Page 131 of The Charm of You

“Maybe I am sulking a little bit,” I mutter.

Owen sets his beer down, and his audible gulp cuts between us. “Talk to the love doctor.”

I cock a brow. There’s zero chance this buffoon knows anything about love. He tends to bait and hook more one-night stands than bass I catch fishing in a month.

“How can you possibly call yourself a love doctor?” Cole chimes in, voicing my exact thoughts. “You know less about love than a doorknob, or this half-wit.” He turns to me and says, “I’m the one you want to talk to.”

“He can talk to both of us.” In true Owen fashion, he reaches over the bar and smacks Cole’s shoulder. He had to have been a wrestler in a different life.

“What if I don’t want to talk? And by that, I mean I don’t want to talk,” I clip.

“If you keep holding all those feelings inside, you’re going to burst,” Owen warns. “It’s not healthy.”

“And when you do explode, I’m not cleaning flannel chunks off the ceiling,” Cole jokes.

“We have the answers,” Owen insists. “Think of us as your personal Yodas. Consider us your Mr. Miyagis, or your Thors, or your prime ribs. Good, well-rounded baked potatoes. Wait—what was I saying?”

“If it’ll get you to please shut up, I will talk. Jesus.” I shake my head and check the time. We have an hour until karaoke. Joe and Petey’s exit will be my cue to wrap this shit up.

But as I study Owen’s unusually chipper demeanor, I realize we might need more than an hour. The guy’s extra chummy tonight, and I’m sure there’s a whole story there.

“You were right.” I hold my hand up to shield myself from the obnoxious shine of Cole’s cocky smirk. “Don’t get too arrogant. This is the first and only time you’ll hear me say this, but you were right. My initial distaste for Caroline had a lot more to do with me than it did her.”

“I said that?” The ass hums.

“I summarized, since you’re not much for words,” I say sarcastically.

“So…” Owen leaves a question hanging in the air.

“I’m afraid of her,” I burst, which turns a few heads. Lowering my voice, I tell my nosy friends, “I mean, I’m afraid of us. We’re so different, and let’s face it, she’s completely out of my league. Our two leagues are light-years apart. How could she be happy with me? I’ve been told I’m emotionally unavailable, but the truth is… I’m open with her. Up until last night, I’ve been more open with her than anyone else in my life, and it’s felt… good.” I finish on an inhale. “What am I supposed to do with that?”

Owen blinks, the beer in his bear claw frozen halfway to his mouth. “Those are the most words I’ve ever heard you speak at once.”

“What he means to say is—you don’t sound emotionally unavailable. I think it’s all in your head.” Cole nods and slides away to help a customer.

Which leaves me with Owen and his knowing grin.

“What?” I snap.

“I think I already know the answer to this, but how do you feel about Caroline? Do you wish she wouldn’t have left today? In five years, is she the one you want next to you?”

“You ask a lot of questions.”

He shoots me a glare.

“It’s only been a week.”

That’s the rational part of my brain talking. The other part of me has an entirely different answer for him.

“So? My parents knew they were in love after their first date. They’ve been together for thirty-two years.” Owen lifts his chin with pride.

“Long time.”

“Damn right. They’ve been in a happy, loving marriage all this time because they didn’t let anything stand in their way. Sure, they have their arguments—my dad slept on my couch one night last week when Mom realized he’d eaten the pie she’d made for the church pot luck—but they have fun. They laugh. They’re in love.”

“You might be better at this romance shit than Cole or I thought.” I side-eye him.

He claps. “You said it, and you can’t take it back.”

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