Page 6 of Keeping Our Secrets

I didn’t even think about that being a possibility. I didn’t know anything about Alana’s daughter. Hell, I didn’t even know she had one until tonight.

“Maybe I’ll just be conveniently gone for most of the summer,” I laughed. “At least I’ll be returning to uni in the fall.”

“There’s that,” Rick replied as he pushed open the door to enter the pub.

The pub wasn’t packed, but it wasn’t empty either. There were no booths available, so we sat next to each other at the bar. In a way, it was the perfect place to sit because the bartender was right there and drinks were at our fingertips.

Rick elbowed me. “She totally wants you.”

“Not feeling it tonight, man.” It was hard to miss the leggy brunette on the other side of the bar, but lately I had no interest in starting anything with anyone.

“That’s what you’ve been saying for months.”

I shrugged, then took a swig of my beer.

“It’s not like she’s going to suddenly walk in the door and see you. She lives on the other side of the planet,” Darren interjected.

“This has nothing to do with her.”

“Like hell it doesn’t.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Whatever you say, man. I’m gonna go see if she wants to spend some time with the Rickmeister.”

I rolled my eyes. “No woman wants the Rickmeister, especially when he speaks in the third person.”

“The ladies like me just fine,” he replied as he picked up his drink and moved to the end of the bar.

Darren and I watched and waited for the usual response. Rick sat down next to the brunette, whispered in her ear, and was rewarded with a fruity daiquiri shower. The woman was on her feet and had marched away in a huff before he even knew what had happened.

“Looks like we’re ending early,” Darren chuckled.

“Looks like,” I agreed, shaking my head. “Rick’s gotta be Rick.”

“You’d think he’d learn. What do you think he said to her?”

“Who knows?”

We finished our drinks in record time while we waited for Rick to saunter his way back to us.

“Sorry guys,” he said as he approached.

“It was worth the laugh,” Darren responded.

We meandered through the ever-growing crowd and made our way onto the street. We walked a couple blocks before we agreed to take the last transit boat back to our hostel in Greenwich.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

Paris girl:

Hey, how’s London?

I wish I could have been there with you.

School’s almost over!

I lifted the phone to snap a photo for a response. With my eyes glued to the screen, I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. Which was why I didn’t see the drunkard ambling in my direction. Just as I put my thumb on the screen, someone suddenly nudged me in the side, which was when the phone slipped out of my hand.

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