Page 99 of Sparks
“Our landlord finally came through?” I asked.
Holly shook her head. “Silas.”
My heart legit shimmied. I couldn’t even respond, which made everyone laugh.
“Right?” Willa asked. “And we tried to pay him but he was like, ‘No. Give me your landlord’s information so I can bill him.’ And we were like, ‘What if he refuses?’ and Silas was all, ‘Don’t worry. He won’t.’ Can you believe that?”
“Wow,” I said. “How is he?”
They all looked around and shrugged.
Holly said, “He seems okay. He hasn’t said anything to anyone about Jacquie or what’s going on with them. Nobody knows.”
I nodded, trying not to feel sad. I was one hundred percent sure they were back together. If I’d been in a different place—if stupid Shawn hadn’t been in the picture—perhaps Silas wouldn’t have gone back to her. Regret was a useless emotion, but I felt it nonetheless.
Rhea grabbed my hand. “Now, tell us everything!”
Two days after I returned, I was back at work, sitting in the crew room with Holly when Silas walked in, full uniform looking crisp, pilot hat under his arm. My pulse went crazy and I had to tell myself to calm the eff down. He caught sight of us and halted one moment as if dealing with indecision, and then came toward us. He sat in the recliner beside me and I held my breath for a second as the scent of him hit me. My eyes fluttered and I blinked away the sensation.
Leaning forward, he looked past me and said, “Holly.” Then at me. “Harlow.”
I had to lean closer to Holly to get out of his cloud of pheromones because my head was spinning.
“Hi,” we both said. My eyes skittered to his hand. No wedding ring. My pulse faltered before sprinting again.
“The, uh, bathroom floor looks amazing,” I said.
A small smile graced his lips. “I’m glad you think so. Reimbursement is on its way.”
“No way!” Holly exclaimed. She and I shared a laugh of shock.
“How was Paris?” he asked me.
A moment of magical peace blanketed me, and I smiled. “It was amazing.”
His eyes roamed my face, taking me in before he grinned. “Good. I went one time, for two nights when I was in the Air Force. We were doing a stint outside of London and had two days of leave. We were only twenty. I barely remember Paris because we drank so much.” He shook his head, but the slight grin stayed in place.
I tried to imagine Silas drunk out of his mind but couldn’t.
“I don’t think I knew you were in the Air Force,” Holly said. I did know that—he’d mentioned it in passing to me—but I’d never heard any stories about it.
“Yep,” he said. “I did four years then met Jacquie. She talked me into getting out. She wanted me to go into restaurant ownership with her dad. By that point I had a taste for flying, though, so there was no way. Maybe she’ll have better luck getting her next man to do what she wants.”
Oh. OH. I glanced at Holly, whose eyes widened a fraction. An awkward pause followed as my brain malfunctioned and I had no idea what to say. I looked back at him and he still wore that tiny grin. I tried to detect bitterness or sadness but he just seemed resolved.
“Anyway,” he said. “I need to go back to Paris and see it though sober eyes. I liked your pictures.”
“Oh, you saw them?” My heart expanded.
“Well, I heard from the girls you were there, and I was curious. Your account is completely open to the public and unprotected, by the way.”
“I leave it that way for all my stalkers,” I told him.
That made him laugh and shake his head.
“How are things with you?” I asked, dying of curiosity. “I know you took a few days off.”
“I did, yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I jumped on the first flight back to L.A. with Jacquie, packed up all of my belongings, and took the two of us to the doctor to get checked for STDs.” Holly and I froze, wide-eyed. He gave a tight grin. “We’re clean, despite her best efforts. Then I said good-bye to all of my friends. Went to a concert with them. Had dinner with my parents and brother.”
