Page 14 of Remember Me

“She’s good, huh?”

The question came from my left and I half-turned to see a guy sitting at a table near the window. Even seated he was obviously tall, with brown hair tipped with gold and gray eyes. I studied him, trying to figure out if we knew each other.

“She is,” I finally answered. “Do you know her?”

“Nah. I just happened to be in here.” He pushed the chair across from his out with his foot. “Have a seat.”

“Ah…” I thought about declining and mentally shrugged.Why not?I needed to meet some people. I didn’t remember any of my old acquaintances. “Sure. I’m just going to get a chai.”

I ordered a decaf chai latte and watched him out of the corner of my eye. He had a stack of books spread out around him in a messy pile, and part of me was desperate to organize it. I had noticed that my own bedroom was fiercely ordered, the books on the bookcase in alphabetical order according to author’s last name, everything pin straight and in its place.

I didn’t get a cream puff, although I looked at them longingly. That felt like something for Hayes and me.

I caught him watching me equally covertly, his eyes trailing up and then back down my body. He was totally checking me out, I thought, hiding my smile behind my latte as I walked back to the table and sat down. That would mean that we didn’t know each other, right, because surely, he wouldn’t check out another guy’s fiancé.

Right?

“I don’t want to sound weird,” I began, “although I kind of already do. But do you know me?”

He shifted in his seat. “Should I?”

Relief coursed through me. “No. Sorry. I…have a bad memory for faces. I didn’t want to be rude if we had met and I didn’t remember.” A half-truth, but perfectly acceptable, I decided. I didn’t want to be known as Amnesia Girl.

“Nope. We’ve never met.” He extended a hand, and I took it, noting that it swallowed mine whole. I’d noticed that about Hayes’s hand, too. “I’m Levi.”

“Birdie.” I held up a hand when his lips parted. “Please don’t say it. My mother had a thing for the movieAll About Eve.”

An easy laugh escaped him, and he leaned back in his chair, long legs sprawling in front of him. “Levi’s not much better. So, tell me about Birdie. Something other than the fact that you like tea instead of coffee.” He picked up his own steaming mug and gestured to mine.

“A truly fascinating piece of information.” I contemplated telling him that I actually did like coffee…just not while I was pregnant. It made me want to barf. That revelation would be oversharing with a total stranger, though. “There’s not much to tell.” I took a sip of my tea, feeling the irony of my words. “I graduated from here last year. I’m just back to visit the campus.”

There was an assessing glint in his eyes. “Ah. An older woman. How do you feel about younger men?”

“Meh. They’re so-so.” His mouth opened in mock outrage and I giggled.

It felt good, this light flirtation with a handsome man. For a little while, I didn’t let myself think about being pregnant. Having amnesia. Belonging to a man I didn’t know.

For just this moment in time, I wanted to beme, and me only. The essence of me, minus all the baggage that came with.

We talked instead about safe, shallow topics. Food and our idea of fun. Where we grew up and what we wanted to be. When I grew quiet about things I couldn’t remember, Levi carried the conversation easily. He shifted to music and movies, and if he wondered why all of my favorites were ancient, he was polite enough not to mention it.

Finally, I stood and collected my wallet clutch from where I’d laid it. “I need to head out. It was really nice to meet you, Levi.”

His chair pushed across the floor with a screech as he rose, as well. “Whoa, what’s the big rush?”

I made a point of looking at the time on my phone. “I’m not rushing. I spent longer than I planned in here, thanks to you.” I softened my words with a crooked smile. “Anyway, I wanted to walk the campus for a little while and if I’m going to finish up by dusk I need to get going.”

He grabbed his jacket from his chair and started tossing his books in a satchel on the floor. “Let me walk with you. I’m finished for the day.”

“Oh.” I chewed on the inside corner of my lip. “I feel I need to tell you…I’m kind of with someone right now.” He didn’t reply with anything more than an interested expression. “I didn’t want to give you the wrong impression.”

His chin tipped up, and he slung his bag over his shoulder. “All right, then. You ready?”

I walked through the door when he held it open for me. “I’m confused.”

“Kind ofdoesn’t mean definitely. Until then, I think I like hanging out with you if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, I like hanging out with you, too. It’s just — damnit. I’m going to have to tell you everything, now.”

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