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“I just, I know it sounds stupid, but I get how you feel now. But what happened to you was even worse, Tillie, because I betrayed you, too.”
I sighed. “You did. And it hurt. But I’m still standing. And Scarlet, you will, too. Brad didn’t deserve either of us.”
She nodded. “I know we can never be friends again. I know that. But I want to say I miss you, and I’m sorry. And I also want you to know that the night in the club, with the reporter. That was all Brad. He told me about it.”
Anger bubbled. I’d suspected as much, but to hear the confirmation just infuriated me. The anger, though, didn’t belong solely to Brad. It bubbled at the thought of Leo. Here I was exactly where I didn’t want to be—back on the heartbreak bus.
“I hope it didn’t put a damper on your relationship with Leo. Superstar thing aside, you looked happy, Tillie. He seems like a great guy. I hope he’s treating you well.”
“He left. He’s gone back to London. We’re not a thing anymore,” I admitted, realizing how much it hurt to say it out loud.
“I hope it’s not because of that night,” she said. She reached across the table for my hand but stopped herself.
“No. It was complicated from the beginning. We’re from different worlds. He’s a popstar, and I’m here, well, doing whatever I’m trying to do.” I looked down at the mug of coffee in front of me.
“Don’t do that,” Scarlet said, and I looked up at her. “You’re worthy of him. You’re worthy of better than both of them. I’m sorry it didn’t work out. But Tillie, you deserve happiness. You’re an amazing person. I’m sorry I didn’t treat you that way. I’m sorry I let you forget it.”
I nodded. A few months ago, I felt like forgiveness was never in the cards for me for Scarlet. I felt like I never wanted to see her again. I still hadn’t forgotten what she did, and she was right. We’d probably never heal from the hurt or be friends like we were. But sitting there, looking into her heartbroken eyes and feeling the same thing, I could commiserate with her. Our hearts mislead us sometimes. They make us do crazy things we know we shouldn’t.
“You deserve happiness, too,” I said, nodding. I meant it. I took her hand from across the table and squeezed it.
“Take care, Tillie,” she said before getting up. And I watched as Scarlet walked out of the café, out of my life. But I was at peace with it. Our paths had crossed for a long time, and she would always be someone I’d care about, I realized. Still, I knew I could let her go.
As I looked down at my mug of coffee, though, it hit me that with Leo, things were different. Because even now, even when I’d resigned myself to the fact he was gone, we were over, and it had just been a summer fling, the thought of him being gone for good made me sick to my stomach.
But, as I’d learned in the past, we all have our struggles to overcome. I’d survived losing Brad and Scarlet. I’d have to learn how to survive losing Leo, too. I’d have to let him just be a summer memory, a song I heard for a little while. I’d pour myself into my future, my coffee shop, and my passion. I’d let him go because I had no other choice.
Sometimes, you just don’t have an option but to survive.
Chapter Forty-Six
Three months later
We painted Tillie’s Seaside Brews, as we decided to name it, a brighter blue than my first coffee shop. I didn’t want it to match the first coffee shop exactly because it wasn’t the same and neither was I.
The beginning wasn’t easy. Thankfully, Dad was there this time to help with contracts and all the legal issues that cropped up. Renovating the building wasn’t easy, either. The last coffee shop had been built for that purpose. This building didn’t exactly match my vision, especially since it had been vacant for so many years. But my parents insisted they could help, and with their involvement, we made it work. It was coming along, slowly. Money was still slipping through our fingers, and I tried not to think about what would happen if this one didn’t work. Failure wasn’t an option, but it didn’t feel like a possibility, either because this time, I had people I could count on.
