Page 113 of Bad Luck Club

Then he said, “Do you love him?”

It felt like a blow to her already shattered chest, but she nodded mutely. Then, realizing his eyes were still on the road, she admitted, “I do.”

“Then you need to find out if he loves you back.” He gave her a knowing look before shifting his attention back to the road. “Although I think I already know the answer. The thing is, Blue, if you love each other, then you owe it to yourselves to talk it out. To try to make it work. Because sometimes you don’t realize how precious someone is until they’ve been taken from you, and by then, it’s much too late to work anything out. Take it from one Bad Lucker to another. The last thing you want to do is be left with questions ofwhat if. Those are the kind of questions that won’t leave a man—or a woman—with any peace. They just hollow you out until you’re left empty inside.”

She wanted to ask him what had happened to him. From her understanding, his wife had died in an accident, although he was making it sound like there’d been some kind of unfinished business between them, maybe an argument. But he’d trusted her enough to tell her this much, something she knew hadn’t been easy for him, and she didn’t want to push. Not when she could see the pain lining his eyes.

So she just said, “Isn’t the point of the club so you can turn your luck around too, Cal? So you and Bear can be happy?”

He smiled as if she’d said something funny. “No, Blue. That’s never been the point for me. It’s about redemption.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Lee decided he was cursed with planes when his 11:00 a.m. flight on Friday morning didn’t take off until nearly two. The events of the night before kept rolling over and over in his head, and he finally realized that Dottie was right. All the way right. He’d been running on the assumption that Blue knew he was meeting with her ex, but he’d never told herwhohe was meeting. Only that he had an interview. He’d pulled out his phone to look over the text he’d sent her from the bar and realized she must have put things together when he’d used Jeremy’s name.

He had to find her and beg for her forgiveness. He also had to be prepared for her to tell him to go to hell. He definitely deserved it.

He didn’t reach his car in the airport parking lot until around 4:30, and he headed straight to her studio, knowing it would likely be closed, but hoping she might have decided to host her five o’clock yoga class and stayed late after it ended. During the two-hour drive, he’d practiced what to say to her, prepared to grovel, just like Dottie had suggested. But when he got there, the studio was locked up tight, with a sign saying it was closed and yoga was canceled until Tuesday morning.

Maybe she’d gone straight home. But then it hit him that he’d been the one to drive her to Charlotte yesterday. They’d agreed she would carpool home with Jack and Maisie, like she’d originally planned, but Jack and Maisie were still in New York. How had she gotten back?

He went back out into his car and texted Adalia.Have you heard from Blue? Did she fly home this morning?

His sister’s response was almost instantaneous.She DID fly home this morning, but why don’t you know this? Why didn’t YOU ask her?

Very good question indeed. Maybe because, after telling the woman you loved—and were in the process of losing—to pack up all her stuff and get out of your hotel room, it didn’t feel right texting her,Hey, when’s your flight home?He needed to see her face-to-face. He needed to beg her for forgiveness.

Woman he loved? The thought was startling, but he was tired of lying to himself. It was time to face some hard truths. He’d shut himself off from love, and it had made him absolutely miserable. If he wanted to be happy, he needed to be more like his mother. Or, Heaven forbid, channel a little bit of Dottie. He needed to seek out love and give it in return.

His phone rang a few seconds later, Adalia’s number popping up on the screen.

“What’s going on?” she demanded as soon as he answered. “Why aren’tyoucalling her?”

“I screwed up, Addy. I really, really hurt her,” he said, his voice breaking as he stared at the brick exterior wall of the building. “I need to make this right.” He paused and his voice broke again. “I can’t lose her.”

“It’s okay, Lee,” she said in a soothing tone. “We’re not going to let that happen, okay?”

It was sweet of her to say it, but she couldn’t possibly assure him of that. Blue had opened his eyes to what was really important in life, but he’d taken too long to catch on. He’d clasped on to the dying promise of what was familiar and the life he’d had, not realizing he already had exactly what he needed.

“I drove straight to her studio, but she’s not here. The sign says it’s closed until Tuesday. Then I realized her ticket was for Monday morning. I was worried she might have gotten stuck in the city with no place to stay. You said she came home this morning…how the hell did she get to Asheville from Charlotte?”

“Take a deep breath,” she said. “She’s okay. I’ve been in contact with her. She got an earlier flight this morning, and someone from the Bad Luck Club was going to pick her up from the airport.”

“Who was it?” he asked, running a hand over his head. “Bear? Was it Harry?”

“I don’t know,” she said with a soft laugh. “But I’m sure she made it back to Asheville just fine. She had a 5:30 flight.”

“Did she get her flight switched or have to buy a new ticket?” he asked, gnawing on his lip. “She could barely afford the round-trip ticket, let alone another one.”

“I don’t know, Lee. It seems like you should be asking her those questions yourself.”

“I have to see her in person, Addy. I’m going to go to her house.”

“Good idea,” she said. “She’s probably at home with Buford.”

He hung up and drove straight to her house. His heart leapt when he saw her car, but it was nearly seven p.m., and the porch light wasn’t on. There was only a dim glow in the house, and he realized it was likely from the one she’d switched on before leaving. Nevertheless, he rushed to the front door, pounding several times.

“She’s not home, handsome,” an elderly woman called out from the house next door. Peering at him more closely, she added, “You should know. She left with you. She was all excited about seeing her friend’s art exhibit.”

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