“I’ll see ya, Will. Fishing next week, right?”

He nods and waves before turning to rejoin his band of idiots. I tug on the brim of my hat, curving it down and pulling it lower, hoping for anonymity. I deserve to nurse the hole in my chest in peace.

I don’t give a shit what Celia says, nothing about last night was a mistake. She’s happy with me. She’s alive when we’re together. I do that for her. Me—no one else. I know what I feel when she’s in my arms, and it’s mirrored back to me in her eyes.

What I can’t figure out is why a visit from Audrey would change everything. We had an amazing night together, and we woke up to an equally amazing morning, and Audrey wiped it away in an instant. What in the hell could she have against Celia and me? It doesn’t make any sense.

When the bartender places another shot glass in front of me, I don’t hesitate. This time, I hardly feel the burn.

“A little birdie told me I might find you here,” Adam says as he takes a seat beside me.

I turn and shoot daggers at Will, who shrugs apologetically. I give him the one-finger salute.

“Don’t be mad at him. He is worried about you, man.” Adam leans in and sniffs. He turns his head in disgust and waves me off. “And now I see why. Your eyeballs are practically swimming in whiskey. Forget about walking a straight line. I’m pretty fucking sure you can’t walk at all.”

“Good thing I don’t plan on going anywhere.” I spin the empty shot glass on the bar and slam my hand down to stop it. “Go home to your kids, Adam.”

“I’m on my way to do just that. They spent the afternoon with Caroline, so I’m sure they’ll be covered in paint. I’m making a quick pit stop to check on your sorry ass.”

Caroline, the director of New Horizons Outreach Center, has taken quite a liking to Lily and Gage. She babysits almost as much as Celia, and Adam’s lucky to have her. She’s a therapist, just like Celia, but she specializes in art therapy. She’s always cooking up the coolest projects for Lily and Gage.

“You can count on that. Be ready to hose them down outside.” I lower my head and avoid his stare. “You came to say ‘I told you so,’ man?”

“You know that’s not me. What about you? You gonna give me shit about blowing things up with Sara?”

Ah, that’s right, I forgot. While swimming in my own pity pool, I forgot about Adam’s relationship implosion. Evidently, the separation between church and state came crashing down around him, and he didn’t take it well. Sara agreed to babysit the twins for Celia when something came up, and Adam went ballistic. I’m not sure how he’s going to fix this one.

“Of course I won’t.” I angle away from Adam and shake my head. “You know what the worst part of it is? I didn’t fuck up. I didn’t do a damn thing wrong. Honestly, I don’t even have a clue what happened today. All I know is that I was dismissed. ‘Goodbye, Cain. See ya. Thanks for fucking playing.’ It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Look, I don’t know if I should tell you this or not, but I found out something today that may shed some light on things.” He grabs the back of his neck and shakes his head. “It’s kind of fucked up.”

I stare at him expectantly, and he hesitates. “Speak, dude. What the hell?”

“Damn, all right. So Audrey showed up at Celia’s house this morning, right?”

“Uh, no shit, Sherlock. I was there, remember?”

“Just give me a second. I have a point, I swear.” I nod and shut my mouth. I don’t want to miss a second of this. “So she storms out of the house and walks over to my house. I guess she was waiting for you to leave, because she went back to Celia’s when you drove away. Anyway, she said something to me. Something I never caught on to before.”

Adam gets quiet again, and I exhale a frustrating groan. “Seriously, what?”

“She was muttering under her breath, but I caught most of it. I heard her say ‘Celia loves my brother, and that’s never going to change.’ Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

I lean back onto the barstool and cross my arms. “Are you shitting me? The guy from Celia’s past is Audrey’s brother?”

“Yep.” Adam smiles proudly, seemingly impressed with his investigative skills.

I don’t even know what to make of this realization. I know Audrey and Celia are best friends, and have been since childhood, but I’ve never heard either of them ever mention a brother. It definitely explains Audrey’s reaction today.

“So Audrey expects her to remain stuck in the past for the rest of her life? She’s never allowed to move on? That doesn’t make any sense. Something doesn’t add up.”

Adam shrugs. “I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

“Maybe we were wrong from the get-go. Maybe the guy really is off at college, or in the military, or something. Maybe he is coming home after all.”

The thought makes the whiskey in my stomach boil and churn. Was I a fun, temporary distraction?

“I don’t think so,” Adam replies, his hands held up in surrender when I start to argue. “Hear me out, man. Have you ever heard a word, even an inkling of a long distance boyfriend? Between the two of us, with as much time as we spend with her, we’d have heard something. A missed phone call, a letter, a visit home … something.”

“I hope you’re right. God, that sounds so wrong, like I hope the guy’s dead. I don’t mean it that way. Hell, I don’t know what I mean.”

The bartender circles back, and I have the good sense to wave him off this time. I should have turned away the last couple of shots, but better late than never, right? I need to get a clear head and try to make sense of everything Adam just told me.

“So what’s the plan? How are you gonna fix it?” Adam asks.

“A plan? You got a plan to win Sara back, Casanova?”

“I always have a plan,” he says with a smirk, but it fades quickly. His lips turn down and he shakes his head. He knows he messed up, that’s for sure. “I’m gonna win her back. I have to.”

I hit him with a couple of man slaps on the back. “Yeah, you will. Better get some thick knee pads, though.”

He chuckles. “I’m not above groveling. I know I fucked up, but I’m gonna fix it. You want my advice?”

“It can’t hurt,” I say with a shrug.

“Make her miss you. She’ll realize her mistake.” I nod, hoping he’s right. At least it’s a start. “Now let’s go. I’m driving your drunk ass home.”

As we drive through Providence, my vision is blurry, and my thoughts are jumbled. But one thing stands out above all the rest. Adam’s right; I need to make Celia miss me. The bitch of it is, I’m gonna miss the hell out of her, too.

“I’d Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About” by Mayday Parade

Present Day

“WAKE UP MAN, he’s gone,” I laugh as I slap Will’s cheek.

My cousin lays passed out cold on my grandparents’ couch, spit dried on his cheek and hair plastered to his greasy forehead. He groans softly and runs a hand over his face.

“Ugh, what the hell are you talking about? Who’s gone?” He flips over and buries his head in the crevice of the couch.

“The puma that shit in your mouth.”

He rolls over to face me. He opens and closes his mouth slowly and a look of disgust washes over his face. “A puma did shit in my mouth.”

“Hurry up and get in the shower, whiskey breath. I can smell you from across the room. Grams will be down to cook breakfast any minute, and I don’t want her getting drunk off your fumes.”