Compass (Second Chances 1)

I stare down at the screen, tears misting my vision.

I look up, but Tilly and Olivia are so focused on the cute noises Arleth is making that they don’t notice the emotion that is crashing around me.

I type back the response I always gave him when he asked me that question.

Kate: A dollar for your dreams?

I rest my phone in my lap and hold my breath, waiting for him to reply.

Chapter 34

Gage

A dollar for your dreams?

She remembers.

When we lived together in California, I’d write messages to Katie on our bathroom mirror using the tube of red lipstick she always kept in the medicine cabinet.

Sometimes I’d scribble out a simple I love you or Let’s fuck.

The messages were reflective of my mood.

One of them was in the form of a question: A penny for your thoughts?

I’d leave that for her when she was quiet or pensive.

She never gave me a direct answer.

It was always a question to counter mine.

She did the same thing today via text.

The urge to call her and tell her that every single one of my dreams involves her is strong, but I drop my phone on the top of the bar and take a breath.

I’m at Tin Anchor early today to take care of some paperwork. The only patron we have is a brown-haired guy in a suit who looks like his world just exploded.

He’s on his second glass of whiskey.

He’s tight-lipped and moody, but I’m not complaining about the silence.

“I need another,” he calls out in a low voice. “Bring me the bottle.”

I know better than that. This guy doesn’t need another drink. He needs an ear to listen to him gripe about whatever is fucking up his life right now.

I pour him another two fingers of whiskey before I put the bottle back behind the bar.

He dow

ns half the drink in a swallow.

I head back to my phone and type out a response to Katie.

Gage: My dream at the moment is to cook you dinner tonight. Keep the dollar.

I press send, trusting that the last three words will bring a smile to her lips.

They did when she was twenty-two and desperately in love with me.