My cell rang a third time, and I was just about to stick it back in my pocket when I decided at the very last second to bite the bullet. I couldn’t put it off forever.
“Hello?”
“Dunc? What the hell? You disappeared off the grid. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for two days. I was starting to worry.”
“Sorry. I…I just…I’ve been at my hotel.”
“What, are you sick?”
I dragged a hand through my hair, wishing I hadn’t picked up. “Yeah. I haven’t felt like myself.”
Just then, a woman ran out of a small grocery store to my right. She wielded a broom in her hand, bristle side up, while chasing a teenage kid and swearing in Spanish. The kid, who was probably about fifteen, had on a backpack, and both his fists were full of candy. He laughed as he looked back over his shoulder at the upset woman.
Brady must’ve heard the commotion. “Where the hell are you?”
I looked up as I passed the store and read the street signs. “I’m at Fifty-First Street and Ninth Avenue. I just went for a walk.”
“Well, you’re not too far from my office. Let’s grab some lunch.”
“I, uh… I’m not sure I’m feeling up to it.”
“Well, get up to it. Because I’m not taking no for an answer. You’ve blown me off for two days, and I’m worried about you, man. Walk down Ninth until you get to Forty-Sixth Street. There’s a restaurant I like there called Becco. It’s between Eighth and Ninth. I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes.”
“I really don’t—”
Brady cut me off. “Twenty minutes, buddy. Or I’ll hunt you down and find your ass.”
Before I could say anything else, the phone went silent.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
Fuck.
He’d hung up on me.• • •Brady was already seated at a table when I finally walked in a half hour later.
He stood and did the one-arm shoulder hug. “There you are. I just ordered a drink without you. I figured you were standing me up. What took you so long? You were ten minutes away, tops.”
I dragged a hand through my hair. I hadn’t planned on coming until five minutes ago. I’d actually turned around and started walking the opposite direction. Then I realized I’d never get a good night sleep without knowing what the hell was going on, so I’d doubled back against my better judgment.
“Sorry. Got lost.”
Brady chuckled. “Sit down, you damn out-of-towner.”
The waitress came right over and handed me a menu. “Can I get you something to drink while you take a look at the menu?”
“I’ll take a water, please.”
My friend plucked the menu from my hand. “Change his water to a bottle of cab, the one you usually have from South Africa, and we’ll take the frutti di mare for two.”
He handed the waitress back the menus, and she looked to me for approval. Food was the last thing I had the energy to fight over. Plus, it sounded pretty fucking good.
I shrugged. “What he said.”
After the waitress disappeared, Brady didn’t waste any time diving in. He grabbed a breadstick from the center of the table and bit off a piece. “Talk to me. What’s going on with you? Something’s up.”
“I’m fine.”
He made a face that said he wasn’t buying it. “I know I’ve been a shitty friend the last few years. But we dormed together for four years of college. I think I can still tell when you’re full of shit.”
I let out a deep rush of air. “Give me a bit, okay? I just walked in the door. At least let me get some wine in me before you start making me wake the skeletons in my closet.”
Brady nodded. “Yeah, okay. I get it.”
Feeling impatient and wanting the spotlight off of me, I turned the tables. “So what’s going on with you? I didn’t expect to see you with your ex-fiancée when I walked into the bar the other night.”
“Yeah. We’re working on things.”
My heart sank. “So she wants you back after she called off the wedding? Change of heart?”
Brady frowned. “She wasn’t exactly the one who called off the wedding.” He looked me straight in the eyes. “It was me who ended things.”
Ever have a moment in time where you’re really down and something gives you a morsel of hope? Yeah? Well, that wasn’t me at the moment. Instead of being elated that Maddie hadn’t lied, I felt…angry. Really fucking angry. My nostrils flared, and I felt my face begin to redden.
Luckily the waitress brought our wine. I immediately drank half the glass back and spoke through gritted teeth.
“What the fuck did you lie to me for?”
Brady at least had the decency to look ashamed. He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. “I’d already told my mother and a few other people the truth and got my ass handed to me. I couldn’t take any more lectures. Everyone loves Hazel. We’d each agreed to contact our own friends and family to let them know the wedding was off, and by the time I got five people into my hundred-person list, I was tired of staying on the phone for an hour. I didn’t have an acceptable reason for doing what I’d done, and everyone thought I was a piece of shit.”