“I feel like such a fool,” Darcy said.
“How could you have known?” Thad asked, trying to be a good friend but wishing Darcy would hurry up and get past it.
“Wasn’t I...you know...enough for her?” The black leather of the sofa squeaked as Darcy leaned over for his beer.
“Some people are just that way. They look for other people and don’t care about how the one they’re with will feel.” He hoped Darcy wasn’t going to need reassurance that he wasn’t bad in bed.
“Yeah, but why’d she marry me if she wasn’t sure she wanted me?”
“She probably didn’t know what she wanted. She still probably doesn’t.”
Darcy took a swig of beer. The hockey game went to commercial.
“I should have listened to you,” Darcy said, sipping some beer again.
“Are you going to get drunk?” Should he be concerned?
Darcy put the beer down. “You warned me this would happen.”
“All I said was half of all marriages fail and that I didn’t want to contribute to that statistic.”
“And now I am. I’m never getting married again. Everybody I know is divorced. That statistic is probably wrong. It’s probably more than half that fail.”
Thad looked over at his friend and wondered if he really meant he’d never marry again. He was sure marriage wasn’t for him, but it might be for Darcy.
“Just because your first one didn’t last doesn’t mean your next one won’t.” He didn’t want to taint Darcy’s outlook on love. He had to make up his own mind about what suited him and his life. He couldn’t go by Thad’s opinion.
Darcy grunted. “I thought my now-ex-wife was the love of my life until she dropped the bomb on me over hamburgers and French fries. It was one of my rare nights off. I thought we were on our way to a romantic evening. A little dinner. A little wine. Go to bed early. You know? And then she hits me with ‘I have a new lover. Move out.’”
“Yeah, that’s rough.” The hockey game came back on.
“What’s with you changing your tune on marriage?” Darcy asked.
“I haven’t changed my tune.”
“You just encouraged me to try again.”
Thad took a handful of popcorn and passed the buttery bowl to Darcy. Women cried and ate chocolate. Men watched sports, drank beer and ate popcorn.
“What’s up with that?” Darcy pressed. “You meet a girl?”
“No,” he answered defensively, and Darcy noticed.
“Who is she?” Darcy grinned. “I have to meet the woman who made you start softening up on marriage.”
“I haven’t softened. I’m never getting married or having kids. That hasn’t changed.” Lucy wanted both. Marriage and kids. She’d be dangerous to get involved with.
Darcy eyed him as he munched on a handful of popcorn, not believing him. Had meeting Lucy made him fantasize that marriage wasn’t as harmful as he originally thought?
No. He barely knew Lucy. She was sexy and opinionated and determined to procreate, but she hadn’t affected him that much. He’d just have to be careful that she never did.
“You’ll have to keep me posted on that, Thad. Let me know if you start dating this mystery woman.”
“I didn’t meet anyone I want to date.”
“That nurse is pretty hot. You notice her?”
Thad looked over at him, amazed at how intuitive he was. It must be the detective in him.
“Aha. It’s the nurse!”
“I’m glad that’s working to get your mind off your ex.”
Darcy chuckled and put the bowl aside. “How’s your mom doing?” Darcy asked.
Thank God. He’d stopped talking about Lucy. “Much better. I need to make plans for when she comes home. She’s got a long recovery ahead of her.”
“After being shot like that I’m not surprised.”
Darcy had come to visit her a couple of times when she was in the ICU. He’d joined in on a lot of family functions over the years.
“There was a man at the hospital today,” Thad said. “He left when the Secret Service agents saw him and tried to talk to him. I think he ran out of the hospital.”
“Really?” Darcy looked concerned. “Did the agents chase him?”
“Only to the front lobby. He was gone by then.”
Darcy took a while to respond, thinking it all through. “Do you think he was trying to get close to your mother?”
“That’s what it looked like.”
“That’s strange. Why go out in the open like that?”
Why, indeed.
* * *
Lucy had fun getting ready for her date. She showered and took her time making herself pretty, drinking a glass of wine with some upbeat music playing. She’d told Cam she’d meet him at the restaurant. Safety first. She didn’t know him and wouldn’t risk being trapped in his car. He’d tried to get her to change her mind, but she had steadfast rules on dating. She wasn’t ready to let him pick her up at her house. On their first date they’d met for coffee. On the second date, they’d met for lunch. Now it was dinner. The serious date.
Her stomach was full of butterflies all the way to the restaurant, an upscale seafood place that had excellent reviews. She’d only been here once before with her family.
Cam was waiting for her outside. She loved that he did that rather than get a table.
He smiled when he saw her, appreciating her little black dress with his brown eyes. He was a little taller than her and had short blond hair. Handsome in a clean, businessman way. It made her feel funny. Thad’s face popped into her head at that moment.
Why would she think of Thad now? He drove her insane. And he was a bad choice for her.
“You look beautiful,” Cam said, stepping forward and offering his arm.
She looped hers with his, her butterflies becoming listless. Why was she having this unexcited reaction to him?
Inside the restaurant, they were led to a table that he already had waiting for them.
“You plan ahead.” That normally would have thrilled her. Why didn’t it now?
He smiled as he held the chair for her and scooted
