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“What?” I placed extra emphasis on the t.

“Your mother hasn’t approved of your plans to remodel yet, has she?”

Shit. I grimaced. Soon though, when Marlena dragged me by a ball and chain to the altar, I’d get to remodel the lobby. And wasn’t that what I wanted? I stepped onto the elevator, not at all sure anymore.

“Where are you going?” Pearl called.

“I have an important appointment to keep,” I yelled as the door closed.

“Suz!You didn’t let me down. You’re here.” My words slurred. I’d been sitting at the country bar since noon and now it was…five o’clock…maybe? I could barely read the digits on my phone.

“Yeah. Hi. I took up your offer. And here’s a certificate from a program I completed at my community center to stop smoking.” She proudly passed the sheet across the bar top to me.

“Awesome. That’s so great. Come here.” I gave her a hug, even though she was a little standoffish, but I didn’t care. I was drunk.

I lost Chelsea.

I ruffled Suz’s short spiky hair, and she looked pissed, but smiled anyway. Out of my breast pocket, I produced a thick envelope and handed it to her. “Here. Twenty thousand. Spend it wisely.”I saluted Dad in Heaven with my drink, continuing my good deeds in my own way, happy that I saved another soul like Suz, adding years to her life. I slammed back whatever was left in the shot glass in front of me.

“Are…you okay?” She side-eyed me.

“Yeah, super. I lost the best woman that ever happened to me. But shit, you quit smoking. Let’s celebrate. Bartender! This girl just quit smoking. Another round for the entire place on me.”

Only a handful of people were here at this hour drinking, and they all cheered.

“Wait. Do you mean you lost Chelsea? Whathappened?” She took up the barstool and appeared genuinely interested.

“I fucked that up royally.” My elbow landed on the bar and I dropped my head in my hand. “She’ll never talk to me again. I’m such a stupid idiot.” I hammered the bar with my other fist.

“Hey, knock that off or I’ll kick you out,” the bartender barked.

“Fine. Sorry.”

“Um, listen. I’ll be right back, okay? I have to make a call.” Suz jumped off her barstool and rushed away.

“Sure. You come back and we’ll have another round and celebrate you being smoke free. Another year of livin’. Woo. Here’s to you.” I put the shot glass to my lips but realized it was empty. “Bartender…another.”

“Dude. I gotta cut you off,” he said. Todd was on his name tag, or maybe Dodd. My eyes were too blurry to count the accurate number of Ds.

“I’ll have a thousand bucks tip for you. Pour the damn round. It’s only money. What do I care about it anymore? I don’t care about anything. Without Chelsea, life means nothing. Nothing. I fucked it all up.”

I sat at the bar a while, wallowing, and no further drinks came my way, no matter how much money I offered Dodd-with-morals. My mind recounted with blurred vision every second of that last night with Chelsea on the rooftop, listing every single thing I did wrong with her.

“Why does hindsight have to be such a bitch?” I rubbed my eyes. “What the hell was wrong with me?”

I knew what. I broke The Playboy Code #1. Never fall for a one-night stand. I did anyway. Chelsea blew into town and messed with my heart, and now I had nothing.

I hurt her for what? A fucking building. “Tear the whole goddamn thing down,” I shouted to no one. The bartender’s face reddened. I hung my head and closed my eyes, drunk, pissed, sad.

With no sense of timing, how long I sat there a mystery, but suddenly someone appeared on the barstool next to me and slapped me on the back. I peeked over with one eye open, barely able to make out my brother. “Rich?”

“Hey. How are you doing? By the looks of it, not well.” He grimaced.

“I didn’t know this bar was your scene. You have cowboy boots on?”

“It’s not. Someone named Suz called someone named Maisy, who then called Brooks to come get you. Only he was busy and passed the buck to me.” He slapped my back again. “Guess we have some catching up to do. What’s going on with you, dude?”

“I lost something.”