Page 99 of Lumi

Kit sighed and lifted her glass. “I like yer optimism.”

“Look around the bar and tell me what you’re looking for in a man,” I encouraged her.

I felt the handcuffs tighten as Damian fell into conversation with two colleagues.

“What about the one with the blue hat five seats down?”

“Who?” Kit leaned forward to see better.

“He’s sitting among his friends. Dark shirt and cute smile.”

“No, he’s standin’.” Kit shook her head. “He’s at least a head smaller than me, and he’s wearin’ a weddin’ band.”

“How in the world can you tell from this distance?”

“I’m a detective. It’s my job to notice details like that.”

“All right, hang on, what about that group that just entered?” I craned my neck to see better.

Kit took a glance before she gave me a brave smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Lumi, I’ve been single most of my adult life, and ye don’t need to worry about me. I think I already met the love of my life, but I was young, stupid, and didn’t know what I had, so I gave it up to try other things. It’s what happens, and there’s no point in regrettin’ it now.”

“Owen, right?”

Kit nodded. “He was my first love. The other girls didn’t fancy him because he didn’t say much, and he had a large scar on his forehead and chin, but…” Her eyes glazed over as she surrendered to her memories.

“But what?”

Kit blinked and sighed. “I met Owen at a secret barn ball. My da traveled a lot for work, and my mom went to bed early, so it was easy to sneak out. We were nothin’ but a group of teenagers hiding from the adults in a barn with a radio and whatever alcohol we could get our hands on. I noticed Owen right away because he was taller than me and stronger than the other boys. They used to arm wrestle to impress us lasses.” Kit laughed and let a finger run over her eyebrow. “His scar made him look dangerous, and he had a devilish gleam in his eye that ignited somethin’ I’d never felt before.”

“Lust?”

Kit nodded. “Owen Murphy could turn me on with nothing but a look.”

“I remember you mentioning his name several times. Why don’t you contact him? Maybe he’s single.”

Kit skewed her mouth and lowered her voice. “It’s my bloody pride.”

“Why? What happened between you?”

“He said some hurtful things when I broke up with him, and I couldn’t forgive him.”

“What did he say?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Tilting my head, I pinned Kit with my eyes. “Do you even remember?”

“Some of it. Not all of it.”

“How can you let some insignificant thing that you hardly remember stand between you and the man you love? Damian and I hurt each other over the years, but here we are, ready to forgive and love each other.”

Kit had taken another sip of her beer and dried off some foam from the side of her glass. “It’s not just my pride. Owen is worse than me. He could have contacted me, but he never did.”

“Maybe he couldn’t find you. Not everyone is a detective, you know.”

“No, but anyone can hire one. And besides, I worked with my da back then, and I still do, so trust me; if Owen wanted to connect with me, he could have found me.”

“What was his last name again?” I pulled out my phone.