Pepper, the Highlander & the Dead Guy

“Don’t you think it depends on why they broke up. Maybe one didn’t want to? Maybe one still has feelings for the other. And don’t you think it’s kind of strange that she shows up sooner than expected, like maybe she heard Ian has a new woman in his life?”

“Where would she hear tha—” I rolled my eyes. “My agent is probably spreading the word, thinking it would be great for my career—the cover model and the prepper.”

“Sounds kind of cute.”

I ignored that and asked, “So can you come over tonight.” There was a pause and I wanted to cry, please don’t leave me alone tonight, but I kept it together. “You have a date.”

“Sort of,” she sighed. “Thomas asked me to come over tonight. He needs some tax advice for his girlfriend.”

“You need to tell my brother to take a flying leap,” I said angry.

How did my fool brother not realize Amy was in love with him and that they had a ton of things in common? Not like that idiot woman Lola he was dating who was too busy being self-centered than to care about anyone but herself.

“You know I can’t do that,” Amy said almost apologetically. “And you don’t have to tell me what a fool I am. I already know it. Or maybe I’m hoping he’ll come to his senses.”

“What about Beau? How was supper with him?”

“He’s a good-looking guy, but I don’t think he’s interested in a committed relationship. I don’t want one night of sex or a sex fling for as long as he’s here or times when he is here. I want to find the forever kind of love.”

“You turned him down?”

“I didn’t have to. He saw it for himself, and we talked and laughed and had a good time and he even begged me to invite him back for another home cooked meal since he rarely gets them. He’s not a bad guy. He’s just not what I’m looking for.”

“No, you’re looking for the guy you’ve been in love with for as long as you can remember to come to his senses,” I said, sadness creeping into my heart for my best friend.

“I can call Thomas and make it another night.”

“No, do it tonight and get it over with,” I said. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Busy hands,” I said to myself once again after placing my cell on the table and those busy hands took me right to my computer to find those book covers with Ian and Sarina on them.

My mouth hung open staring at them. Amy was right, they were scorching. I’d buy them for the photos alone. The way he held her so intimately and in intimate places like he was letting the world know she belonged to him. And the way they looked at each other as if they were about to devour—I had to look away. It was as if I was peeking in on an intimate moment that was about to erupt in mind-blowing sex.

“You are not going over there to spy on them,” I warned against the thought that wouldn’t leave my head. If he still had any feelings at all for Sarina then he needed to know, and so did I before I got hurt.

Oh, who was I kidding. I could almost feel the hurt already.

The rest of the day went faster than I expected. My dad stopped by to see how I was, so did Josh and Danny, and Thomas called to check on me. I was so tempted to say something to Thomas about Amy, but I had given my word a long time ago and I wouldn’t break it.

My mom called and I didn’t bother to tell her I was going to be alone for the night. It was Scrabble night with her friends. She’d been on a winning streak, and I didn’t want to see her break it, since she would have insisted on keeping me company. Besides, I didn’t really feel like having any company after hearing about Sarina. I was even glad Amy wasn’t coming over.

Okay so maybe that wasn’t true, since I always felt better after we talked.

I stopped looking at my cell phone around nine, at least I tried to stop looking at it, thinking Ian might text me just to say hi. By ten I turned off the lights in the living room, curled up on the couch and stared at the television that Mo had sneakily changed until he found the Animal Channel.

I was feeling sorry for myself, and I didn’t like it. I sat up, deciding it was a good time for my favorite ice cream—coffee—and a funny movie. I always found it strange that I love coffee ice cream, but I don’t like drinking coffee. I laughed and was about to get up when Mo’s head shot up suddenly. He quickly got to his feet and paced back and forth agitated. Then stopped, staring at the French doors.