Just a Little Sincerity Read Free Page A

if you bail on me—”
    “Sorry, Julie,” he said, dicing carrots. “I’m scheduled for a shift at the bistro. I can’t call off—”
    “Why did you sign up for the decorating committee if you knew you couldn’t carry through?” I asked, disappointed that he was the third person in a week to cancel. “You bailing leaves me with only two helpers to assemble the Fall Ball—”
    “Sorry,” he said again. “I wish there was something I could do, but my hands are tied. You’ll figure it out. You always do. I’m sure someone will step up and volunteer.”
    “Like who?”
    “Ask Derek.”
    “I’m not asking Derek.”
    “Why not?” he asked. “He’s the perfect guy for the job. He’ll do anything you ask. You say jump, he’ll jump.”
    “Don’t be a jerk, Matt—”
    “I’m not being a jerk; just stating the obvious, Julie.” Matt tossed the diced vegetables into the pan. He watched in silence as they simmered, finally looking up at me long enough to shake his head. “Honestly, I still can’t understand why you’d want to be friends with the guy… you do remember what he did, don’t you?”
    Remember ? How could I forget? He risked his life against his own flesh and blood to put me out of harm’s way. He leaned over Luke’s lifeless body and performed CPR, despite the fact that we’d given up hope that he’d pull through. He did all the things an amazing friend would do, and I was eternally grateful—despite what Matt, Charlie, and Luke thought about him.
    I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered the sigh of relief Derek let out when the doctors came into the waiting room to deliver news on Luke’s surgery. He’d wrapped his arms around me, hugged me tight, and promised me that everything would be okay.
    “Yeah, Matt,” I said, sliding off the stool. “I remember perfectly well what Derek did. I’ll never forget… he was there for me when I needed a shoulder. He was being a friend… he was doing your job.”
    I walked through the house and out the front door, chancing the autumn breeze without a sweater or jacket. My bare arms tightened against the cool air as I walked to the house next door and rang the bell.
    “Hey,” Derek said, opening the door wide enough to let me in. “Aren’t you freezing?”
    “I’m okay,” I said, my teeth chattering as I stepped inside and closed the door. He stepped back and pulled a quilt off the couch and wrapped it around my arms. He came in closer, draping his arms around my body, and holding me for a few long seconds.
    “Better?” he asked, resting his head on top of mine.
    I nodded.
    With obvious hesitation, he pulled away and headed for the kitchen. “Can I get you anything?”
    “Want to order a pizza?” I asked, following him across the room with the quilt draped over my shoulders like a cape. “I’m starving.”
    “Matt confiscated the goods?”
    “Again,” I said, throwing myself back on the couch. Though I fought the urge to look, I let my eyes wander down to the floor. It was right there, right where I stared that Luke’s body had laid, lifeless and bloodied. It was in that exact spot that I accepted that I may never hear his voice again. And though the carpet had been changed, the wound had been healed, and the shooter locked away… nothing could change the memory of what had happened the night Hannah pulled the trigger.
    “You okay?” Derek asked, sitting down in the opposite chair and flipping through a thick phone book.
    “Fine,” I said, eyeing him as he turned each page. “What are you doing?”
    “Looking for the number.”
    I pulled the cell phone from my pocket, held down the second button and speed dialed Giovanni’s Pizzeria. I tossed the phone to Derek and pulled the Yellow Pages from his lap, setting it aside.
    “Only you would have food on speed dial,” he grinned, lifting the phone to his ear and smiling at me the whole time he placed the order. “Twenty minutes,” he said when the call ended.