Harper rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I thought you could start accessorizing. No, it’s one of those step-counter heart-rate monitors. It’s what normal people who don’t run half marathons on the weekend use to measure their fitness. And since for the next week or two you probably won’t be hitting a 10K, I thought you could use it with your physical therapy. It’ll sync with your phone, too.”

He stared at it. Since you won’t be hitting a 10K… He could barely hobble to the bathroom and back without breaking out in a cold fucking sweat. “This is cool, Harpoon. Thanks.”

“Seriously? You’re gonna go with Harpoon?” she teased.

He was too tired to play. “We’ll see where the day takes us,” he said, unwrapping a mini chocolate bar and popping it into his mouth.

29

The clinic was a twenty-minute drive north of town. Aldo ate candy and stared pensively out the window, ignoring the sidelong looks Harper sent in his direction. He knew he wasn’t his old self. He didn’t need another reminder.

She called the office to tell them she would be back in later and made some murmurs that he could tell were dodges to questions about him. Everyone wanted the inside scoop on how Aldo Moretta was dealing with coming back in pieces.

“Beth wants me to hug you for her,” Harper said, dropping her phone in the console where she’d probably forget it.

“I have a feeling I’ll be getting a lot of that,” Aldo said grimly. He didn’t want anyone’s pity. He didn’t want their attention. All he wanted was to be left alone.

“I know there’s a certain beautiful brunette who’d be willing to get in line to hug you,” Harper said slyly, twisting the knife she didn’t know he carried in his chest. Seeing Gloria had been a fist to the gut. She was bright and beautiful and happy and hopeful. And he couldn’t be the man she needed. He’d missed his chance for the final time. When she’d looked down, he thought he’d die of shame. When he’d turned his back on her, well, he’d turned his back on the future he’d so desperately wanted.

It was for her own good. And he’d regret it to his dying day.

He grunted and prayed that Harper would drop it. Obviously, the friends hadn’t spoken since his dickheaded production at his mother’s front door. But Aldo’s luck had run out in Afghanistan, and it sure as hell hadn’t come back since. The sooner everyone got used to it, the better.

“Have you talked to Gloria?” Harper asked.

“No.”

“Care to expand on that? I feel like I’m talking to Luke here,” Harper sighed.