Page 58 of Mr. Flirt

“That message was loud and clear in the first bit of the article.”

“Really?”

Maybe I should read it.

“You said something about things always breaking.”

“What kind of things?”

She was silent for a few seconds and bit her bottom lip. “Cars. Hearts. You made it clear that you didn’t want to break hearts or have yours broken.”

I nodded, steepling my hands. “True.”

It felt like my insides were being squeezed and stretched like an accordion. I was sitting across from a woman who I had the distinct feeling I could fall in love with. Yet, I’d already shown her the side of me I’d worked so hard to preserve. The guy who never settled down and thought life was a joke, and if it wasn’t, it could be made into one.

And nowIfelt like the joke.

I’d screwed myself hard with this turn of events.

She was quiet for a few minutes while she ate. I’d lost my appetite.

When she looked up at me, my heart pinched with the hand I’d been dealt.

Loneliness dug deep at the thought of losing her before I’d even had her.

“Why are you so afraid of things breaking?” she asked, swirling a piece of pasta around her fork and spoon.

Shocked silence bit my tongue, and then out of nowhere, anger spun its evil web. I crinkled the napkin in between my fingers and gritted my teeth as I looked away at the photograph again.

“Is that your mom?” I asked, ignoring her question.

She followed my gaze to the picture and nodded. “Yup. That’s her.”

I brought my eyes back to Lucy. “She looks sad.”

“She is. She always has been.” Lucy drew a breath that made her chest rise and fall with great quickness.

“Are you close?”

“In a way.” She kept her eyes steadied on mine, and a ripple of guilt ran through me.

How could I get angry at Lucy? She didn’t do anything other than point out a grave I’d already dug for myself in the world of relationships.

“Tell me about them,” I said softly.

Lucy shrugged. “My father ran out on us when we were young, and my mom had to do what she thought she had to do in order to take care of us. But she was miserable every step of the way.”

I nodded, realizing how much more we probably had in common than either of us knew. “I remember you mentioning that our first night together.”

“You do?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “When?”

“The night you wanted to choke me to death. You opened up a bit, and I felt like an even worse jerk.”

She laughed, sitting back in her chair. “That’s right. So, like I told you that night, I basically wound up raising my sister, Mae. My life was full of chaos and uncertainty growing up, and the moment I had a say in things, I tried to make life stable for Mae.” A sardonic smile ran across Lucy’s features. “I saw how my mom’s world imploded from going after my dad for financial support. Between legal fees and emotional trauma, I knew I wanted to help people like her. I also knew the people who helped folks like my mom had stable lives, and we didn’t.”

She shrugged and glanced at the family photo.

“I vowed that I would never be dependent on someone else. I crave stability in all its forms.” She flashed a wry smile. “And divorce attorneys don’t run out of clients.”

---