What The Heart Finds (29 page)

“Been
yourself lately,” Anna finished for him. “Come on,”
she said, bumping her hip into his. “let's go get some mac &
cheese with a side of pizza,” she suggested, leading the way
toward the diner.

Eric
slid into the booth by the window across from her, familiar. Easy.
They had made a deal shortly after she chose Sam that they would be
friends since they had so much in common. And that, no matter what,
they would meet up once a week for her impressive selection of junk
food at the diner. They'd only missed two weeks in the past two
years. Once when Anna had the flu. And... well, the day after Lena
left.

“So
how's business?” he asked, accepting the cup of coffee the
waitress offered him.

“Fantastic.
How's the week-long hangover?”

“Yeah,
I know. I get it,” he said, sounding surly. He had been told at
least five times that he was drinking too much.

“It's
about her, isn't it?”

Eric
fell silent as Anna ordered for them both. “Yeah,” he
said after the waitress walked away.

“What
are you going to do about it?” she asked, leaning her elbows on
the table, clasping her hands together and resting her head on them.

“That
seems to be the question of the day.”

Anna
smiled, her green eyes looking patient, understanding. “You
love her, right?”

“Yup,”
he said, looking down.

“So
you do whatever it takes,” she shrugged.

Eric
chuckled. “Like what you did to get Sam?” he asked,
thinking about how he had helped her pick out the dress and lingerie
for her to go over to his house and seduce him. How much he had
wished it had been him. Any time he thought back on that, he got a
pang. But, suddenly, it was just nostalgia... not pain.

“Hey
that was hard for me,” she pouted, wrinkling up her nose at
him. “Besides, I mean I essentially had to move from my old
town to come here to meet Sam. So it's...” she shook her head.
“it's not the same at all I guess.” She smiled and
thanked the waitress, quickly digging into her macaroni and cheese.
“She seemed to like it here.”

Eric
nodded. “Not as much as she likes her job.”

“You're
going to leave?” she asked, her tone sadder than he had heard
it in a long time.

Eric
took a bite of his pizza, the crust too mushy and the sauce too
garlic-y. But it was all they had. “Liam offered to take over
the shop for me.”

“Liam?
Doing manual labor? I'd pay to see that.”

“You
got him to do it once.”

“Only
because I sort of conned him into it.” She chewed silently for
a moment, watching him. “You should do it.”

“It's
not that easy,” he shook his head. “Before she left,
things were... weird. Strained.”

“So
you find a way to fix it,” she suggested. She rolled her eyes
at him. “What the hell is going on with you? You're
Eric-friggen-O'reilly. You are bad news three counties around in all
directions. You can charm every woman eighteen to eighty. Get your
head out of your ass and go out there and get your woman.”

Eric
smiled, a slow, lazy smile. “Nice language,” he chuckled.

“I
can bring out the curse words when you need a pep talk. So are you
going to go?”

“I'm
seriously considering it,” he said, surprising himself.
“There's a lot of things I need to line up though.”

“Like
what?”

“Like
a house and a job and...”

“Wait...
no,” Anna broke in, shaking her head. “you don't need to
do any of that. You pack a bag and you drive up there. You track her
down and you tell her you love her.”

“This
isn't some rom-com, sweetheart,” he said, smiling. “It
doesn't work like that.”

“But
it should,” Anna broke in. “Rom-coms are so popular
because that's what women want. It's like... porn for us. We like the
stupid kissing in the rain. We like the grand romantic gestures. We
want the guy breaking up a loveless wedding. And the guy standing
outside our apartment and telling us they made a mistake. Or the guy
charging into our work and declaring, in front of everyone, how much
they love us. It might sound stupid to you guys, but it's what we all
secretly want.”

“So
just... show up in the city with nothing but a change of clothes and
hope for the best?”

“Yeah,”
she said, chewing. “What's the worst that could happen? She
doesn't want you? So you turn right around and drive back here to
lick your wounds.”

“I'm
just worried that there is going to need to be some mending fences
before she would consider me again.”

“If
she feels about you like you feel about her...”

“That's
the thing, though. Even if she does... I don't think she would
realize it herself, let alone admit it.”

“So
you go charm her socks off. Put on a suit. Go get her flowers or
candy. Put some effort into it.” She pushed her empty dishes
toward the end of the table. “You know... it seemed like Maude
was pushing for this,” she said, her words implying that it
must have been a good match.”

“And
yet she hasn't said a word about that to me.”

“You
know her though. She wants to make sure it's organic. You cant make
two people fall in love.”

Eric
nodded, taking the check from the waitress.

“No
no no,” the manager yelled from the front of the store, waving
a hand at the waitress. “he fixed the generator. He's good her
for the week.”

Eric
winked at the waitress, giving her the amount of the check as a tip
before getting up and following Anna out of the diner.

“So
you're leaving,” she said as they stood on the sidewalk.

“So
I'm leaving,” he agreed, rocking back on his heels.

Anna
nodded for a second before throwing herself forward and wrapping her
arms around his waist. “I'm not gonna have anyone to eat junk
food with anymore,” she said, sounding like she was going to
cry.

“Ask
your husband,” Eric suggested, putting his arms around her
back.

“He'll
want me to even it out with broccoli,” she grumbled.

“The
monster,” Eric chuckled.

Anna
squeezed him tighter for a second, taking a deep breath. “I'm
really, really going to miss you.”

Eric
nodded, feeling an overwhelming sadness. “I'm really, really
going to miss you too darlin'.” And everyone else in the town.

“Aright,”
Anna said, stepping back and swatting at her eyes. “enough of
that. You go out there and you get your girl,” she said,
forcing a smile. “and come back here at least every other
month.”

“I
promise,” Eric smiled, reaching out and ruffling her hair.

“Bye
Eric,” she said, nodding.

“Bye
sweetheart,” he said, moving past her and down the street
before he changed his mind.

He
could do it. He let himself into his apartment and looked around,
things already losing their meaning. The records he had listened to a
million times. He could leave them. And the movies he had wasted
countless hours watching could be left behind and he wouldn't ever
really miss them.

He
shook his head. There really wasn't anything in his house that he
would feel upset about not seeing again. How sad was that? All the
years he had spent in those walls, surrounded by those things, and
none of it meant anything.

He
walked into his bedroom, dragging an ancient suitcase out of the
closet and throwing a bunch of casual clothes in. Just in case. In
case things went right. In case she loved him too.

Then
he reached into the side of the closet he rarely had need for and
pulled out a black suit. It was something he had invested in a few
years before, expensive, expertly tailored, slim fit. Women, no
matter their age or general male preferences, loved suits. It was
just a fact of life he came to count on.

He
sighed, shaking his head. He needed to get some rest. He could leave
first thing in the morning.

But
sleep barely came.

At
first light, he took the suit, black vest, white shirt, and striped
black and gray tie and brought them into the bathroom, hanging them
and turning on the water hot. If he was going to do it, he was going
to do it right. He jumped in the shower, shaved his face, applied a
small amount of cologne, and carefully got dressed.

He
went to the kitchen, grabbing all the food Lena had bought and
throwing it into a trash bag. Grabbing his suitcase and car keys, he
made his way down to the garage. Going around the building, he
dropped the garbage into the dumpster and went back around to get
into his car.

“Now
that's the way to do it,” Maude called from across the street.

Eric
smiled at her. “Got any advice for me?” he called back.

“Nah,”
Maude called, her voice sounding mysterious. Like she knew something.

“Awe
come on, you gorgeous thing. I need some direction so I don't fall on
my face.”

Maude
looked like she was considering something for a long minute, before
slowly making her way across the street. She stopped in front of him,
reaching up to straighten his tie. “No advice. You know what to
do. Just... be yourself. Not who you think you should be just because
you're in a suit.”

“That's...
cryptic. But thanks. I'll see you around, Maude,” he said,
leaning down and kissing her cheek. He got into his car quickly,
trying to ignore the fact that she was pretty much the only maternal
figure he had ever known and he wouldn't be able to be on the
receiving end of her chastening or advice anymore.

He
turned the radio on and turned it loud enough to drown out the doubts
inside. Because he was doing the right thing.

He
was getting the girl.

Twenty-Four

He
climbed out of his car, his legs stiff and painful. It was a good
thing he had to park several blocks down from EM Corporation. He
needed to stretch out. Relax. Lose the practiced speech he had been
playing in his head over the obnoxiously long ride. He didn't want to
sound too polished, too stiff.

He
walked slowly, winking at a few women who smiled at him. He didn't
know how he was going to adjust to the city. All the people, too
close and loud. The crowded streets, making it impossible for him to
enjoy a good joy ride. On the plus side, he reminded himself as he
looked around, there were plenty of places to eat. Get real pizza.
Chinese. Sushi. Everything that wasn't available anywhere near Stars
Landing.

A
sign to his side caught his eye and he stopped, smiling widely.
Perfect.

Em
Corp was a massive fifteen story building with gleaming windows and
white stucco. Eric nodded up at it. No wonder her job was so
important to her. He went in through the front doors, a small
cardboard box tucked underneath his arm. He walked up to the security
desk, telling them who he was there to see. One guard looked into the
box with a raised brow.

“Grand
romantic gesture,” he said and the guard laughed, handing him a
visitor badge and telling him to go to the top floor.

Elliott
let himself into the elevator, leaning against the wall for a second.
This was it. He took a deep breath as the elevator stopped and
chimed. Fifteen.

The
doors opened and he stepped off onto the floor, looking around. Three
desks were on each side, manned by busy-looking employees. Apparently
everyone had the work ethic of Lena.

“Well,
damn,” a soft male voice said at his side. Eric turned to find
a man about Lena's age in a tight button-up shirt the color of new
grass. “You are a fine looking piece of man meat,” he
said, his tone serious.

Eric
chuckled. “Thanks.”

“Can
I help you find someone?”

“Eric?”
Hannah called, stopping dead in her tracks. “What the hell are
you doing here?” she asked, dropping a folder on a desk and
coming up to him.

“Grand
romantic gesture,” he said, more unsure of himself suddenly.

“Lucky,”
Tad grumbled.

“Obviously
not for me, Tad,” she said, rolling her eyes. “This is
for Lena,” she clarified. “What's in the box?” she
asked.

Eric
sent her a sheepish smile, holding the box out for her to see. Inside
was a very white, very fluffy angora bunny.

“I'm
assuming that has some kind of significance to her?” Hannah
asked, reaching out to touch it.

“Yeah,”
he said, tucking it back underneath his arm. “So where is she?
I need to get this over with before I have a stroke.”

Hannah
looked up at him, her brows drawn together, her eyes small. “She's
not here,” she said.

“Oh,”
Eric said, looking around. “bad timing, huh? When will she be
back? I can wait.”

Tad
and Hannah exchanged a strange look. Tad shook his head and walked
back toward an empty desk.

Eric
looked back at Hannah, his head tilted. “What's going on, Han?”