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“That, and he’s on the rebound.”
“Ooh.” Carly raised her eyebrows. “Which means don’t go anywhere near him.”
“What? No, it doesn’t.” Gina took a sip of her wine. “Rebounds are fun. The trick is to know going in that there’s no chance of it working out because it’s just a rebound. It’s low-stakes, high-reward.”
“How is it high reward?”
“Because someone on the rebound is just happy for the attention.”
“That’s cold, Gina.” Kendra shook her head at her always-sassy friend. “Anyway, that’s not Jason. He always gets attention. I don’t know why. He’s cute, but he’s no Winston.”
Everyone knew Winston Duke was her ultimate.
“But Jason has that dreamy Latin-lover look.”
“Oooh, he does, doesn’t he?” Carly made a show of fanning herself. “This is because I’m very pregnant, not because of Jason,” she explained. “But Kendra, are you really surprised he’s so popular? He’s cute, he’s a fireman, also he’s hot and he’s a fireman. Meaning he rescues people while being cute and hot.”
Kendra made a face at her. “Some of us are looking for more than cute and hot and rescue-y.”
Carly pointed an accusing finger at her. “He rescued you from a pool cue!”
“That’s true. And I did say that I wished I could kiss him for that. But his face was all swollen, so that never happened.”
“It’s never too late.” Gina pushed her glass toward Kendra, who splashed more wine into it. “Rebound, rebound.”
“Don’t do it, don’t do it,” chanted Carly.
“Hmm.” Kendra flashed a smile at her two friends. “WWBD?”
The two of them looked at each other, then back at Kendra. “Do it,” they said together. They all laughed.
“It’s been over a year since Dominic,” said Gina gently. “Don’t you think it’s time to at least try?”
Kendra opened her mouth to explain that she was fine just as she was. But the words refused to come out. Maybe she wasn’t fine.
“Rebound” meant that you were recovering, coming back from the worst of it, ready for something new.
Was she even rebound material?
If she told her friends how shaky she still felt, they’d be supportive, of course. But they were both so freaking happy right now. They wouldn’t be able to relate.
She let out a sigh as she realized that there was someone who probably could relate. Jason. They could be the Rebound Twins. Both trying to claw their way back to a normal social life after getting punched in the mouth with the Pool Cue of Rejection.
She shook off the thought. She wasn’t ready for any kind of dating, not even a rebound. This was the time for her to focus on her career—which Dominic had also ruined.
Luckily, Pop had asked her to help him out with the restaurant. Alvin’s Burgers and Blues had been a great distraction. She’d come back to Lake Bittersweet to lick her wounds, but she wanted more for herself then running a restaurant.
An idea had been bouncing around in her head ever since she saw the notice at city hall. “Can we stop talking about boys for a minute and discuss the fact that I’m considering a career change?”
“What?” Alarmed, Carly gripped the edge of the bar. “You’re going to leave us to run this place without you?”
“Don’t worry, it’s a long process. I might not even get it. Sure, I’m ridiculously qualified and all that. But there’s a lot of old people in charge around here who might not want me to get it. The dreaded board of aldermen.”
Carly shuddered, since she’d had her own run-ins with the town powers-that-be. “What’s the job?”
“Town manager. The job where I get to boss everyone around.” She smiled gleefully.
“Oh my God. That would be perfect for you. As a local business owner, there’s no one I’d rather get bossed around by.” Carly offered her hand for a high-five. Kendra obliged, then high-fived Gina as well. For the first time in a while, she felt some hope. Maybe Dominic hadn’t completely ruined her career and love life in one swoop.
