Page 44 of My Song for You
That was exactly how Callie now looked sitting across from me.
For a second I could have sworn she was going to bail without another word. To her credit, she just sat there, in shock. The same way I’d felt when Cameron had phoned me this morning.
At last she whispered, “You know, don’t you?”
“I know enough. We can talk about it tonight.”
She nodded, the movement barely perceptible, and pushed her plate away, the food barely touched.
Logan still seemed oblivious to the tension between us. He finished the last of his fries and smiled at us. “All gone.”
“That’s right, Logan,” Callie said, eyes damp. “All gone.”
Chapter 19
Callie
Shit. Shit. Shit. I might have also thrown in a bonus “fuck” or two while I was at it during my shift. After Logan and Jared had left, I forced myself to ignore the hot mess waiting for me at home, and focused on my job.
The diner door opened, and my mouth dropped open at the sight ofher.She walked in with a man ten years older, who was wearing a suit I was positive cost more than what I made in three months. Tiffany was wearing a red jumpsuit that was practically painted on, her cleavage on display. It looked good on her, a direct contrast to how it would’ve looked on me. Her shiny, perfectly straight black hair swung down her back.
I brushed behind my ear a stray strand of hair that didn’t care to stay put in my ponytail. It must have suffered from an inferiority complex after seeing Tiffany’s silky hair.
Alice greeted them and led them to the booth in my section that Jared and Logan had vacated not that long ago. I bet the seat where Jared had sat was still warm. Though nothing about him had been warm when he left with his son.
I finished delivering the plates to one of my tables and walked over to where Tiffany and the man were seated.
“I’m ready to settle down here,” she told him. “It will make it a lot easier for working with the children’s charity. I want to be more hands-on than I’ve been. Sending them a check once a year just doesn’t do it for me. I need to do more. And I know Jared will be thrilled when I tell him. Part of our problem was that we didn’t live in the same city—” Her words came to a standstill when she realized I was standing next to the table, privy to her conversation.
“Hi, I’m Callie, your waitress today. Would you like something to drink?” Somehow I said it with a level of enthusiasm I didn’t feel.
“I’ll have a sparkling water with a lemon wedge,” Tiffany said.
The man ordered a double espresso.
When I returned with their drinks, they had switched topics. As far as I could tell, it had to do with acting. “Are you ready to order?”
Not surprisingly, Tiffany ordered a plain salad with no dressing, not even on the side. My stomach rumbled at the image in my head of her lettuce-only meal. Even rabbits ate more—but I guess rabbits didn’t pose for the cover ofVogue.
“I wonder what she’s doing here,” Beckie said from behind the counter, her eyes darting briefly toward Tiffany.
Liam, a part-timer who usually worked the evening shift, grabbed a glass and began filling it with Coke from the soda fountain. “Rumor has it she moved to L.A. to focus on her acting career. And rumor also has it she’s hoping to make things more permanent with her ex.”
At the thought of which ex he was referring to, dread skated through me and did a triple axel. Kristi Yamaguchi would’ve been impressed.”You mean Jared Leigh, right?”
Beckie’s jaw dropped open, and for a second all she could do was gape at me. I gave my head a barely there shake. Fortunately, she got the hint and shut her mouth.
“That’s right,” Liam said. “He’s the lucky guy. Why go after a lowly waiter and drama student like me when you could have a rock star?” He smirked and walked off with his order.
“I thoughtyouwere dating Jared,” Beckie said.
“Nope. He was just looking after Logan for the week.”And possibly discovered he was Logan’s father.
Inwardly I groaned and glanced at Tiffany. If she and Jared were getting back together, what did it mean for Logan? Or maybe Jared wasn’t interested in having Logan in his life, because he’d be too busy with his famous girlfriend to have time for a little boy.
As much as I wished the end of my shift stayed away for as long as possible, time was not rooting for me. In fact, I could’ve sworn it picked up speed just to spite me, forcing me to face Jared that much sooner.
On the way home, I took a detour. Little old women with walkers moved faster than I did as I plodded home. I told myself the detour was so I could buy a special dessert for Jared and Logan. A way to say “I love you” without saying the actual words.
