“Maybe she’ll change her mind. It can happen.”
“It could. I don’t think that’d be a good thing in this situation though.”
She studied him carefully. “I’m not going to pretend to know what you mean, but I’m sorry it’s that difficult for you, Mal. What I know of you, I think you’re probably a really good guy and I’m sorry she isn’t able to see that for whatever reason.”
“She’s in love with someone else.” It hurt to say the words, and it rocked that core of guilt in his belly too. He hadn’t ever said it aloud to anyone. Why now, why Scarlett, he didn’t know. But it was a relief in a way. He’d feel the self-loathing and regret later.
“Oh my.” She put her hand on his shoulder. It was small and firm. Warm today instead of cool. “I’m really, really sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”
“There’s nothing. It is what it is, and I’m used to it.”
She pulled her hand back and leaned against the counter to face him. “Is it wrong of me to hope you stop being hung up on her then?”
He grinned ruefully. “No. It’s something I’ve wished for a while, but it doesn’t seem to happen.”
“Yet. There’s always hope. You might meet someone even more fabulous.”
“Maybe. I hope so.”
Her chin jutted out stubbornly, as if she’d made a decision. “I know that must have been difficult to tell me. I’ll tell you something in return. I’m not flirting with you because I had a bad experience. With a military guy like you. When I’m ready to put myself out there again, it won’t be with anyone in the military.”
That was information he hadn’t expected. And it made the way she looked at him sometimes make sense. Like he was a barking dog on a tether and she was afraid he’d snap the lead and bite her.
“I get that,” he said carefully. “How about we make a truce then? Make this easier for both of us.”
“I’m listening.”
“We can be ourselves with each other. No worrying about flirting, or not flirting, or what the other person means by something they said. Since I expect my PT will be of some duration, it’d be nice to make the decision to be friends now. It’ll make everything better, don’t you think?”
She seemed to think about it. “I can get onboard with that. But Mal, when I say I had a bad experience, it was bad. I don’t trust people. That’s not personal, okay, so don’t take it that way.”
He wondered what had happened to her, but even if he asked, he knew she wasn’t going to tell him. Wasn’t his business anyway. If she wanted to tell him at some point, she would. “Understood. But if we’re going to be friends, I hope you know you can count on me and my buddies to have your back. If you have any trouble from your bad experience—if he bothers you at all—we’ll be there.”
She studied the floor for a moment. “That’s nice of you to say. But you really don’t know me. What if I’m the crazy one and he’s just a normal guy?”
He liked how straightforward she was. How she cut through the bullshit and got to the point. Scarlett wasn’t dumb, and she didn’t pretend to be. “Is he a normal guy?”
“No, he really isn’t. Personally I’d call him a monster, but he’s very charming. And there were plenty of people who thought I was the crazy one. Just so you know.”
“Consider me warned. Can you tell me what he does in the military?”
She hesitated for a long moment. “Special Forces. He went on missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other places he said he couldn’t tell me. A lot like you, I imagine. But he’s history and I don’t want to talk about him anymore, okay?”
Mal didn’t like the note of fear in her voice, but he put both hands up in surrender. Now wasn’t the time to press her on it. “Gotcha, friend. No more discussions about our lousy luck with the opposite sex.”
She grinned, and he liked the way her face changed in that moment. Scarlett was really pretty when she didn’t look worried or scared. “Agreed. Now how about we take some measurements and get the stim treatment on your leg?”
Scarlett was sitting on the patio with a glass of iced tea and a book when Justine walked out the kitchen door and flopped into the chair beside her.
“Dang, my internal clock isn’t quite used to day shift yet.”
Scarlett arched an eyebrow. “Maybe a glass of wine when you get home isn’t the best way to help you adjust.”
Justine took a swig of white wine and arched an eyebrow in return. “Thanks, momma, but I need this after the day I had.”
Scarlett laughed. “Sorry you had a rough one.”
“Eh, it happens. That’s why I need wine.” Justine reached for the box of almond flour crackers Scarlett had taken outside to snack on. “These aren’t that diet crap you like, are they?”
“What diet crap?”
Justine sniffed a cracker. “Multi-grain. With seeds and no cheddar cheese flavor anywhere to be found.”
Scarlett shook her head. Justine had a thing for junk food. Scarlett liked junk too, but she tried not to eat too much of it. Besides, having the multi-grain crackers now meant she could have fries when she really wanted them. “They’re good. Try one.”
The other woman popped one in her mouth and chewed. “Not bad. It’d be better with some ranch flavoring though.”
Scarlett laughed. “Not everything needs ranch or cheddar.”
“Says you,” Justine said, chewing another cracker. “Neil and I are having nothing but ranch and cheddar at the wedding.”
“Even the cake?”
“Especially the cake.”
The two of them laughed, and then Justine took another sip of wine. “I talked to a real estate agent today.”
Scarlett’s heart fell. “Oh yeah? What did he say?”
“She said this market is hot right now and I shouldn’t wait too long to sell.”
“Then you shouldn’t.”
“I feel badly about it though. You’ve only been here a couple of months, and when you arrived I had no notion I’d be getting married or selling this house. I thought of keeping it and renting it out, but Neil is going to sell his condo and we’re going to buy a bigger house for the two of us. We have to sell to afford the down payment.”
Scarlett loved that Justine cared about displacing her, but there really wasn’t a choice. Scarlett was mature enough to accept that fact. “It’s okay, Justine. Really. I’ve been asking around at work, but maybe it’s time I started looking at listings.”
“I’ll write you a letter of recommendation if it’ll help. So will Neil.”
“I appreciate it.” Passing a credit check to get an apartment on her own was impossible, but big complexes and management companies weren’t the only game in town. A letter would help, along with a hefty deposit probably, with an individual landlord. Not that she could really afford hefty, but she could afford healthy.
“Neil’s bestie from college is moving to DC. We’re going out for drinks sometime next week. Care to come?”