AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ro.
My cousin Rosie has been my best friend since I can remember. We grew up together in a small town in North Carolina and were always two peas in a pod. We did everything together. My aunt used to refer to us as the trouble-finding twins.
Seeing her name flash up on my phone makes me smile.
“Hey, Ro.”
“Hey, babe, I miss you!” she sings down the line, and I smile.
“I miss you too. How was Carla’s bachelorette party?” I ask, knowing Rosie wasn’t over the moon to find out rather than strippers, she was attending a quilting course. It took a lot of effort not to cackle down the phone when she called me in disappointment.
“Meh. She enjoyed it, that was the main thing. How’s school?”
“It’s good. The workload is a little intense, on top of working at the bar, but I love it so much. It’s what I was born to do!” I gush down the phone. I love working at the bar, but interior design is my passion.
“You really were! I’m still obsessed with the design job you did on my room last time you were home.”
“That makes me so happy! What’s going on with you?”
“I’m organizing an engagement party for Carter and I. Super exciting! You’ll come home for it, right?” Rosie’s like a sister to me. Her parents took me in when I was growing up and my mom was off chasing a rich husband. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.
“You know I wouldn’t miss it.” It’s been too long since I’ve been home to Silverbell. I miss my family like crazy. “I thought you were throwing the party in August?”
“I am all about the summer vibes, no pun intended. Just getting organized. We had to book the pub in advance, even though my parents own the damn thing. I want it to be perfect. I’m so excited, Sum! Can you believe I’m getting married? Anyway, how are you doing?” She’s talking a mile a minute, and I have to hold in my laugh. Typical Rosie.
A soft sigh leaves my lips before I answer, “Same old. How is wedding planning going?”
“Don’t bullshit me, Sum. What’s up?” Sometimes our closeness is a curse. She calls me on my bullshit like no one else.
“It’s nothing. I just…I’m kinda crushing on my boss.” It sounds so juvenile, making me cringe at my admission. God, who says that?
“And…?” she asks, like it isn’t obvious why it’s a bad idea.
“It’s… He has a kid. A crazy ex. And he’s my boss. He’s the epitome of complicated.” But I can’t stop thinking about him, fantasizing about him. Imagining his lips on me, his hands on me, his body on mine… My fingers begin to tingle with the need to touch him. The room feels stuffy all of a sudden, and I’m in dire need of a cold drink.
“All the good ones are, babe.” She chuckles. “Nothing worth having comes easy.”
“Yeah, but what about his son? I don’t want to…”
“Summer.” Rosie’s voice is firm as she interrupts me. I feel a bit of tough love may be coming my way. “You can’t base all your decisions on your parents’ mistakes. You aren’t them. You need to live your own life and follow your own heart.”
“I know,” I whisper. And I do. Logically, I know that. Doesn’t make it any easier to accept it though.
“Do you want him?” she asks like it’s that easy. And, God, I wish it were.
“It’s not that simple…” I try to explain, but she cuts me off.
“Yes or no, Sum. Do. You. Want. Him?”
“More than anything,” I admit, feeling some of the weight lift off my chest at the admission. The tenseness inside me eases a little. That wasn’t so hard.
“Then go for it.”
Maybe she’s right. Maybe I just need to go after what I want and see what happens.
Life is for living, right?
4
