Episode 689: The Truth About Love

"Do you live in the building or something?" He asked. "Was my music too loud?"

It bothered Talia that he didn’t recognize her, that she hadn’t been as memorable to him as he’d been to her. But it had only been a quick glimpse, and in darkness, when he’d brought back her increasingly bratty niece.

"I don’t live here. I have no complaints about you." Talia sent him what she thought was one of her more dazzling smiles, sure to erase his frown, especially now that he knew she wasn’t some annoying neighbor.

"So then?" He asked.

"So then?" She echoed, momentarily lost in the man’s eyes - they were as beautiful as the fawning blogs said.

"So who are you and why are you here?"

"Oh. Right. That. Um, I’m Quentin’s sister Talia. We met briefly when my adorable," she tried not to grimace, "niece…"

Her voice trailed off as she watched him step back and close the gap between her, the door and him. Talia shook her head. She didn’t know what her brother’s problem was, why he couldn’t have set her up with this guy like she’d asked, instead, he’d clearly warned him, like she was something he needed to be warned about! If anything, with his disheveled appearance and his past, this guy was the one who should have come with a warning from her brother.

"Sorry," he said, "I mean, it’s nice of you to stop by, but uh, I’m not interested."

Talia placed her hand as forcefully as she could on the door before he could slam it in her face as if she were a pesty salesman. She wasn’t a salesman, she was lonely. And tired of guys who either weren’t good with her kids or good with her. As mouthy as her niece had been of late, she had managed to say a few interesting things, Tansy talked this guy up to no end, made him seem like one of the most decent humans in history.

Maybe it was ridiculous to heed some child’s opinion of a guy, but Tal wanted decent. She felt overdue for it. Yeah, she hadn’t had the best of luck in love, she was a little older than he was, and she had two kids and no career, but this guy’s life wasn’t in its prime at the moment either. It wasn’t like he was so much better than her. They were both fixer-uppers in their own ways. So why couldn’t he give her a shot? Why couldn’t she matter to someone who wasn’t obligated by blood to care?

Episode 690: Heart Attack