Page 56 of Reuniting with Lucy

“I do trust her. I just…I don’t know. I let my mom get in my head, and I…I…” He plowed a hand through his hair. “What am I gonna do?”

The desperation must have dripped off of him. As a bartender, she probably saw this all the time. “You see a lot of desperate fools in here, huh?” he asked.

“Is that what you are?” She sat back and folded her arms.

He didn’t know what he was. He had a feeling he was letting the best thing that ever happened to him slip through his fingers because he was being an idiot. Did he trust Lucy? Yes. Did he love her? Maybe. Was that enough for her? Probably not. He stared into his drink, swirling the contents.

“I hear Mr. Snuggles likes you,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I suppose. What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Probably nothing.” She shook her head. “I like you, Jack. I really do. I’ve probably handled ninety percent of Lucy’s breakups, and not one guy has ever caught on. The simple fact that you can tell us apart makes me think you’re different. But you’ve broken her heart twice now, and I won’t let it happen again. You need to figure out how you feel and what you want. And you’d better be damn certain you can follow through on anything you offer Lucy. If you make amends only to hurt her again, it will not end well for you.”

“Are you threatening me?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Fuck around and find out,” she said, standing and leaving without another word.

He fought a smile. He liked how fierce Lizzie could be. Especially when it came to protecting her sister. He wanted to protect Lucy too, but right now, he was the one she needed shielding from. That thought stung. He didn’t want to be the cause of any pain or sadness.

He’d only taken one sip of the drink but was done with it. He threw a twenty on the table and left. Lizzie was right. Before talking to Lucy again, he needed to do some soul-searching and figure out what he could offer her.

* * *

“So?” Lucy asked as soon as Lizzie opened the door. “How’d it go?”

“He knew I wasn’t you,” Lizzie said, taking off her coat. “From the second I walked in, from across the room, he could tell us apart.”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible. Not when we’re both blond.”

“That’s what I said. He said I ‘felt’ different.”

“Huh,” Lucy said. “Well, so what happened after that? Did you still talk to him?”

“For a minute. He was there to apologize. Said he overreacted and felt bad.”

“That’s an understatement,” Lucy muttered. “But that’s good, I guess.”

“Yeah. Help me out of this wig, will ya? I gotta go back to work.”

“Sure. Anything else?”

“I told him you didn’t want money and that he could be as involved or not with the baby. He didn’t commit to anything right then.”

“Thank you, Lizzie.”

“You’ll have to face him eventually, you know?”

“I know, I know,” Lucy said. “I’ll be ready. I just need a minute to get over him, and then I’ll be fine.”

“You never got over him from ten years ago, when you barely knew him. How do you plan to get over him now?”

“I’m stronger than I was,” Lucy said. “I have to be strong. For the baby.”

At Lizzie’s dubious look, she continued. “I plan to ask Kate about buying a house. And I’m going to have Adam remodel my remodel plans to put a nursery in the new Drip’s office. That way, I can bring the baby to work with me.”

“Wow. You’ve given this some thought,” Lizzie said.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel stronger. I can do this. I know you’ll be there to help, and so will the rest of the family, but I’m also confident we’ll be fine.” She patted her stomach. “With or without Jack.”

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