“What do you—”
“You lovedRose,” he continued, with such force that Landon took a step back. “She was the love of your goddamned life. That woman might share her name, but she is not Rose. Rose is gone, Landon. Rose is dead.”
“Don’t say that,” Landon said, rocking back on his heels. “Stop saying that.”
“I don’t know how else to get through to you,” he said. “Should I throw a funeral? I mean, for God’s sake, Landon, this has got to stop. You have to move on.”
Landon considered hanging up the phone then and there. It was well within his rights, he knew that. But Conor had seen him through so much. “A funeral won’t be necessary.”
“I shouldn’t have said that,” Conor said, frustration now laced with concern. “I’m sorry. Please, let me buy you a plane ticket home; let me—”
“You’re a good friend. I mean that. But I’m not leaving.”
“Landon, please—”
“I have to go,” Landon cut him off. “It’s poker night at the hostel, and Dave’s waiting.”
“Can you just—”
“We’ll talk soon, okay?” He ended the call, and he might have thought seriously about what Conor had said to him—or at the very least wallowed for a few lonely minutes in self-pity—but another name danced across the screen before he had a chance.
Rose.
“Hey,” Landon said. “How are you?” He felt vindicated, somehow. If Conor knew how he and Rose had already connected, he wouldn’t have said any of that. He would have left Landon alone, or called to wish him well. He certainly wouldn’t have said such hurtful, vitriolic things.
“Hey!” Rose said in return, her otherworldly cheer making the situation feel all the more surreal. Had his Rose ever shared her joy so quickly, in such an unbridled way? “I’m good! Much better.”
“You had me worried there for a second.”
“Me too, but it’s fine. I’m fine. The bleeding stopped around Princes Street Gardens, so Graham and I had a nice afternoon,actually. The sun came out in full force, which has happened so few times since I moved here I can count it on one hand. And I swear I saw a rainbow over the castle, but Graham didn’t, so I can’t really be sure.”
Landon was not happy for her, but he knew Jamie would be. “I’m so glad the day wasn’t a wash. I haven’t been to the gardens, yet.”
“You haven’t been anywhere,” Rose said. “That’s why I’m calling. What are your plans tomorrow?”
Tomorrow. She once again made Landon feel as if his heart was a drum and she was holding the drumsticks.Cool, calm, breezy, he reminded himself. “I thought I might audit another class, but I haven’t made any firm decisions.”
“Great,” she said. “Meet me at the World’s End on High Street at six.”
Landon had a lot of questions. “Is this another early-morning adventure?”
“Six at night,” she clarified.
“And how do I find the end of the world?”
Rose laughed. “The World’s End. It’s a pub, and a pretty famous one. You can’t miss it.”
If Landon hadn’t known Graham was waiting in the wings, probably lounging behind her on the couch while she made the phone call, he would have entertained the notion that she was calling to ask him on a date. It thrilled him nonetheless. “I’ll be there.”
“Can’t wait,” she said, and she sounded like she meant it. “And, Jamie?”
On the heels of his phone call with Conor, it took him a beat too long to remember that he needed to respond to the name. “Yes?”
“I had a really good time with you today. When you readMoby-Dick, I mean, I’ve never felt anything like that before.”
You have, Landon wanted to tell her. But he didn’t. “We’ll have to do it again sometime, then.”
“I would like that.” He heard the smile in her voice and it smoothed a single jagged piece of him.