“A childhood...friend?”
“You don’t sound too sure about that.”
“I’m not sure I like her. I don’t think she likes me, either. She always makes little digs at me. ‘I’m seeing the most incredible man. I guess you haven’t found anyone yet. I’ve been promoted at work again. Are you still doing research in that dark little lab of yours? Don’t worry, you’ll change careers when you get up the courage.’ It makes me want to spill something on one of those thousand-dollar handbags she carries around.”
“If you don’t like her, then why do you see her?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s completely irrational, isn’t it? But we grew up together. We attended the same private school. We took violin lessons together. We even have horses stabled at the same barn.”
“Horses?”
“Yeah. My guy is old and overweight and his name is Seymour, and hers is this exquisite Arabian who wins prizes for his beauty.”
“What’s his name?”
“Adonis.”
He shook his head. “Sounds pretentious.”
“It is and he is! He’s a mean horse. I bet he makes little catty remarks about the other horses behind their backs. My boy is sweet as pie. Beauty and speed aren’t everything in a racehorse.” She looked up at Elias, realizing that she was having a longer conversation with him than she’d had with any man that wasn’t about science for the first time in years. And he actually seemed interested in what she had to say. Most of her conversations with the opposite sex were purely intellectual, about topics that most people without PhDs couldn’t follow. And at times, they bored the heck out of her. Sometimes those men even asked her out, and rationally those men should have been stimulating to talk to. But this handsome stranger with a broken hand made her feel more comfortable than anyone else ever had. “Why are you letting me ramble on like this?”
“I don’t know. We’re the only two people in this bar. It seemed like we should meet.”
* * *
Elias was being truthful when he told Cricket he didn’t know why he was having this conversation with her. He had been feeling restless since he had been banned from the hospital. Staying in Miami, being around all the sights and smells, knowing that people were being gravely injured every minute, all over the city, and he could do nothing about it, was making him nearly jump from his skin. So he had escaped to Hideaway Island, home of his brother and twin sister. They had been supportive when he told them that he was going to be out of work for some time as he healed, both offering their homes for him to recuperate in, but he couldn’t be around them, either.
They were both married. Carlos had a daughter. His twin was still a newlywed and so ridiculously in love with her husband it sometimes made Elias’s stomach churn. They were all happy and settled, and Elias felt very out of place with them.
He was the only one of his siblings who was single. He didn’t want to get married. In fact, he planned to remain single for years, but when he was with Carlos, he felt...unsettled. Like he was missing out on something. So he had escaped his sister’s house and come to the nearby restaurant for a change of scenery.
He had immediately noticed Cricket when she walked into the bar. She was much different from the women he encountered in Miami who lived in slinky dresses with lots of exposed skin. They were overtly sexy.
Cricket was sexy, too. Oddly sexy, in a way that discomfited him. She was not his type at all, but when she walked into the bar that night, his senses went on high alert. He took in everything about her. She wore a short pretty sundress with a bold graphic floral print. Her legs were by no means long, but they were beautiful and thick—the kind of leg that a man liked to slide his hand up and down in bed. Her hair was in loose, almost fluffy curls. It wasn’t a modern style. Hell, it wasn’t classic or chic or anything, but it suited her. She looked perfectly sweet, with wide innocent eyes and beautiful full lips.
And he had been sitting with her for the past ten minutes, unable to pull himself away.
“Is there any particular reason you are meeting this woman you don’t like here tonight?”
Cricket shrugged. “She asked to see me. It’s been a while. Said we need to do some catching up. She’s probably feeling a bit low about herself and would like to take a few jabs at me to boost her confidence.”
“Why do you let her do that to you?”
“She must not be very confident if she has to tear me down to pull herself up. In an odd way, it makes me feel better. If someone that physically perfect has doubts about themselves, then I realize that I’m not so different.”
“Everyone feels shitty about themselves sometimes.”
“And that applies to you, too?”
“Of course.” He nodded.
“Not about your looks. I wouldn’t believe someone who looks like you would.”
“Are you flirting with me?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Am I? I never tried before. I didn’t think I knew how!”
He grinned at her again. He was doing that a lot tonight. He felt a little bit like an idiot, but it felt good. He needed any reason to feel good lately. Without the hospital he was feeling lost, empty. For the first time in his life he was idle, and he sure as hell didn’t like it. “If you weren’t flirting, what do you call it?”
“Being honest.” She took a long sip of her drink. “Maybe it’s this stuff that’s making me extra honest this evening.” They both heard the sound of heels clicking on the floor in the distance, and Elias knew that his conversation with this quirky woman was about to come to an end.
“I’ll leave you to enjoy your friend. It was nice speaking to you, Cricket.”
“I enjoyed speaking to you, too, Elias.”
He got up and walked back to his spot at the bar just as a woman rounded the corner. Cricket was right. Her friend was beautiful. She was tall, with caramel-colored skin and light eyes. Her body was toned, her hair long and ruthlessly straight, highlighted with different shades of blond. She was perfectly made-up and perfectly dressed. She was perfectly boring.
“Hey, Bug!” She smiled brightly. “It’s great to see you.”
“Hello, Giselle. How are you?”
“Great! Just great.” She hugged Cricket. “What a cute little dress you’re wearing. I could never pull it off, but you have never been afraid of wearing things you find in the thrift store.”
“I didn’t get this in a thrift store. I got this in a little boutique downtown. The one you’re always talking about.”
“Oh.” She took the seat across from Cricket. “Do they carry your size there? I didn’t think they carried anything over a size ten.”
“They do,” Cricket said, her nostrils flaring a bit.
“Good. You can carry the extra weight so much better than most people I know. I’m glad they have clothes for larger ladies.”
Elias felt his nostrils flaring a bit. He wanted Cricket to tell the woman to go to hell.
“Everyone deserves nice clothing,” Cricket responded cheerfully. “So what’s going on with you? I know there must be something if you wanted to see me.”
“I just wanted to catch up. You are one of my dearest friends.”
“Were you working late? That promotion you got must be keeping you busy. You were nearly a half hour behind schedule. But I know you must have been too busy to text me. Us career girls have to really put our noses to the grindstone to prove we’re just