window, then took a drink of water. “Not what I wanted to hear, obviously. So I told him to mind his own business, whatever. But he was right. Because Brie was a materialistic person without a strong moral compass, and Lorenzo proved this by sleeping with her.”

Lark didn’t move. Her eyes, though, suddenly felt very, very wide. “Say again?”

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