Page 67 of Crazy Imperfect Hearts

“You also seem to have a penchant for pastries, no?”

My eyes snap to hers.

“I told you. I see things. When you’re old like me, with nothing better to do than watch people, you notice differences. Patterns.”

I set my coffee down and lean my elbows on my knees, settling in for what I’m sure is going to be a lecture.

“I’m the last one to argue that people aren’t allowed second chances. My husband is a prime example. He wasn’t exactly the Norman Rockwell poster boy. But I saw the good in him. Saw his potential. And look at us now. But, second chances are one thing. With your… track record… a second chance is miles behind you. And with that track record, I’m not sure you’re capable of making promises. So best you not be makin’ any.” She stands. “You’ve heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?”

I nod.

“It may not be exactly the same. But one of these days, you’re going to find the person who completes you unlike any other. The person you’re sure you can’t live without.” Herpointed stare bores into me. “What’ll you do when you decide she’s the one, but this time you’re the person being left behind?”

“You’ve got it all wrong, Mrs. Gianogi. I know my own faults. I never plan to marry.”

She flashes me a disapproving glare. “You young people think you can get the milk without buying the cow.”

I want to tell her she has no idea what she’s talking about. That if anyone is the cow in this situation, it’s me. That Regan is merely using me as a sperm donor and nothing else. That Regan hasn’t so much as looked at me as anything more than a means to an end.

That this…. whatever we’re in… is completely one-sided.

I pick up my cup and stand. “I’m not looking to get the milk, Mrs. Gianogi. And rest assured, nobody will be getting hurt. I’ve decided I need a change, and I like it here on The Circle, that’s it. So I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Mmm,” she mumbles as I walk in the other direction, crossing the street until I get to my car in the parking lot behind Donovan’s Pub.

I wonder why the change of heart. When she saw me in Regan’s shop a few weeks ago, I could have sworn her intention was to marry us off. I must have read that situation all wrong.

When I reach the Jag, Cooper Calloway is carrying a bag of trash toward the alley twenty feet to my right. I lift my coffee and tip it at him. His face scrunches in thought. “Interesting how your car was parked in that exact same spot last night when I closed.”

“Nice to see you too,” I say and get in.

The people in this town have far too much time on their hands.

~ ~ ~

Me: I’m at the back door. Can you let me in?

I stand out back, my head on a swivel until she lets me in.Thisdoor she locks.

She looks beyond me. “You didn’t park back here, did you? That’s just for business owners.” Then her gaze focuses on my face. “You’re all sweaty.”

“I jogged here.”

“Why?”

“Because there are a lot of nosey people in this town.”

Upstairs, I tell her about Rose and Cooper. “And Ava wanted to give me the third degree this morning when I stopped for coffee.”

“We need to be more careful. And don’t go to Ava’s shop anymore.”

“But she has good coffee.”

“I know she does. Too bad, though. Go somewhere else.”

“You could always come to my place.”

“I don’t have a car. And unlike you, I’m not a runner. Five miles each way—not going to happen.”

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