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“I was trying to do it all by myself. And failing.”
“I can see why you didn’t want to trust anyone. When you told me about your mom, I felt awful for you.”
All I’d told her was that Mom had died.
The words fell over each other to fill her in on the details. The illness, the relocation from one country to another, how Mom battled it but lost the fight.
To my horror, my tears spilled, but Daisy only hugged me, her eyes watery, too.
“God, we need alcohol for this kind of conversation.”
I dried my eyes with my sleeve. “Right? A tequila shot for every time I cry.”
She laughed, releasing my hand to collect her phone. “I’m going to do the next best thing and introduce you to the girls. We have a virtual girl group. Warning, it can get spicy. Want in?”
She’d mentioned this earlier, and it had piqued my interest. “Absolutely.”
“Good. You live here now so you need a support network.”
My phone chimed with messages.
Daisy: Everyone, meet Mia. She’s moved here with her daughter and is in need of some love.
Isobel: Welcome to the chat, Mia!
Elise: We met this morning. Avery hasn’t stopped talking about your girl.
Casey: Hey, Mia! Daisy, did you warn her about this chat?
Daisy: I did. She’s still here.
Viola: Good, because I’ve got something super fun to share. Welcome, Mia!
I tapped out my own reply.
Mia: Thanks, everyone. You have no idea how much it means to meet you all.
Wasn’t that a fact?
I’d found a place to live and people to get to know. I could focus now on settling Tobi into school and doing better at work. Maybe we’d even get lucky and move into the place Valentine was working on. Put down roots.
For the first time, my thoughts slid in a new direction.
What if I had a boyfriend? All my crazy thoughts about Valentine had been leading me that way. I’d been making plans to create a new home while my body had been developing something else.
It hadn’t ever been a concern for me in the past, but suddenly it was right up there with my list of goals. With one man square in the frame. The problem was, I was almost certain that if I asked Valentine if he wanted the job, he’d turn and run the other way as fast as I’d arrived.
Chapter 13
Valentine
Digging into my strength, I wrenched at the plumbing fittings under the cottage sink, finally getting the fucker to sit in place.
“Try it now,” I ordered Jackson.
The tap opened, and I watched the drain, glowering at it as if that could stop leaks.
Nothing dripped.
