“We don’t have to talk about this,” Robyn said, pulling her from the memory as she laid her hand over Leah’s.

Leah kept her eyes down as she nodded. “Yeah, I’d rather not. I’m just gonna ignore him, and he’ll eventually stop, like he always does.”

“Yeah, until the next time,” Holly said angrily. “Seriously, you should just change your number and end this shit once and for all.”

“You know that wouldn’t end it, Holly. He knows where I live. He’d still be able to send me things.”

The last time he decided he wanted to reconcile, it had been flowers and playlists he’d burned on to CDs for her.

“Hmm,” Holly said, pursing her lips. “Well, then how about a taser to his ball sack? Bet that would end it.”

Robyn snorted as Leah cupped her hand to her mouth, and then all at once the three of them were hysterically laughing.

“Oh my God, your bracelet!” Robyn said suddenly, her eyes wide as she pointed to Leah’s wrist.

Leah spun it gently. “Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you guys.”

“The old lady found it?” Holly asked.

“No, her grandson did. Well, sort of grandson.”

Robyn let out a huge breath. “Ugh, thank God. I kept picturing your dad’s face when he found out and it made me want to cry. When did you go back down there to get it?”

“I didn’t. Her grandson met me in White Plains.”

Robyn and Holly exchanged a look, and Holly put down her glass, folding her hands on the table and looking pointedly at Leah.

She rolled her eyes. “Cut the crap. It wasn’t like that. He was just being nice.”

“Hmm, a nice guy. Good start. So what’s he look like?”

“Um, tall. Black hair. Blue eyes.” Leah shrugged.

“Cute?” Robyn asked, her brow lifted.

Leah reached for another chip. “I guess.”

Holly narrowed her eyes, pointing at Leah. “Come clean. You want his bod. You think he’s sexy.”

Leah smirked as she stared at the chip in her hand, turning it over. “He’s kind of sexy,” she conceded softly, and Holly whipped her head toward Robyn, her eyes huge.

“Oh my God, I was only kidding! Leah, that’s awesome!”

She shook her head. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal,” Robyn said, swatting at Leah’s arm. “This is the first time in like forever that you’ve even looked at a guy that way!”

“I know. It’s unsettling.”

“No, sweetie. It’s a good thing,” Holly insisted. “You can’t let that fucktard ruin you. Not all guys are like him.”

Leah took a breath and nodded just as Robyn said, “So what happened? You met him in White Plains, and then what? He gave you the bracelet and left?”

“Well, no. We had lunch.”

Holly’s hand came down on the table, causing the plates and glasses to rattle. “Are you kidding me that you’re just telling us this now?”

“You went on a date?” Robyn asked.

“No, no,” Leah said quickly, wishing she hadn’t said anything at all. “We just decided to get something to eat. Spur of the moment. It was more out of convenience than anything else.”

“And?”

“And, we talked, and ate, and it was nice.”

“So how did you leave it?” Robyn asked, and Leah pulled her brow together.

“Well, I left, and that was it.”

“Did you exchange numbers?” Holly asked.

“He already had mine from the note I left when I lost the bracelet, and I have his from when he called to tell me he found it, so…” She trailed off with a shrug.

“Did he ask to see you again?”

Leah shook her head, reaching for her drink.

The girls looked at each other quickly. “That’s okay,” Robyn said. “I mean, date or not, it was the first time you hung out with a guy alone in almost two years. And you admitted you thought he was attractive. Another huge step. I’m proud of you, girlie.”

Leah smiled softly as she picked up her drink. “So,” she said deliberately, “are you getting excited about this weekend?”

Holly laughed menacingly, and Robyn shot her a look. “I already told you guys, nothing too crazy.”

“Robyn, you’re having your bachelorette party on New Year’s Eve. How do you think it’s not going to get crazy?”

“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.