The Rules of Dating(103)

He glared. “Billie…”

“Hmm?”

“You wanna talk about what the hell made you do that?”

My stomach growled. “I’m starving. Let’s go to the restaurant, and I’ll explain there.”

It was the perfect, clear day in New York City for a stroll. Even though Eddie’s truck was parked down the street, we walked to a bistro a couple of blocks away.

After we ordered our food, he leaned his arms on the table and said, “Okay, so tell me what’s going on. I’d heard you were dating that guy who owns your building. Is he why Barbie got a crew cut?”

Sighing, I nodded. “Not just dating, Eddie. I fell hopelessly in love with him—and his little girl.” My heart clenched. “And I miss them.”

“Miss?” His eyes widened. “You broke up?”

“Not exactly.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Sounds complicated.”

“You have no idea.”

“Do I need to go kick his ass?”

“It’s not his ass I want to kick,” I answered.

“What’s going on? Talk to me.”

“How much time do you have?” I took a sip of my water. “Seriously, this is a freaking long one.”

“How much time do I have? More time than it takes to snip Barbie’s hair off strand by strand. How about that?”

I ended up telling Eddie everything about the whole situation, ending with how I’d run into Colby with Maya laughing in the subway and how it really bothered me. Playing with my straw, I looked down into my glass. “I’d been missing him so much that entire day, and it was just…jarring to see him laughing with her. He supposedly hates her, and now they’re laughing together like two best buddies? I mean, what the fuck?”

Eddie scratched his chin. “Well, let’s break this down to get to the root cause of the issue. Because something tells me it’s about more than just the laughter. What was it about him laughing that really bothered you?”

“Everything?” I shrugged. “How am I supposed to dissect it?”

“That’s what Eddie’s for.” He grinned. “I’ll help you.”

I’d take any help I could get at this point. “Okay…”

Our lunch arrived, momentarily interrupting our conversation.

Eddie popped a French fry into his mouth. “So, first ask yourself, would you prefer he be unhappy the entire time he has to go through this living arrangement with her?”

Squirting some ketchup onto my plate, I shook my head. “No, not at all. That’s not it. I do want him to be happy.”

“Okay, so happiness might encompass laughter, correct?”

“This sort of reminds me of being on the stand in court.” I chuckled. “Yes, I suppose it would.”

“So we know it wasn’t the fact that he was being jovial that got to you.” He took a bite of his burger and spoke with his mouth full. “Next question. Did you feel like his laughing with her meant that he’s developing feelings for her?”

As much as my insecurities wanted to latch onto that, I couldn’t. “That doesn’t sound right either, knowing how much he detests and resents her. So that’s not what I think.”

He put his burger down and brushed off his hands. “You know what I think?”

“What?”

“I think Eddie’s verdict is in.”

“What is it?”

“I think you were upset to see him laughing because you somehow applied it to his feelings toward you—like how could he possibly be happy when he’s supposed to be miserable, missing you. Am I right? Somehow his laughter showed that the world hadn’t, in fact, ended for him without you in it.”

Wow. My eyes widened. I think Eddie just hit the nail on the head. “That’s it, Eddie. That’s what bothered me. It felt like a reflection of his feelings toward me, even though he’s never given me a reason to doubt them. I think I’ve been ultrasensitive lately because of the stress of the situation. It must be warping my sense of reality.”

I took a deep breath. Somehow having worked this out in my head made me feel a bit better. “Damn, you’re good, Eddie Muscle. Wanna trade tattoos for therapy?”

“I like that idea.” He bit into his burger. “Just think, Barbie could’ve been spared a botched haircut if you’d just talked to me sooner about this.”

I chuckled. “I guess I’ll never live the Barbie thing down, huh?”

“Probably not.” He winked.

“Great.”

Eddie poured some salt on his fries. “A lot of things make people laugh, Billie. You shouldn’t read into it. Sometimes we have to laugh for survival. You probably just caught the dude in one of those moments.” He pointed a fry at me. “I’ll give you a great example from my own life. You know about my divorce, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“It wasn’t pretty. Very bitter. Lots of resentment. I told you that whole story once.”

“Yeah…” I sipped my water.

“She and I weren’t speaking for a long while. On the day we went in to finally sign the divorce papers, we were in the conference room with the two attorneys. It was quiet. And I shit you not, her lawyer just ripped one right in the middle of the damn thing.”