Every Day (Brush of Love 2)

“I can sympathize with that,” I said, sighing.

“Maybe you should drop back down to hiring one homeless person per project. Maybe you’re simply taking on too many.”

“That could be it. I don’t know. My head hadn’t been in the right space lately,” I said.

“And I think I know why,” he said.

“Don’t say her name.”

“She who shall not ever be named is swirling around in your head. What the hell happened with that conversation anyway?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said.

“You gave me the gist, but there’s something that isn’t sitting right with you.”

“There’s a lot that isn’t sitting right with me like the fact that I still dream about her.”

“You were in love. You still are. That’s obvious, and that takes time,” he said. “But there’s something else.”

“Yes, there is.”

“Talk to me, dude,” he said.

“No. because I don’t know if it’s true.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked.

“Because her answer to the first question I ever asked her was a fucking lie,” I said.

“Okay. Point proven, but still, after falling in love with you—and we know she did—why would she lie to you then?”

“To keep me around so she could continue to use me in whatever other ways she wanted.”

“Use you?” he asked.

“Yep. I cut a deal with her, and she used me for my construction work. She asked me out to dinner, so she could use me to quell her own guilt that stems from her own history with John, and she used me for her own stress relief by telling me whatever I wanted to hear so I’d sleep with her.”

“Is that all the shit you think?” he asked. “Are you even listening to yourself?”

“She fucking lied to me, Drew. About everything.”

“I don’t think she lied to you about as much as you think. She withheld a great deal, yes. Should she have told you? Definitely. But the only lie she told was about not being there at that bar, and that reason could’ve been as simple as ‘I didn’t wanna piss him off.’ ”

“Why the hell would that have pissed me off?” I asked.

“Because she was a stranger to everyone in that room. She knew your brother, sure, but you were surrounded by family and best friends. Maybe she thought you would’ve regarded her as an intrusion. Maybe she thought you were coming over to bitch her out. You’re a scary dude when you don’t smile. Any number of things could’ve been running through her head, man.”

“Whatever,” I said.

“You know what it sounds like you need?” he asked.

“A beer?”

“No. A thorough chat with Hailey.”

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah. I think you need to track her down, sit her down, and have a level-headed conversation.”