Chapter 15 #2
A far cry from the man sliding into the booth.
Sure, there were still the tired lines etched around his hazel gaze, and the first time I went to his apartment, he looked like a freshly dug up corpse.
But the photo was different. He looked like he was drowning, barely hanging on, just waiting for the final current to come along and drag him to the depths.
A man struggling to survive.
“I’ve lived in New York all my life, and I never knew this place existed.” I slid into the booth opposite him. “How did you discover a gem like this?”
Rolling his lips together, Elliott shrugged. “It was a couple weeks after I moved here. I couldn’t sleep and thought I’d take a run to settle myself.”
“Must have been one hell of a run. We’re nearly an hour from your apartment.”
“Running helps clear my head, but sometimes when I start, I forget to stop,” he said quietly. “When it started to rain, and I mean like biblical levels of rain, I had two choices. Run back and risk hypothermia or take shelter here.”
The diner was nearly empty, with only the two of us in one booth, and an elderly gentleman sitting at the counter sipping on a cup of coffee and working on a crossword.
Despite its outdated appearance, it felt oddly comforting. A little slice of time hidden from the chaos of life outside its doors.
“The second Madge spotted me, dripping wet and freezing cold, she told me I was messing up her floors and to sit my ass down in a booth.” Elliott’s face softened. “She brought me some tea and pie and refused to let me leave until the rain stopped.”
“And I’ve never been able to get rid of you since.” Madge placed two mugs of steaming hot tea and two plates filled with food in front of us. “My late Albert always told me that my soft spot for strays would be the death of me.”
Elliott offered her a boyish grin. “And yet, you’re still alive and kicking.”
“Barely,” Madge countered, her eyes softening as she gave Elliott’s shoulder a small squeeze. “I’ll be in the back catching up on my show, shout me if—”
“The devil finally shows his face and comes for you, I know,” he finished her sentence with a chuckle.
Wrapping my hands around my mug, the warmth seeping into my fingertips, Elliott pushed a plate toward me. “Tuck in.”
A divine-smelling slab of pie stared up at me. A dollop of vanilla ice cream pooled in the middle made my mouth water. Yet, something stopped me from diving straight in.
Not something.
Someone.
My mother’s voice rattled around my brain. ‘A moment of sweetness on your lips will forever curse your hips, Livi.’
“What did he say to you in the wine cellar?” Elliott’s voice sliced through my thoughts.
I didn’t need to ask who he meant. “He told me he misses me.”
Swallowing a mouthful of scorching tea, I focused on the pain moving through my throat and not on the fresh memory of Daniel’s hand on my arm, his brown gaze pouring into mine as he told me how much he missed me and how confused he felt.
Elliott’s fork paused halfway to his mouth. “I see.” Slowly, he took another mouthful, chewing for what felt like several minutes. “Do you think he is telling you the truth?”
“No.” I grasped my mug tighter. “Maybe. I don’t know. He did sound confused, but I’ve never been able to tell when he is lying.”
I used to think I could read Daniel as easily as my favorite book. But I never truly knew him; I only knew the pages he allowed me to see.
Elliott leaned back in the booth. “Can I be honest with you, Peaches?”
“Be my guest.”
“Don’t you find it odd that the minute you bring your boyfriend—”
“Fake boyfriend.”
Elliott’s jaw muscle bounced. “Fake boyfriend home, he suddenly declares that he misses you? He suddenly thinks he’s made a mistake?”
“I mean, it could be a coincidence.”
“He doesn’t miss you, Livi.”
“Dios mío, brutal much? You have a real way with words.”
“Sorry,” Elliott cringed. “All I mean is, he doesn’t like seeing you finally moving on, nor does he like seeing you with someone else. It’s not confusion he feels, it’s possessiveness. He doesn’t miss you, he just doesn’t want you to move on.”
Ouch, please don’t hold your punches on my account, Dr. Delicious.
I wasn’t sure what hurt more, the words themselves or the fact that somewhere deep down I knew he was right.
“Have you ever been in love, Elliott?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.
Silence eclipsed the table.
His throat bobbed, his lips pressed together in a thin line, as he blinked several times, staring down at his half-eaten pie.
Why did I open my big mouth?
Before I could take it back, Elliott finally said, “I thought I was once, but I was wrong. Turns out there is a fine line between love and infatuation.”
“Can I ask what happened between you two?”
“The more she got to know me, the more she realized she couldn’t love me back. It wasn’t a particularly good time in my life, so I can’t really blame her for leaving me.”
“This is why love sucks,” I offered weakly. “It’s fleeting and painful. Exactly why my number one rule in life is to never fall in love again. Never.”
Maybe I’d become one of those spinsters who filled their home with cats. I loved cats. I mean, I was highly allergic to them, but nothing a couple antihistamines couldn’t fix.
Then it’d be me, my hundred cats, and my perfectly intact heart.
“Yeah, love is complicated. Jaxon used to say it has the ability to destroy even the strongest of people.”
“Ain’t that the freaking truth?”
Elliott’s attention flicked up from his plate. “Then again, maybe, we’ve just never been loved by someone the way we deserve.”
The words hit me low in my chest, robbing me of breath.
Unable to think, unable to say anything, I finally lifted my fork and tucked into a mouthful of pie. The second the pastry touched my tongue, I groaned as the flavors exploded to life in my mouth.
“Told you the pies here would change your life,” he chuckled deeply. “I know it ain’t cherry, but it’s my favorite, so I won’t hear anything bad about it.”
Scooping another piece into my mouth, I bit into a piece of sweet fruit.
Butterflies in my stomach awoke violently from their slumber with each bite as I willed myself not to read too much into the fact that his favorite flavor was peach.