Bella shook her head. “No, you didn’t. It might take several hundred gallons of ice cream and a dozen or so cases of wine, but I’m going to get you through this. And once you reach the other side, we commence with the original plan. Operation Perfect Guy.”
Charley had forgotten about that plan. Forgotten about all those characteristics she’d listed for her ideal man.
Then she considered Alex.
He loved it whenever she snorted, watched hockey with the same insane fervor she did, told her her nickname suited her, matched her shot for shot when it came to tequila, and never gave her shit for her foul mouth.
Hell, he’d even spontaneously eloped in Vegas with her.
He’d nailed it all.
Truth was…apart from the commitment issues and the lack of dog…Alex was the perfect guy.
Wow.
And she seriously thought she couldn’t feel worse.
All she’d had to do was keep the love word out of their conversations. It should have been so damn simple.
Then she would have…
Would have been in exactly this same boat, only a week from now instead of today.
Brokenhearted.
Alone.
The only—biggest—difference was if she’d kept her mouth shut, Alex would never have known about the misery he was about to leave in his wake.
Now, she felt very much like the pity date he took to the wedding. Only more pathetic.
And she hadn’t just ruined the temporary relationship. She’d most likely destroyed the friendship too.
“He goes back to Baltimore tomorrow. Just grin and bear it tonight and I promise, tomorrow I’ll come armed with Ben and Jerry’s and Chardonnay.” Bella stood, then offered her a hand. “Dinner is ready.”
Charley didn’t mention to Bella that up until ten minutes ago, she’d been planning to travel to Baltimore with Alex.
So much for that extra week of sex, hockey, and champagne.
Josh and Alex finished loading the cooler, then he sat next to her. Being surrounded by their families helped alleviate the awkwardness of what had just happened.
Alex acted normal—on the surface—but she was convinced now that she wasn’t imagining his uneasiness. It almost felt like he was starting to treat her with kid gloves.
No doubt he was trying to figure out how to un-invite her to Baltimore.
Miraculously, the entire situation resolved itself when her publisher called to ask if she’d be willing to travel to Milwaukee to do a last-minute appearance.
She hastily agreed, delighted to be able to provide an out for Alex, since she wasn’t sure if he’d maintain the current plan, grinning and bearing it, or if he’d come up with some lame excuse to cancel, even though both of them would know the truth.
“Bad news,” she said after she hung up. “I’m going to have to postpone my trip to Baltimore. Another one of the children’s book authors with my publisher had to cancel an appearance at a librarians’ conference this weekend due to health concerns. My publisher asked me to fill in.”
“You couldn’t say no?” Alex asked.
Charley wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
Of course, she could have.
She thought Alex would be relieved, but instead he looked…angry?
Disappointed?
“This is my job,” she said, trying to find a way to explain that he could relate to. “This is a state-wide conference. Hundreds of librarians. It’s a big opportunity for me to get Tomboy Tess in libraries all over the state.”
Alex’s expression softened. “Yeah. You’re right. So how long is the conference?”
“I fly out tomorrow and I’ll get back here Monday morning. I know you already bought my ticket to Baltimore, but don’t worry. I’ll reimburse you for the fa—”
“Reimburse me? I can get the ticket changed. I’m afraid I still have to fly home tomorrow—got an interview with ESPN scheduled Sunday morning. You can just follow me next week when you get back.”
“But—”
“I still need a date for the exhibition game and the party.”
Damn.
Alex really was the perfect guy.
Even though this affair was coming to a screeching halt, he was still taking her to the party.
Maybe the friendship wouldn’t be lost after all.
“That would be great,” she said. “I really was looking forward to meeting some of the players on your team.”
Alex chuckled. He was amused by her serious fan-girl status when it came to his team. “Of course you were.”
“And we still have to sign and file the paperwork for,” she lowered her voice so no one could hear, “the annulment.”
Alex nodded. She’d expected to see some sort of relief on his face, but the frown was back.
Was he angry with her for ruining their fun times by professing her love?
The rest of the night only got worse. Alex bailed on the flag football rematch, claiming he had to be up early for his flight home.
He’d said a long goodbye to his family, hugging and promising he’d try to squeeze in another trip before the holidays.
They didn’t talk much on the drive home, the awkwardness between them growing with each silent minute that passed.
Charley wracked her brain for something to say, but nothing came. She felt stupid, sad, and depressed.
She thought she should find some way to brush off her comment, but bringing it up again felt dumber than the fact that she’d said it in the first place.
They stood next to each other at the bathroom sink, just as they had every night this week, and brushed their teeth. She was used to Alex smiling more, but tonight, he looked too serious, too pensive.
Her heart was racing when they climbed into bed.
Typically, they both slept naked and tangled up in each other’s arms, but tonight she pulled on a T-shirt, and she noticed he kept his boxers on.
He rolled toward her, and even though the room was dark, the streetlights outside made it possible for her to see his face.
She thought for a second he was going to say something, but in the end, he just gave her one of his affable, easygoing Alex smiles, kissed her—way too platonically—and said good night.
Then he turned over and went to sleep.
Something that completely eluded her until the alarm on his phone sounded the same time dawn erupted.
It seemed like he was gone minutes after waking. His bag packed and loaded in the Uber.
He kissed her goodbye—this one longer, but still lacking the passion she’d grown so accustomed to.
“See you in a few days,” he said as he climbed into the back of the car.
Charley nodded and waved, certain she would never make that trip to Baltimore.
Chapter Thirteen
“Damn. You’ve been a barrel of laughs tonight.”
Alex glanced across the table at Colm Collins, his lawyer and friend, and sighed.
Colm was right. A corpse would be more fun than him right now.
Alex had gotten back to Baltimore Saturday, done the ESPN interview yesterday morning, then stewed ever since. This afternoon, he’d had enough of his own company, and he’d called Colm to see if his friend was free for dinner. Colm had swung by after work to pick him up and the two of them had ordered crab cakes at Sunday’s Side, the restaurant attached to the pub Colm’s family owned. The idea of spending another night alone in his empty house had been too miserable for Alex to consider.