Page 13 of Broken Dreams
I smile at the ever-kind heart of a three-year-old. “Yes, honey, she can come too.”
Elodie claps her hands together. “Park. Park. We go to the park!”
Devney kisses her cheek. “And tonight, you get to hang out with me, does that sound fun?” She nods quickly, squeezing Devney again. “I love this kid.”
“I do too.”
Devney adjusts her and then moves to the other side of the room. “Now, go upstairs and find something whistle worthy.”
When I come back down, I’m in an eggplant-purple dress that falls right to my knees and has a sweetheart neckline. Ironically, I wore it to the last wedding I went to in Sugarloaf. It’s cute, flirty, and a good medium for a first date. I paired it with my gold heels and clutch.
“So much better. I can see some boob at least.”
I shake my head “All right. I’m going to be late now.” I rush over to Elodie and kiss her cheek. “Be good for Aunt Devney.”
“I will!” she says with a giggle.
I look to Devney, praying she’ll give me some kind of pep talk, but she doesn’t. “Have fun. I’ll be here.”
“That’s it?”
“What did you want, a talk about the birds and the bees and how you shouldn’t put out on the first date?”
I swear to God. “You’re no help.”
She shrugs. “Seriously, Addison, relax and try to at least enjoy yourself.”
I nod, grab my keys, and head out before I can change my mind.
* * *
We’re seated at a table close against the window that has amazing views. For the last thirty minutes, Phil has talked nonstop, and I mean...Non. Stop. I have tried to pay attention, but I can’t take it anymore. So, I’ve been staring out the window, counting planes as they fly by. Summit View restaurant is high up on the back side of Sugarloaf Mountain, and it’s where everyone goes for dates or romantic dinners.
“And then, I found out that my internet was out again, so I spent six hours on the phone with them, getting things fixed. I need internet for my tournament tomorrow,” Phil drones on.
“Of course,” I murmur and count another plane passing the mountain. That makes thirty-eight. It must be a busy night.
The only thing giving me solace is the conversations around me that I can focus on. The table to the left is on their first date. The girl’s voice is extremely high-pitched, making it near impossible to ignore. “Then the girl slammed her hand down.” She mimics the behavior, causing me to jump a little. “I said, oh, no lady, you’re not going to talk to me that way in my gym.”
I smile, and it must be good timing because Phil soldiers on, his face animated as he talks. I try my best to refocus on him, but his voice is like my high school science teacher, and I would fall asleep in each of his classes because his tone was so monotone.
The table behind me is some kind of business dinner. There are two guys, but one has done most of the talking. I hear him mostly because of the Southern accent. It’s lyrical and so much better than Phil.
“I’m sorry, son. I want to invest in your company and all, it sounds great, but we’re a family business. We like to know our people, their families, their friends, and you just ain’t willin’ to give us the information we need. Do you have a wife? A fiancée? Someone to accompany you on these dinners?”
Phil reaches his hand forward, snapping me away from that conversation. “I figured for our second date maybe we could do something else.”
Well that wakes me up. “I’m sorry, I missed what you were saying?”
“I was just saying that since it’s clear our chemistry is off the charts, we should have a second date this Sunday.”
“Oh, well, I don’t know because I have Elodie and work and...you know. I’m not sure about how much time I can devote to dating. You understand how it is with all the time you have to give to your tournaments.”
I hear a laugh from behind me that gets covered up by a cough.
“While I understand that, I think you’re underestimating how much playing video games has helped me through my grief.”
“I completely understand that, and I’m not asking you to stop, but there’s more that I would need as a single mother.”
