Coming Home (8 page)

“It can get crazy, but can we just go easy with the penis paraphernalia?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Holly said, holding up her hand. “You’re not being serious, are you? If so, I have a
lot
of schlongs to return before Saturday.”

Leah choked on the sip she’d just taken, bringing her napkin to her mouth, and Robyn tried not to laugh as she said, “Can we at least come to an agreement that I don’t have to
wear
any of them?”

“No promises,” Holly said, smiling innocently up at the waiter who had come to take their order.

They spent the rest of the meal discussing last-minute details for Robyn’s party. The topic of Danny didn’t come up again, and Leah was grateful. She understood why the girls were so excited; she had been turning down every guy who showed interest, every offer to be set up, for the past two years, refusing to even entertain the idea of getting involved with anyone. And despite what Holly had said, it wasn’t because she thought all guys were like Scott. She knew that wasn’t true. It was just that she didn’t have the motivation to try and figure out which ones weren’t. And even if she did, it wasn’t like she could trust her own judgment anymore. Not when she spent the better part of three years thinking Scott was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

She found it somewhat ironic that overcoming her trust issues was a hundred times harder since the person she couldn’t trust was herself.

Besides, they were making the Danny thing out to be a much bigger deal than it was. It wasn’t some romantic rendezvous—it was lunch. Plus, he hadn’t even asked to see her again, so rehashing it just seemed kind of pointless.

By the time Leah got home, she was so tired and distracted, she almost missed the sound of her phone ringing. As she opened her front door, she pulled it out of her purse and glanced at the screen, tossing the bag down on a chair.

Butterflies flooded her stomach.

Incoming call from Danny.

She had programmed him into her phone—like he’d told her to—just in case she ever had any car trouble and needed help.

At least, that’s what she told herself.

Leah closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath, exhaling slowly before she hit the button to take the call.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Danny.”

Her smile faltered at the brusqueness of his voice.

“What’s up?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”

“Gram just called me. She didn’t have your number. Why did you send her daffodils?”

His tone made her stop in her tracks. It was almost…
accusatory
. It didn’t make any sense.

“Um,” Leah answered, running her hand through her hair, “I just…I mean, I really appreciated what she did for me that day, so I wanted to do something nice for her.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said. “Why
daffodils
?”

Leah closed her eyes as she rubbed circles over her temple with her fingertips. She couldn’t understand what was happening. Was he angry with her? For sending his grandmother flowers?

“I don’t know. I saw that she had a bunch of them around her house. I assumed she liked them.” Her stomach dropped as she added, “Did I upset her or something?”

Danny exhaled heavily into the phone, and it was several seconds before he spoke again. “No,” he said softly. “You didn’t upset her. She wanted me to thank you.”

“Okay…” Leah said, trailing off.

“Look, I’m at work, though. I gotta go.”

She shook her head slightly. “Okay.”

“Alright. Bye.”

“Bye,” she managed.

“Wait, Leah?” he said abruptly.

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t…I…” He exhaled again before he said, “I’m sorry.”

“Okay,” she murmured, wishing she could come up with something else to say besides that stupid word.

“Bye,” he said and ended the call.

Leah pulled the phone from her ear and tossed it on the table before she walked through her living room, collapsing on the couch with a huff as she dropped her head back and blinked up at the ceiling.

What the hell just happened?

“Excuse me,” Robyn said, tapping the overweight bearded man on his shoulder. He turned, clearly amused as he looked her up and down. She was wearing a white tank top with the phrase “I’m the Bachelorette” scrawled in pink lettering across the front. On the back was the phrase “Grab my ass before it’s too late!” She wore a veil pinned into her blond curls, and much to her dismay, she was wearing a large penis necklace, a red strobe light flashing in its head.

Leah made a mental note to forbid Holly from planning any party of hers for the rest of their lives.

“Clearly, I’m getting married soon,” Robyn said to the man, gesturing at herself with her half-empty drink. “And I’m a virgin bride. So I was just wondering if you could give me some pointers, or maybe tell me what to expect?”

Leah bit her lip and looked down; as her shoulders began to shake with the force of her stifled laughter, she turned and walked back toward the table where the rest of the raucous bridal party sat.

“Guys, this is so mean. Let’s cut her a break.”

“No way,” Robyn’s sister said. “She did this to me at my bachelorette party. Payback’s a bitch.” She held up the list she was holding, scanning it intently. It was a bachelorette scavenger hunt of sorts. Robyn had to complete a bunch of tasks before the end of the night, one more humiliating than the next. Her sister took the pen out of her back pocket and removed the cap with her teeth, checking off the box next to number seven: “Pretend you’re a virgin and ask a random guy for advice re: the wedding night.”

Leah sat down next to Holly, who held up her drink. She smiled, leaning over to clink her Cosmo against it before she drained the rest of it. On top of the shots they had taken earlier, she was slowly but surely making the transition from buzzed to drunk.

Robyn approached the table, her quintessential inebriated smile in place.

“Okay, so Herb,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder, “said not to be shy, and that I shouldn’t worry if it hurts because it will get better. Oh, and he also said I shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with the balls.”

The entire table cracked up as Robyn shrugged, drinking the rest of her appletini before she sat down on Leah’s lap and rested her head against Leah’s.

“Uh oh! The bachelorette needs a drink! I’m on it,” said Robyn’s old college roommate, and she jumped up and made her way over to the bar.

“Hey,” Holly said, leaning over to them. “Do you realize that in twenty minutes, it will be the year you’re getting married?”

“Peace out, single life!” Robyn shouted, holding two fingers up and waving them in the face of a man who walked past them.

“Peace out to the idea of her not puking tonight,” Holly said to Leah, and they both laughed.

“Alright, girlies,” Robyn’s cousin sing-songed as she approached the table, “I brought us some goodies!”

Leah looked up to see four young guys standing behind her.

“Excellent!” Robyn’s sister said. “We can check off number twelve on the list.”

Robyn sighed. “What do I have to do?”

“You have to take a young man over your knee and spank him.”

“I’ll do it,” two of the guys said in unison, and Holly burst out laughing.

Robyn got off Leah’s lap and sat on a chair, crooking her finger at one of the guys. “Alright, let’s go, naughty boy,” she said, and he swiftly laid himself across her lap, beaming like he’d won the lottery.

She spanked him as the girls counted them off, and in the midst of the shenanigans, Leah glanced up to see one of the other guys smiling at her.

“Bobby,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Leah,” she answered as she reached for it.

“Well, Leah, I know this is going to sound like a line, but you’re the most beautiful girl in here tonight.”

She smirked. “That
does
sound like a line.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate, because it’s true.”

“Thanks,” she said softly.

“So, can I get you another drink?”

“Oh. That’s okay. I’m good for right now. Thanks.”

“Alright. Maybe later,” he said with a wink before turning back to his friends.

Leah sat back in her seat to see Holly watching her, her brow lifted.

“No good?” she asked, and Leah shrugged.

“That’s okay,” Holly said. “I’m still so proud of you for your not-a-date the other day.”

Her inhibitions having been completely washed away by her third Cosmo, Leah leaned over to Holly and said, “I think it’s
because
of my not-a-date that I’m not impressed by these guys.”

“What do you mean?”

“I guess I’m just thinking about Danny,” she said, and Holly’s eyebrows shot into her hairline.

The truth was, Leah had thought about him a lot that night. It had been four days since that bizarre phone call about the daffodils, and she hadn’t heard from him again. Not that she expected to. He’d given her no indication that he would call her after lunch that day, and that last phone call certainly didn’t leave her expecting to hear from him again, and yet tonight, she couldn’t get him out of her head. It seemed the more alcohol she consumed, the more thoughts of him would invade her mind.

He was the perfect combination of cute, but sexy. Pretty, but rugged. Exuding a gentleness, but at the same time, radiating a raw sex appeal. But she’d met lots of attractive guys in the past few years, and none of them ever occupied her thoughts the way Danny did.

He was such a mystery to her though, and maybe
that
was why she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Maybe she was just trying to figure him out.

She could tell he was a good guy—the way he took care of Catherine, the way he was protective of her, proved that. And at lunch, they had gotten along so well. They were comfortable. They made each other laugh. He seemed to enjoy spending the afternoon with her.

And then he left without even the tiniest indication that he wanted to see or talk to her again.

Maybe he has a girlfriend
, Leah thought. But then why would he have asked her to lunch in the first place? Unless he really
was
just trying to be a nice guy.

But then there was that weird, angry phone call.

Leah sighed, reaching to take Holly’s drink out of her hand before taking a sip. This was exactly the kind of thing she didn’t want to deal with. She didn’t want to be vulnerable, especially with someone who was so hard to read.

She decided she should just celebrate her partial victory; she had allowed herself to have
some
interest in a guy. That was more than she had been capable of for a long time. It was a small step, but the girls were right: it was a step in the right direction. She didn’t have to pursue it for it to be significant. And she wasn’t going to pursue Danny.

With that revelation she suddenly felt ten pounds lighter, smiling over at Holly, who was still staring at her with a shocked expression.

“Do you
like
him?” she asked, and Leah waved her off.

“It’s not like that. I’m just happy that I’m not completely broken. It makes me think that maybe one day I can have what you guys have,” she said, gesturing to her friends.

Holly’s face contorted with sadness. “
Of course
you will, Leah. Of course you will.” She stood up and wrapped her arm around Leah’s shoulder, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “Now give me back my drink, you bitch.”

Leah laughed just as Robyn’s sister yelled, “Another round of shots, ladies!”

Stupidly, she agreed.

A few hours later, Leah and Holly were helping put Robyn into her fiancé’s car.

“Here. The bartender thought this would be a good idea,” Holly said, handing Rich one of the plastic fishbowls the bar used to serve specialty drinks in.

“Gee, thanks,” he said, leaning into the passenger seat and handing Robyn the empty bowl. She grinned up at him and slurred something unintelligible.

“Absolutely, babe,” Rich said as he buckled her seat belt.

“What did she say?” Leah asked.

Rich closed the passenger door and turned toward them. “I have no fucking idea.”