“Something like that. Is Carlos here?”
Jaxon begins making my drink and nods his chin toward the kitchen. So, I get up and start walking that way. “Sit tight. I’ll get him,” he says, stopping me before I make it five feet.
I suppose my last intrusion was enough to earn me a spot on the screened visitors list. A couple of minutes later, they both return, Carlos with a welcoming smile.
It’s been months since I walked into his office and acted like a drama queen over a sympathy card, and I’ve been wanting to apologize to him ever since. Stupid pride. He’s done nothing but good things for me and didn’t deserve for me to take my anger out on him like that.
I approach him with arms wide open, and he readily receives my hug.
“Makenna, you look well,” he says.
“Thank you. It’s been too long.” I take a step back and look up at him. “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. You know, for acting like a maniac before.”
He reaches down and squeezes my hand then reassures me with a smile. “That’s not necessary. Grief makes us do funny things. It’s been forgotten. How are you?”
“Honestly, I feel kind of like a rollercoaster. One minute I’m up, the next I’m down. All I can do is keep moving forward and wait for it to get easier.”
He gives my hand another gentle squeeze. “Take some advice from a wise, old man. It doesn’t get easier. You get stronger. And in time, you realize what you once thought was broken, is actually something beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, my voice nothing more than a whisper as I give him one more hug.
He pats my back then gives me a wink before heading back to work. I slide my glass back to Jaxon for a refill. “What was that about?” Jaxon asks, as he takes the glass and begins working on round two.
“What was what about?”
“Sorry for acting like a maniac?” he says, mimicking my words to Carlos.
Because I really don’t want to share all the dirty details with Jaxon, I shrug my shoulders and answer casually. “Just some stuff about Cal. It’s nothing important.”
“Cal?” He lifts a brow. “Suppato?”
Why does everyone say his name like he’s Batman or something?
“That’s the one.”
“What about him?”
“Nothing. What’s the deal with him, anyway?” I take another drink, longer this time. The red liquid slides over my tongue, sweet with a touch of tang.
The second Cosmo goes down smoother than the first. Jaxon is good. No wonder his bar stays crowded every Saturday night.
A gorgeous woman with dark hair takes a seat a couple of stools down from me. I wonder for a second if she’s another eager member of the Cal Suppato fan club. Then her boyfriend takes the stool next to her, putting that theory to rest. I think about the snooty brunette who makes fun of my name and that night in the parking lot when she got so mad at me.
“Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?” I ask, not knowing why I even care.
Because if he does, he shouldn’t be buying other women birthday flowers and spa days.
Jaxon chuckles. “No.”
I take another drink. At this rate, I’m going to need a third. “Married?”
He laughs louder this time then shakes his head, “Nope.”
“What about the brunette? Who is she?”
“Which one?” he asks, amused.
“Which one?” I say that louder than I mean to. “There’s more than one?”