Page 119 of Better Luck Next Time

“Let me get it. At least I can see it.”

“I take it that’s from your artwork,” Maisie said before taking a sip of her drink.

“Yeah,” Adalia said with a smile. “Now that I’m sculpting again, I seem to be a woman possessed.”

“Huh,” Maisie said. “A lot like Finn and his new consulting company. Now that he has nothing else in his life, he’s put every waking moment into setting it up.” A strange look lit her eyes. “Well, almost every moment.”

She wanted to ask what exactly that meant, but surely Maisie wasn’t talking about another woman. She wouldn’t joke about that. Deciding to shift the conversation completely away from herself, she turned to Blue. “How was your date?” She shot a glance at Maisie. “She met a new guy just before she came here. Just coffee this time. She learned the hard way to save dinner for the ones she likes.”

Maisie grimaced and held up her glass. “Been there, done that. So spill it, Blue. How’d it go?”

Blue rolled her eyes. “It was a disaster. I realize this is Asheville and all, but this guy, Leo, took eccentricity to the nth level. He showed up wearing a tinfoil hat.”

“What?” both women squealed at the same time.

“And it wasn’t to fend off alien gamma rays, or whatever those things are supposed to do. He makes them and sells them on Etsy. As fashion.”

“Sure, he might have them for sale,” Maisie said, “but the real question is if peoplebuythem.”

“Do you have a link?” Adalia asked. “I really need to see this.”

Blue ignored her. “That’s not the worst of it. He said his underwear was made of tinfoil as well. And not just regular tinfoil.Recycledtinfoil.” She gestured to the foil-covered leftovers a couple tables down. “Just think. That could be cradling Leo’s balls in a matter of days.”

“Yikes,” Maisie said with a look of horror. “I really could have gone without that image in my head.”

“Remind me not to use tinfoil in any of my future projects,” Adalia said with a laugh. “I have no idea which pieces may have done the cradling.”

All three women shuddered, then burst out laughing.

“I gave up on online dating a year ago,” Maisie said. “I’ve decided to let it happen the old-fashioned way.” She said it flippantly, but Adalia could see resignation in her gaze instead of the fury and sorrow she’d seen before. Did that mean that Maisie had made peace with the whole River thing? She hoped so, for all of their sakes.

“I’m about to give up,” Blue said. “It’s not like I really need a man. I’d just like to have someone to share my life with. I mean, someone besides Buford, of course.”

Maisie didn’t respond, and Adalia’s heart ached. She didn’tneedFinn. She’d survived just fine without him, but she stillwantedhim. He’d made her life brighter and less lonely.

“We’re a bunch of losers,” Maisie said dryly.

They all laughed at that, then changed the subject to the art show. The conversation meandered while they ate, but it never stopped being comfortable and fun and warm, and Adalia felt like she’d known them for years instead of only a few weeks.

The bill came, and they were all reaching for their wallets when Maisie got a text that made her frown. “I need to head to the shelter. A new dog came in, and I’m at capacity.” She put some cash on the table. “I’ll probably end up bringing her home with me for the night, then look for a foster family in the morning.”

“Do you have trouble finding foster families?” Blue asked.

“Sometimes,” Maisie said absently as she refastened her wallet. “Some people end up keeping the dog, which means they’re no longer available to foster, and others find it so devastating to give up a foster animal they can’t bring themselves to take another.” She glanced over at Adalia. “Like Finn.”

She blinked hard. “What?”

Maisie grimaced. “I placed a corgi with him that had bladder issues, peed everywhere. He complained about her every time I saw him, so I thought he wanted out of the arrangement. I found a permanent home for Kiki. But when I told Finn…” She made a face. “I broke his heart. Sometime toward the end of his month with her, he’d fallen in love, and I hadn’t realized it. But I’d already promised the dog to another family, one with a couple of kids, so we had no choice. He told me he couldn’t foster any more. He couldn’t take the heartbreak.”

Oh, God. Adalia knew she’d made a terrible mistake.

She set her money on the table. “I have to go.”

“But you paid too much,” Blue said. “Don’t you want to wait for your change?”

“No,” she said, picking up her purse and jumping out of her seat. “I have someone I need to see.”

Maisie gave her an incredulous look. “The dog story was what finally did it?”

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