Heather: Oh my God! You did not save your number under the name God’s Gift to Women!
I had to program my fucking number in her phone after our boat date. She refused to enter it, claiming she liked the arrangement where I randomly show up.
Me: Well, I am. However, you still haven’t answered if you were thinking of me.
Heather: Nope not once actually. Who are you again?
I laugh.
Me: Liar. And you know exactly who this is, baby. My ears were itching or ringing . . . whatever it is when someone is thinking of you . . . I figured I should do something about it.
Heather: You should see an ENT about that. Sounds like a medical condition.
Me: You wound me.
I love that she has no problem giving me shit. So many girls would be falling over themselves, but not her.
Heather: Actually, I was thinking of you before. I had a call, and this girl was going crazy over how much she loved Four Blocks Down. She was good people.
Me: See, if you would’ve taken my number and I didn’t have to trick you, you could’ve called me. I would’ve made her a very happy fan.
Heather: Good to know. I’ll be sure to call you each time someone talks about the God that you are. *eye roll*
I can picture her saying it and almost hear the sarcasm in her voice. Could I like this girl anymore at this moment? Doubtful.
Me: I’ll be picking you up on Thursday at seven in the morning.
Heather: You will, huh?
Me: I will. I have something I want to show you.
Heather: Well, I guess I can squeeze you in.
Me: I’m honored.
Heather: Seriously, though. It depends on if Stephanie is released, can we play it by ear?
I will never stand in her way with her sister, which is why I’m here. It’s one thing to say the words and another to actually follow through with action. She should never doubt me, I’m hoping to prove this to her now.
Me: Of course, I’ll be in touch.
Heather: Thanks, Eli. I really was thinking of you. (Don’t let that go to your head.) *wink*
I have a shit-eating grin on my face as I push off from the wall I was leaning against and start walking. Nerves that I don’t normally feel start to build as I approach Stephanie’s door. What if she doesn’t know that her sister and I are . . . whatever we are? Am I going to seriously piss off Heather?
Instead of getting ahead of myself, I say fuck it and do what I came here to do. I knock on the door and hope for the best.
“What?” a hostile voice calls from the bed. “I’m sleeping.”
“Sorry,” I say, and then she looks over and lets out a high-pitched scream.
“Holy shit!”
“Hi, Stephanie. Can I come in?” I ask.
“Oh. My. God!” A younger, brunette version of Heather yells. “You’re Eli Walsh! The one who my sister slept with!” I guess that clears up whether she knows about me. “Shit!” Stephanie clasps her hand over her mouth in a very Heather-like gesture.
“I’m one and the same, unless she goes around sleeping with other guys named Eli Walsh?”
She shakes her head with her hand still covering her lips.
“I wanted to come by and meet you, I hope that’s okay.”
It’s clear that Heather’s sister is her number one, and I want her to know I get it. Unlike her piece of shit ex-husband.
She tucks her hair behind her ears and sits up a little. “Of course! I mean, yeah. I can’t believe you’re here . . . in my hospital room. And you know my name.”
“Your sister talks about you a lot,” I explain.
“She needs a life.”
I ignore the comment because it isn’t my place to say shit. I know how easy it is to immerse yourself in whatever is going on in life. “So, tell me, how are you feeling?”
“Umm.” She hesitates and scrunches her face a little. “Me? I’m having a good day. I’m going home tomorrow.”
“That’s good. I know Heather thought you’d be done today.”
Stephanie chews on her lip while looking out the window. “They’re keeping me one more day because I had a rough night last night.”
Shit. Maybe this won’t work. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s fine. My medication was causing my heart rate to spike, but the last twelve hours have been steady. Please don’t tell my sister that last part. If I say anything about having a bad day, it’s a yearlong lecture on all the reasons I should call her when things like that happen. As if my life isn’t a series of freaking medical issues, I guess she just wants to be on the phone all damn day.” Stephanie says the words so fast it almost comes out like one giant sentence.
My lips turn up, and I stifle a laugh. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that Heather would be okay with that. She has a big heart, and her protectiveness of Stephanie is clear. My brother is the same with me. Randy may come off as an asshole, but if I needed him, I know he will be there.
“Your secret’s safe with me.” I move toward the side of her bed and extend the flowers. “These are for you.”
“I can’t believe you brought me flowers. You must really like my sister.”
“I do. I like her a lot.”
I never understood the saying, “You know when you know.” I always thought that was some line of bullshit an idiot came up with. Yet, the older I get, the more reality I see in it. I’ve always known in some part of my head that the girls I was spending time with weren’t worth it. They weren’t going to be the girl brought to meet my mother.
Maybe it’s because I’m old.
Maybe it’s because it’s her.
No matter what the reason is, I just know.
Stephanie’s smile is wide, and I can feel the happiness rolling off her. “She needs someone to take care of her. I know she doesn’t act like it, but she does.”
It’s clear that these two have each other’s best interests at heart. Here Stephanie is worried about her while Heather is always trying to help her.
“We all do, right?”
She nods. “As much as I’d love to pretend you’re here because I’m so amazing and you needed to know more about me, tell me what really brought you here.”
I lean in closer and grin. Heather has no idea what’s in store for our date, but I’m hoping it shows her there are other sides to me. I do a lot that has nothing to do with music or Hollywood. I’d like to have her sister be there as well as a surprise.
I can’t wait to see Heather’s face when I pull this off. “How good are you at lying to your sister for a good cause?”
Chapter 14
Heather
“What do you mean you didn’t want me to stop by?” I ask Stephanie as I try to organize her room the way it was a week ago. She came back to Breezy Beaches yesterday and refused to let me do anything last night. She said she needed to be alone and practically threw me out the door. Today, I didn’t care what she said, I came anyway even with her bitch-o-meter being at an eleven out of ten.
She sits on the bed, glaring at me. “You never fucking listen to me! I don’t want you to come! I’m tired, I’m finally back home and I want to just . . .” She pauses and then groans.