Eliza #2
“I hope you both can take the trips you’ve been thinking of. You deserve to.”
Leo’s words were gentle and simple, but they were exactly what I needed in that moment. It was like he sensed the heaviness but didn’t press.
“Thanks,” I said softly.
“Besides, you’re young. You have plenty of time.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help but snort at Leo’s dramatic tone. “You also have plenty of time,” I said to him. “You’re, what? Thirty-three?” I guessed.
He grunted a “maybe,” which I took as yes.
“You’re plenty young, too. Unless you aged exponentially since I last saw you.”
“Feels that way sometimes,” he mumbled.
“Okay,” I drawled. “Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean that’s what actually happened. You have time to accomplish all that you want to, too. You’re not even forty yet.” I wiggled my brows.
Not that forty suddenly meant that he didn’t have time, but I wondered if he remembered our first conversation that night I met him during dinner with Colin when I thought he was forty.
“No, not yet.” He gave me a knowing look, eyes lit with amusement as if he’d had the same memory. “But I am eight years older than you.”
“Right,” I acknowledged, holding his gaze.
It didn’t feel like a big deal. Maybe it would’ve felt like more years if we were in different stages of life—like if I was still in college—but we weren’t.
Even though Leo was older, I got the sense that he was figuring out his next step in life just as much as I was.
Maybe he was a few steps closer to what he wanted, since that was something I was still figuring it out, but the years between us didn’t make a difference to me.
Our conversation shifted after that. He filled me in on how his mom was doing and how he was helping her prepare to sell her house. He didn’t say it directly, but it sounded like his mom was another reason why the timing of the job at Lake Ridge worked out.
Relief coursed through me that his mom was doing okay. I’d missed talking to Celine, but I didn’t think staying friends with my ex’s mom was something I should do, as wonderful as she was.
When Leo mentioned the house projects he and Celine had come up with, I brought up Jules and her connections in the area.
“She’s an interior designer and works with local contractors with her clients,” I told Leo.
“Oh, wow, that’s great. I want to get a contractor out there to make sure there’s nothing urgent to fix. You think she’d be able to recommend someone?”
“Definitely.” I nodded without any hesitation.
“Jules is amazing at what she does. Last summer, she helped Lily with her café and me with the yoga studio. No big changes, but the little things added up and transformed both spaces. I can give you her number or you can catch her next time she’s at Lake Ridge.
She usually stops by in the afternoons a couple times a week. ”
“I’ll bring it up with her next time she comes in.” Leo paused. “And for what it’s worth, I don’t think it’d be weird if you reached out to my mom. She’s been asking about you. Said she’s proud of you opening the studio. I bet she’d love to hear about it.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “That’s…that’s really sweet. I’ll, yeah, I’ll reach out one of these days. Speaking of”—I turned to face him—“did you end up finding out why Colin called me?”
“I talked to him on my drive down to Maple Bluffs, but…” Leo shook his head.
I let out an overly dramatic sigh. “That’s fine. I guess I can’t expect you to do my sleuthing for me.” I looked over at him, expecting to see a hint of a smile or amusement but instead was met with a serious expression. “What?” I asked, confused.
Leo opened and closed his mouth, running his tongue along his bottom lip. “He said some stupid shit.”
My brows raised in surprise that Leo had gotten so frustrated, because, let’s be real, Colin said stupid shit all the time. “Colin did? About what?”
Leo’s nostrils flared, and his jaw clenched like he was grinding his molars while weighing if he should tell me or not. Maybe he was trying to protect Colin.
“You don’t have to tell me,” I said with a sigh. “Let me guess—I bet it’s something to do with how I’m closed off and never truly let him in.”
I took Leo’s silence as an answer and shrugged.
“It’s nothing new, and I mean, he’s not completely wrong. There’s a lot I didn’t feel comfortable sharing with him.”
“But there must’ve been a reason why you didn’t feel comfortable sharing it with him. He just made it sound like…”
“It was all my fault?”
Leo grunted, and I let out an unamused laugh.
“Welcome to being a woman, Leo.”
“Fucking bullshit.”
I hummed in agreement.
That was another reason why casual was easier. I didn’t have to share my fears or past with someone. I didn’t have to wonder if they were going to stick around for the day I did feel comfortable opening up.
It was easier for me to open up to friends, like Lily and Jules, because I knew true friends didn’t want anything in return.
But sometimes when I shared the little things with Colin, I didn’t feel like he was truly listening.
It was almost like it went in one ear and out the other until sex was involved.
I figured most men were like that.
Talking with Leo was different, though. It felt…safe.
The conversation turned lighter after that.
He told me more about Portland and some of the other cities he’d love to visit.
I shared my favorite spots in Golden Falls that he had to check out, including the Golden Finds Thrift Store, and some of my favorite memories from growing up, including a few embarrassing stories of Wes and Cooper.
The sun had long set, and we’d shifted from standing by the brick parapet to sitting on the lounge chairs, staring up at the night sky full of bright stars.
“How’s that cursed sex life of yours?” Leo asked.
I groaned. “Horrible. Just horrible.” I hoped things would improve next month once Golden Falls turned into a tourist town again.
“And why is my sex life a topic of conversation? Why don’t you tell me about yours instead?
” I challenged, although as soon as I said it, I realized I didn’t really want to know about the women Leo had been with.
He barked a laugh. “Because it’s nonexistent. I haven’t slept with anyone since my ex, and we broke up almost a year ago.”
I raised my brows, unable to hide my surprised expression. “Okay, so maybe you have a sex curse, too.”
“The things you say, Trouble.” Leo ran a hand over his stubbled jaw, momentarily closing his eyes. “No, I think this is fully on me. No curse involved. Just long and unpredictable hours, which make it hard to keep a relationship, as I’m sure you know.”
“That’s why I don’t do relationships.”
He looked over at me, brows raised. “You haven’t dated since Colin?” He didn’t try to mask the surprise in his tone.
I shook my head. “Haven’t wanted to. It’s easier to keep things casual.” Maybe my not pursuing a relationship was a little deeper than what I let on, but he didn’t need to know that. “I just…I don’t know. I don’t think it’s for me. It feels too…messy.”
“The best things in life are.”
When he parted his lips to continue, I beat him to it. “Before you say all that love is worth the effort crap, I’ve heard it all before.”
He let out a laugh, shaking his head. “How did you know I’d go on a love is worth the effort spiel?”
“Uh, because of your response.” His words sounded so similar to what I’d heard my best friends say. “Leo Rivers,” I said, turning toward him, “are you a hopeless romantic?”
Leo stayed quiet, as if he hadn’t heard me.
“You are!” I grinned.
He looked over at me, playfully unamused. “Maybe a little bit. But it hasn’t worked out for me—clearly.”
“You’re young. You have plenty of time,” I repeated his words from earlier.
He rolled his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching as he tried not to smile. “You’re going to be the death of me, Trouble.”
“I sure hope not,” I retorted. “How else are you going to find the love of your life?”