I hadn’t seen her since. Realizing she needed help, she left town for a renowned clinic that treated people for everything from depression and personality disorders, to alcohol and drug dependency.
Now she was back.
“Send her in,” I said to Pandora, who raised an eyebrow at me, but didn’t say anything as she left the room. She didn’t need to. Her look said it all. Are you sure this is a good idea?
Maverick rose and gave me an amused grin.
“Think I will leave you to deal with that nightmare all on your own,” he said, patting me on the back and chuckling to himself as he disappeared out the door and down the hallway.
While I waited for my ex-girlfriend, I tidied up my tattoo station. Sitting on top, next to a box of unopened latex gloves was a bottle of Jack Daniel’s single barrel whisky, courtesy of my secret admirer. It had arrived by courier earlier that morning. Pandora said she had pressed the courier driver to tell her who the sender was, but he said it was against company policy, and even if it wasn’t, he was never given those details anyway.
I picked it up and looked at it. Judging by the label, it promised to be good. But I didn’t know how I felt about drinking it. I didn’t know who was sending me all this stuff and what she had in mind, or what she expected from me. Had she tampered with it?
I was putting the bottle away in my desk drawer when Brandi appeared in the doorway.
“It’s a bit early for that, isn’t it?” Her velvet smooth voice said.
I looked up. Seeing her standing in the doorway was a surprise. After the way things ended, she was the last person I ever thought I would see again.
“Is it ever too early?” I joked.
She smiled warmly. She looked good. Hell, she looked real good. Her flowing auburn hair gleamed like a halo around her beautiful face, and her eyes were warm like a good whisky. She really was a beauty.
“Hey,” she said softly, leaning against the door jam.
“Hey, yourself.”
When she was like this I remembered why I’d dated her in the first place.
She put a hand out as if to calm me. “I promise, I come in peace.”
I couldn’t help but smile, and when she crossed the distance between us and hugged me, I relaxed. This was a very different Brandi to the one yelling at me for breaking up with her. She held me to her. Her perfume subtle and tantalizing as I held her in my arms. I stepped back and looked into the gorgeous face of the woman whose heart I had broken. It looked as if she was in a much better place. “It’s good to see you.”
“You, too.” Her eyes twinkled with a confidence I hadn’t seen in a while. It made me feel better. I’d always felt guilty about breaking her heart. But at the time she’d wanted me to love her and I knew I never would. It was kinder to let her go. So I broke it off with her.
“So what brings you to this part of town?” I asked.
Her beautiful face frowned and she looked sad. “It’s Jasper. He passed away yesterday.”
Jasper was her dog. An old staffy who was as affectionate as he was obedient.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “He was a very cool dog.”
Tears glittered in her eyes as she nodded.
“I had to have him put down. The vet said he was in pain.”
“It’s a hard thing to do,” I said.
“The hardest,” she sniffed. Then she straightened and sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know why I came by to see you. I guess Jasper’s death has inspired me to fix things. To apologize, I suppose. I’m sorry for what happened when I last saw you.”
“It’s okay.” I moved away from her and leaned against the tattoo bed. “You’re looking a lot happier. Despite Jasper and his passing.”
“You’re being too kind,” she said with a teary smile. “I was a psycho. But then, you always brought out the crazy in me.”
“I’m sorry I did.”
Again she put her hand out. “Please don’t apologize. I’m the one who lost her mind. I kicked over your bike. Did I do much damage?”
Thankfully, no.
“Nothing Picasso couldn’t fix up.”
She grimaced. “Jesus, what a crazy bitch.”
We both looked at each other and then we laughed. The ice was broken.
“Does that mean I’m forgiven?” she asked through her laughter.
“Of course.”
She smiled brightly and flicked her long hair over her shoulder. “How about I buy you lunch to say thank you. I’m heading to Los Angeles tomorrow and I’d like to say goodbye on a more positive note.”
I thought about it. I felt better knowing she was in a better place.
“Sure,” I said. “It sounds like a great idea.”