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He didn’t say anything else, and neither did I. We didn’t even say his name. But sitting there staring at the ocean, my dad’s words gave me more peace than Dorothy’s coddling speech the previous day or my mother’s “fish in the sea” talk. Because he was right. If it was meant to work out, it would. And if it didn’t, I would be okay.
Dreams changed. People floated in and out of your life. But I’d come to learn in the past six months I was stronger than I ever knew. I could heal faster than I knew. I would be okay. I would be more than okay, as long as I kept my eyes on my dreams.
“I do expect I’ll be getting free coffee,” Dad added, serious now. The sentimental moment slid away, and we both tacitly agreed never to bring it up.
“Of course,” I said.
“All right then. I guess we had better get some champagne for tonight to celebrate. Because tomorrow, we get to work,” he said, standing to go inside. “I don’t invest in businesses that I don’t believe in, after all. So, you better hustle hard.” He smiled at me, though, and I nodded at him.
I sat for a moment after he left, staring at the ocean thinking about how lucky I was after all.
Chapter Forty-Five
I was getting a quick lunch at Boardwalk Babes, a trendy little café down the street from the building when I heard my name.
“Tillie,” a voice said, and I turned, heart leaping out my chest. She stood there, the red lipstick shade that was her favorite. There was a sadness to her and between us because where once deep friendship had rested, there was now tension. I realized looking at her that I both knew her and didn’t. She was a stranger to me, the woman who had been my roommate, my best friend, and then the woman who had stolen the man I thought was my forever.
I wanted to walk away. The past was the past. My heart was broken, but not from Brad and Scarlet. I had new, fresh wounds from Leo. Still, the way she stood, the way her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, I could see she was wounded, too.
“I know I’m probably the last person you want to talk to. But I do want to say I’m sorry, Tillie. I’m really sorry.”
I’d heard the line before. I’d heard all the excuses. Still, standing there in front of her, I realized a large portion of my wounds didn’t belong just to Brad. They belonged to the betrayal I’d felt from her. She’d been my cheerleader when I moved to New York. She’d been my Saturday night date with ice cream and a chick flick through all those influential years. She’d been there as I found myself, and I was there as she found hers. Now, we were strangers standing in the café, hurt in both our eyes.
“I know,” I said. It seemed like the only thing I could say.
Tears flowed from her eyes. “I was a fool trading our friendship for him. I was. I feel horrible. And now...” The tears fell wildly. Scarlet was usually cool, calm and collected, her lawyer face guiding her through even the hardest times. I was taken aback. I didn’t want to feel bad for her, but I did.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, grabbing my coffee as the barista shouted my name. I ushered her to my table, feeling unsure but genuinely caring.
She reluctantly sat down. “Brad left me.”
I stared at her. She looked right back. I processed the information. A few months ago, I might have been thrilled at the prospect of her getting her heart broken. But vengeance had faded from my priorities now. I felt surprisingly neutral. So much had changed for me.
“I know I deserve it. He’s been cheating on me. It’s what I get, huh?” she said, averting her eyes.
“No, you don’t deserve that,” I replied. And I did mean that. She didn’t deserve that. Neither of us did.
