One True Thing (9 page)

Archer, I was disappointed. Not entirely surprised,

but disappointed for sure. I guess it really
was

possible for a connection that strong to be one-

sided. Or maybe I’d just imagined it all. No matter

how attracted he’d been—and that was one thing I

didn’t doubt—apparently that attraction wasn’t

enough to make waiting for me worthwhile. Story

of my life. My luck in relationships was pretty

much nonexistent.

I tried to brush it off and go about my daily

routine. Work, home, work, home. I had no real

reason to complain. It wasn’t that I was truly

unhappy with the life I was building in California.

I was just… lonely.

It was Tuesday, one of my late nights, when I

wandered into The Banana Leaf after five to pick

up my dinner order. I hadn’t run into Archer since

that day almost a month back, but I hadn’t

particularly felt like sitting there eating my meal

alone. Again. At least if I took it back to the salon,

I could hide out in the break room and read a

magazine without feeling like such a loser.

I’d just paid for my sandwich and turned to

leave when I felt something in the air shift, a subtle

pressure I might not have noticed if it hadn’t made

the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I

shivered, looking around to see if anyone nearby

had felt it, this odd, prickling charge, this buzz of

sensation that had washed over me and sensitized

my skin.

That’s when I spotted him. Archer. He was

sitting at one of the booths, alone, much the way he

had been when I’d approached him a few weeks

back. As if feeling my gaze, he looked up then. His

hand came up off the table, as if he’d meant to

wave but forgot what he was doing halfway

through. We stared at each other, and that feeling

came back, the one from the very first day when

he’d stopped me from falling—rightness, yearning.

My lungs seemed to freeze, and it was suddenly

impossible to draw in a full breath. Oh, God… that

was what I’d been waiting for. I wanted to touch

him so badly, I almost gave in to the urge to run

over there and fling myself into his lap.

Instead, I offered him a tentative smile and

lifted my hand to wave. He didn’t smile back, but

what with the way he was looking at me, I thought

my approach wouldn’t be unwelcome. Maybe he’d

been wanting to see me too. Maybe he’d lost my

number somehow. I told him what I did for a

living, but I hadn’t mentioned the name of the

salon, and he didn’t know where I lived. It was

possible he’d wanted to contact me, but hadn’t

been able to.

I tried to get my body to work, told myself to

step forward, but before I could move, a beautiful

blonde stepped into my line of sight and leaned

down to give Archer a kiss.

Seeing that kiss had the same effect a punch to

the stomach would have. The air left my lungs in a

rush, and my stomach clenched tight with sudden

pain. So that was why he hadn’t called. He had a

girlfriend, and maybe I was just supposed to be a

little something on the side, never to be heard from

again after that night. He’d known she was coming.

He’d been sitting there waiting for her while I

stood there staring at him like a moron.
That
was

why he hadn’t really waved.
That
was why he

hadn’t smiled.

I turned and ran for the door, almost dropping

my food in the process, not caring if I looked

crazy.

It was ridiculous. I had no claims on him, no

right to be jealous—we’d only been on
one
date,

for Christ’s sake, which had ended badly, and he’d

never actually said he was single—but it hurt to

see him with that woman. I couldn’t believe just

how much it hurt, or how stupid it made me feel.

Oh, God. Dusty Davis, you are
such
an idiot.

I couldn’t even begin to describe the confused

mass of emotions twisting madly inside me as I

rushed back to the salon. But mortified was

definitely in there. Yeah, mortified would

probably be right at the top of the list.

I GOT home that night feeling almost exactly

the same—gut-punched and embarrassed—and

needing my best friend like I hadn’t in a really long

time.

I heard sounds coming from Alice’s nursery

and peeked around the doorjamb hoping Rue

would be there. He was, tucking Alice into her

crib, still decorated in the pink and spring-green

sheets I’d picked for her months before she was

born. I waited as he sang her a bit of a song and

trailed his finger down her nose in the way we all

knew she liked. It was only a few minutes before

she was knocked out cold and snuffling softly. He

switched on her monitor and turned off the lamp,

then started noticeably when he spotted me in the

doorway.

“Christ, Dust,” he whispered, one hand to his

chest. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry.” I backed up so he could close

Alice’s door partway. We never shut it

completely, not wanting to miss her cries if the

monitor stopped working for some reason. “Do

you have a minute?” I asked when we were a few

steps down the hallway. “I saw Archer again

today.”

Rue winced a little and reached up to rub one

of his temples. “Sorry, babe, but can we do it in

the morning? I had a horrible day. I’m exhausted,

and my head is
pounding
.”

The pain in my stomach got worse. Rue and I

didn’t get to talk very often with the way our

schedules worked. I’d been there for him so much

after Alice was born, and I would do it again,

gladly. But standing there, I couldn’t remember the

last time we’d actually spent a day together like

we used to. I felt a flash of resentment, followed

by an even stronger surge of guilt. How could I be

angry with him? He worked hard and then had to

split his free time between me, a boyfriend,
and
a

daughter. Sure, he was tired, and he probably

wanted nothing more than to snuggle up with his

guy for the night. I could hardly begrudge him that.

“Yeah, sure, hon,” I said, trying to keep

everything I was feeling out of my voice, keep it

the upbeat tone he was used to hearing. “Try to get

some rest.”

Rue pulled me in for a quick hug and brushed

an unexpected kiss on my cheek. “Night, Dustball.”

He reached up and ruffled my hair. “We’ll talk in

the morning, okay? Promise.”

I nodded and watched him disappear into his

bedroom.

BY THE time I woke up the next morning, I’d

decided against sharing the Archer thing with Rue.

He had enough on his plate. I didn’t need to burden

him with my relationship drama. Not that Archer

and I had anything that could have qualified as one,

which I guess was even more of a reason not to

bother Rue with any of it.

I paused in the nursery long enough to check

on Alice and left the house before anyone else was

up and about. I wasn’t scheduled to start work for

another few hours, but I knew a walk and some

fresh air would do me some good.

I wandered around for a while, aimless, not

doing much thinking at all. Eventually I wound up

in my favorite coffee shop with a latte in hand and

a bagel with strawberry cream cheese on the plate

in front of me. I ate and sipped at the coffee,

watching as the street outside started getting busier

with morning commuters. The food and caffeine

helped cheer me up, and as I walked the short

distance between the shop and Embellish, I

remembered there was someone else I could talk

to, aside from Rue, someone who might be willing

to listen and hopefully not judge.

I dug my phone out of my pocket and pulled

up Michelle’s number. We hadn’t gone on our

lunch date yet, but I had the fingers of my free hand

crossed that she’d be available.
Here goes

nothing.

MICHELLE and I met at a Thai place several

blocks up the boulevard from Cobra Fitness. My

day was already half over, but hers was just

beginning. She’d been grouchy as all hell when

she’d picked up the phone earlier—she’d been

sleeping still, despite the fact that it was going on

ten—but judging by the friendly grin she gave me, I

was guessing that had everything to do with her not

being a morning person and nothing to do with her

not actually wanting to see me.

“Hey,” she said, dropping into the seat across

from me. Her dark hair was combed forward,

falling into her eyes, not in a fauxhawk like the

other times I’d seen her. “Sorry about this morning.

My friends know never to call me before eleven. I

should’ve warned you.”

I laughed quietly. “No worries, hon.”

“I’m glad you picked this place. I love their

Tom Kha Kai. Best soup ever.”

I grinned at her. “Rue and I like the vegetable

curry with rice.”

Michelle gave me a questioning look. “Rue?

That your boyfriend?”

“No. My best friend since we were kids. I

live with him and his boyfriend, Erik, and their

daughter.”

Michelle’s eyebrows went up. “Sounds

crowded.”

I thought about it for a second. I supposed it

would to most people, but that wasn’t what

bothered me about living there. “Not really,” I said

after a moment. “Kind of lonely sometimes, you

know?”

“Ah.” Michelle nodded briefly. “Yeah, I get

it. I like living alone, though. I need my space.”

“No girlfriend?”

Michelle’s answering grin was so wicked I

laughed out loud. “Several. But no one I’d ever

consider living with.”

“So you’re one of those, huh? Like Shane

from
The L Word
?”

Michelle snorted. “No. More like Papi. Shane

didn’t have anything on her.”

“I liked Shane. She was hot… for a chick,

anyway.”

She snorted again and rolled her eyes. “She

was all right. I like my women with a little color.”

The waiter stopped by the table then, and we

placed our orders. Once he’d come back with a

couple of glasses of ice water, Michelle leaned

back in her chair and arched a brow.

“So, what inspired your call this morning? I

was starting to think you were going to leave me

hanging even after that little tour stunt.” She said

that last part with a smirk that made me chuckle

despite the heat in my cheeks.

“Sorry, I did mean to call sooner, but I… I

just….”

“Lemme guess,” she said in a droll voice.

“Guy problems?”

I nodded, my face growing even hotter.

“Yeah.”

“So, what’s the deal? If you need someone to

unload on, I’m game.”

I met her eyes for a few seconds, saw the

sincerity there, and felt a rush of relief at the fact

that she was willing to listen, and more than that,

not hold any grudges for the fact that I hadn’t

called until I needed someone to talk to. I’d

honestly meant to, but it had slipped my mind in my

Archer-induced distraction. “You sure? It’s…

well, it’s a long story.”

She tilted her head and gave me a wry smile.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing our food hasn’t

come yet.”

So I told her the story, every embarrassing

detail, ending with what had happened at The

Banana Leaf the day before.

Michelle just nodded when I was done. She

didn’t look particularly sympathetic, but she

wasn’t laughing either, and I was grateful for that

at least. “Yeah,” she said with a shrug. “He was

probably looking to score. I know it’s wrong, and I

can’t say I’m proud of it, but I’ve done similar shit

in the past. You want my advice?”

I nodded. I did. On the off chance that Archer

ever called and asked me out again, I wanted to

have my answer ready.

“Forget about him. If you want something

serious, trust me when I say this guy is not the

one.”

It was what I thought she would say, or at