Chapter 4
“What are the chances we’d run into each other in the parking lot of a no-name restaurant after all this time?” Dallas asked, reaching across the table to clasp Eddie’s hand.
“Yeah, exactly what I was wondering,” muttered Gael beneath his breath and loud enough for only Dallas to hear. She chose to ignore him.
“Not so great. I came back for you, Dallas.”
Dallas and Gael sucked in their breath simultaneously. A pin could be heard dropping at their table. Gael recovered first.
“How did you know where to find D.J.? Have you been keeping tabs on her?”
“D.J.?” Eddie asked with a questioning look at her. His confusion cleared, and he shot her a humorless smile. “Ah, yes. Dallas Jane Jennings. Cute nickname.”
“You didn’t answer Gael’s questions, Eddie,” she gently reminded him, unnerved by his sudden appearance despite their past connection.
Gael intertwined his fingers with hers. A show of unity. Why the gesture irritated her, she was loathe to explore. But his actions spoke of staking a claim and other than a few steamy kisses, they couldn’t be labeled an item. Steamy kisses? Her internal self nearly busted a gut laughing. No, calling them steamy was like calling a category five hurricane a gentle breeze. The kisses they’d shared leaned more toward life altering and nuclear meltdown. For that reason alone, she didn’t remove her hand.
For the longest moment, Eddie stared at their joined hands, all expression wiped clean from his face. “You made the news a while back with the multi-car pileup on the highway. More recently, you were caught on camera treating a local firefighter. The more I thought about you, the more I felt the need to reconnect.”
“You still haven’t explained how you knew she’d be here,” Gael stated coldly.
Eddie ignored Gael and addressed her directly. “I followed you home from the station yesterday. By the time I found the courage to knock on your door, this guy was already pulling in.” An emotion flashed in his eyes, and Dallas suspected she recognized what it was. He confirmed it when he continued, “I intended to wait until he left—but he never did.”
Censure coated his words. His judgement pissed her off. “I’m an adult. I refuse to be shamed because my friend stayed the night.”
Her comeback had an immediate effect on Gael. He removed his hand and sat straighter. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what upset him.
“And you don’t have to be, Dallas. But cut me a break if I don’t like it. You were my girl first.”
“I need air.” Gael shoved back his chair and stormed from the diner.
“Sorry if I upset your lover.” The way Eddie stressed “lover” made her uncomfortable. He was acting as if he still had a claim to her after all these years.
“Leave Gael out of this. Why did you follow us this morning?” she persisted in her questioning.
“I was waiting for an opportunity to speak with you alone. It never came. I didn’t intend to hang out all day watching the two of you make ga-ga eyes at each other.”
“Oh, come off it, Eddie. You expect me to believe all this crap?” She let the disbelief she was feeling show. “You see me on TV, hunt me down because you’re overwhelmed with emotion, essentially stalk me, and then approach me when we are stopping for breakfast?”
“It’s the truth.”
Because she was excellent at her job, and part of that job included reading people, knowing when they were lying, Dallas recognized he was telling a tall tale. Why? Ah, the question of the hour.
“Eddie, do you know, after all this time, you still have the same tell?” she asked, idly toying with her silverware. The purposeful glance in his direction, the one intended to put him in the hot seat, instead had him grinning.
“You were always quick to call me on my bullshit, sweetheart.”
Then and there, the years fell away. Once more they were two teenagers, skipping school to hit up Rosie’s Diner back in Austin. His warm, chocolate eyes shining with humor, his wavy blond hair falling over his strong brow, the disarming smile with a dimple flashing on his left cheek—these all lent to the charm and magic of Eddie. Her heart pinged. Had things unfolded differently back then, she had no doubt they’d still be together today. She’d loved him, heart and soul. Perhaps a part of her always would. Maybe her unresolved feelings for Eddie had been the real cause behind all her breakups. She’d never been able to move forward.
“What happened to you? Why did you never visit me in the hospital?” If her voice broke, she ignored it. “I waited. Every damned day, I waited for you to appear. You never did.”
“Your dad made it clear I was to stay away. The times I tried to sneak in, he had security haul me away.”
She believed him. The raw emotion was plain to hear and see. “Why did you stop trying?” All she knew was that she wouldn’t have. She’d have kept at it until she saw with her own eyes he was all right.
He didn’t answer. Whether it was by intent or a loss for words, she would never know because Gael returned, effectively ending their discussion.
Eddie stood as Gael sat. “I’ll leave you to your breakfast. Dallas, will you call me later? There are things I need to say.” He reached into his pocket and whipped out a card. “This is my private number. Please, call me.”
He left her holding the plain white card, bare but for his name and number.
The conflict Dallas was experiencing bothered Gael. To him, the choice couldn’t be simpler. Ditch the stalker ex. Yet, here she sat, swallowing convulsively, looking as if she were ready to bawl.
“Why don’t we order our food to go?” It killed him to suggest it. He didn’t want to cut short their time together. But with the condition she was in at the moment, their breakfast would be spent with her silent and him trying to bridge the gap, sounding like a damned idiot.
She nodded her agreement.
On the way back to her apartment, he wondered how their morning had gone so wrong. In his mind, they would get her patched up, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, and head home to spend the day in bed making out, or possibly even taking it a step further by making love. In no way could he have predicted she’d run into an old flame and act like he, Gael, hardly existed. He refused to examine how hurt he was by her actions.
He helped her up the three flights of stairs and deposited her on the sofa. Careful to put her crutches within reach, he asked, “Is there anything else you need before I go?”
“You’re leaving? I thought…” she trailed off, and he would’ve sworn he saw distress in her expression. “Okay. I suppose you have things to do.”
White-hot rage swept through his system. “What the fuck do you expect from me, D.J.? Am I supposed to cater to you twenty-four-seven? Watch you sit and mope over another guy? Should I cook a private dinner for the two of you? I could even set a nice table with a table cloth and candles. How would that be?”
Her jaw dropped open, a clear indication she suspected he’d lost his damned mind. She wouldn’t be far from the truth. What an idiot he was being! They’d never made any promises. There had only been a few kisses and suggestive remarks.
“Look, I’m sorry. Still hangry.” He opened the bag with the food and laid hers out on the coffee table within her reach. “I’ll check back tonight.”
“Gael…” She paused in whatever she intended to say, bit her lip, and stared toward the empty corner of her dining room. “Nevermind. I’ll talk to you later.”
He was missing something vital here. Playing it cool and remaining her friend would be difficult, but it’s what he should’ve done to begin with. He needed to find a way to get them back to their easy friendship. Acting like a jealous ass would yield him nothing.
Gael squatted in front of Dallas and clasped her hands in his. Absently, as he rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles, he wondered how many times they’d sat like this. They always seemed to be touching. He couldn’t not touch her. A deep sigh was wrung from him. How long would he torture himself with what he couldn’t have? It would be better if they’d never kissed. At least then he wouldn’t have the knowledge that she tasted like the sweetest of dreams.
“Forgive me?”
She focussed on where their skin connected, seemingly fascinated with the back and forth action of his thumbs. As he gave up the hope she would speak, and as he was about to draw away, she tightened her grip. “Always.”
The shining, gray eyes she turned on him had Gael exhaling the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. “Can we eat our cold breakfast now? I really am starving.”
She laughed. “You only ever think of your stomach, Gael.”
“Not true.” He said. but didn’t clarify the only other thing he thought of was her.