Raising the Stakes

“Meaning, okay, yes, perfect. Drop-dead gorgeous. You still want me to believe you haven’t noticed?”

“I haven’t. I don’t think about Keir that way.”

“I know you don’t and a good thing, too, or I’d have to buy you pizza every night until you gained two hundred pounds and took yourself out of the running.”

“I’m not in the running, Cass. Not when it comes to Keir or anybody else.”

“Yeah.” Cassie sighed, reached for another olive and instead slapped down the box cover. “I’m going to dump this, otherwise that two hundred pounds will be a reality. A hundred for you, a hundred for me, and even though it won’t matter to you because you’re determined to lead a nun’s life, it’ll matter to me because I’m not.”

“You’ve already landed that Frenchman.”

“Untrue. He spent four hours playing craps, kept asking me to bring him drinks, tipped me a hundred bucks…and just when I knew I was in love, his girlfriend came along and claimed him.”

“Ah.”

“Ah, indeed. But you’ll see. Someday, I’m gonna land me a big catch.”

“For a woman who says that, you’ve dumped an awful lot of fish back into the sea.” Dawn smiled. “You know what I think?”

“Yes. You think I should save what’s left of this pizza for your breakfast.”

“I think that the heart of a true romantic beats somewhere under that supposedly tough shell.”

“If your shell’s not tough, what’s the sense in having one? Just ask a soft-shell crab what he thinks sometime. Anyway, you’re trying to change the subject.”

“What subject? Pizza?”

“Men, and why you’re afraid of them.”

Dawn looked away. “I’m not afraid of men.”

“Yeah, you are.” Cassie sighed. “Look, we’ve been friends long enough for me to have noticed some things.”

“I am not afraid of men. Just because I don’t go out a lot—”

“You don’t go out at all.”

“I’m busy.”

“With what? I work, too, remember? It’s not exactly brain surgery that ties up your head twenty-three hours out of twenty-four.”

Dawn rose to her feet and collected the soiled napkins. “I’m happy with my life.”

“Miserable as the species is, a man could make you happier.”

“You don’t believe that any more than I do,” Dawn countered, and dropped the napkins into the trash can.

Cassie sighed. “No. No, I don’t. But locking yourself away from the world is no way to get a bad marriage out of your system.”

“Cassie, I know you mean well. But—”

“But, you don’t want to talk about it. Okay. I accept that. The thing is, you can’t let your ex ruin your life, Dawn. Just because he was a bastard doesn’t mean they all are.”

“I never said…”

“No, you never did. Actually you haven’t said anything about the guy, except that you were once married. Well, so was I. The difference is, I remember that I’m not married anymore. You don’t.”

“That’s not true.”