Page 47 of Time To Live Again

I lean into him. “No you won’t.”

“Oh, really. Why is that?” He brushes his knuckles over my burning cheek. By the end of this night, if he doesn’t kiss me—a genuine kiss—I’m going to attack him myself. A lightbulb turns on in my head. Now I know what song I’m going to sing. And he better get the damn point.

“I’m not interested in anyone else,” I say. He cocks an eyebrow. “I must be doing an awful job if you didn’t know that already.”

“Okay, lovebirds. Stop with the whispering and come sit. I’m hungry and need a drink. Since I’m not driving tonight, I can indulge a little, even if I do have to work tomorrow,” Tonya says. Lucky for her, she lives walking distance from this place. “Olive, you need to register the song you’re going to sing. Did you finally make a decision?”

“Yep. It just came to me when I walked into the pub.”

Leo pulls out the chair for me that has my coat resting over the back. I sit and he follows, sliding his chair closer to mine.

“So lay it on me. Which one did you choose?” Leo’s eyes twinkle with interest.

I trace my finger along his jaw. “It’s a surprise. You’re just gonna have to wait. I thought of three songs, but when I arrived, I got inspired. Now how do I sign up?” While Leo tells me what to do, we order drinks and some food. I’m starving, but my stomach is in knots. No alcohol for me tonight.

Several people approach the table to say hello. I’m surprised at how shocked some are to see Leo and even more by the sympathy they express. I don’t understand what’s going on. It’s hard to hear everything with the loud chatter around us, but I catch an older woman saying she’s missed seeing Leo up on stage, and another one asks if he’s blogging again.He used to sing karaoke?Blogging what?He told me he travels for his job. Was that all bullshit? I’m missing something.

What do you expect, Olive? You’ve known him for less than a week.

“Where’s Smokey tonight?” I ask Sully to bring him into the conversation and to distract myself. He’s hardly interacting with anybody. It’s no surprise, given that he’s sitting with his arms crossed and has a resting dick face. Can you say that for a guy? Either way, his demeanor screams unapproachable. Still, his presence here tonight seems to be a big deal to his family.

“She’s at home, probably sleeping on my pillow.” I can imagine him strolling through town with a kitten in tow. Women would flock to him.

Time passes quickly as we eat, drink, and chat. I submitted my form for the song I want to sing. No one else from our group submitted one. I guess I’m the only one embarrassing themselves tonight.

“Is your mom coming?” I ask.

“She said she’d try.” Tonya rolls her eyes. “Ma doesn’t go out much. We try to encourage her to do things outside the hotel, but she rarely does.”

“Same with my mom. They should meet since they’re both widowers and loners.”

“Well, maybe Ma would be up for that. I told her this should be her year to do something different. Let’s see what her life looks like in December,” Leo adds.

I rest my chin on my hand. “My life better be a lot more interesting by then. I’ll hate myself if I fall back into my usual boring routine when I get back home.”

“I won’t let you,” Leo says close to my ear, making me shiver.

“Oh yeah? Want to be my accountability person or whatever they call it? Call me every day to keep me on track?”

“Sure,” he simply offers. “I’m gonna talk to you every day anyway. It won’t change after you leave.” His blatant honesty and determination have now been added to the long list of things I find so damn attractive about him.

“And what can I do for you, then?”

His honey gaze locks on mine with sincerity. “That’s simple. Stay in my life.” My heart swells to the point I think it’s going to pop.

“Hey, Sully,” a guy slurs, bursting our bubble. He acknowledges Tonya and Leo with a lift of his chin, then grasps Sully’s shoulder. “How’s it going? I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Other than shoving his hand off his shoulder, Sully doesn’t respond. The tension in the air, however, thickens by the second.

“Oh, that’s right. Your fiancée dumped you for your business partner. That shit hurts, doesn’t it? It’s funny how what goes around comes around. Been there done that, haven’t we? Or should I say you?” Sully’s stone face turns crimson, and his jaw clenches.

Engaged?That’s why Sully’s miserable. And he had a business, or still does. Leo mentioned he was between jobs.

Tonya gasps and Leo stands, his chair almost falling backward. Sully lifts his hand to stop Leo from doing something he’ll probably regret. Leo sits back down and takes a pull of his beer. I rest my hand on his thigh, and he surprises me by placing his hand on mine and giving it a subtle squeeze.

The troublemaker mutters something else and grabs Sully’s shoulder again. Sully pushes him back hard enough to make his point. The asshole straightens his shirt, then staggers away with a drunken smirk. Grade A asshole. Tonya reaches out to Sully. He dodges her hand. Then swigs his beer, his face revealing nothing.

Leo must see my concern. “An enemy from high school. Total dick. He’s always accused Sully of stealing his high school girlfriend. Never happened. Talk about living in the past.”

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