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Chapter Twenty-Four
Heartbreak was far worse than she’d imagined. Far, far worse.
Sophie had stayed with the nice, motherly bartender for a couple hours, pouring out her troubles while the older woman listened, clucked, and sympathized.
Sophie had assumed she’d feel better after, because talking always had a way of making her feel better.
But instead she felt like there was something vital missing inside her.
When talking hadn’t worked, she’d wandered aimlessly around the city, even though it was far too late to be out by herself, trying to piece together what exactly had gone wrong. In the end, she’d determined she should have followed her instincts and stayed away from Ryder. Her gut had tried to steer her away from him, but she’d gone and dove in headfirst and now she had to pay the price.
Only the price was far too steep.
She’d ended relationships with men she’d cared for before, and yeah, it hurt and it sucked and she’d cried, but this was different.
This morning, she’d finally broken down and called Penelope, who would be arriving at any minute. After, she’d go back home to Revival and finish the job she’d been hired for. As much as she wanted to run away and never have to see Ryder again, she couldn’t do that to Griffin, or the town. She cared too much about the job she was doing.
And she didn’t tuck tail and run. That wasn’t her nature.
There was a knock on the door, and when she opened it, Penelope stood there with a tray of two huge coffees and a box from one of her favorite places, the Doughnut Vault. One look at her friend and she started to cry.
Penelope’s face creased. “Oh dear.” She walked into the room in that efficient way she had, putting her offerings on the table before turning back to Sophie to give her a big hug.
Which only made her cry harder.
Penelope rocked her. “What happened? You guys were so happy when you left. And why didn’t you call me sooner?”
Sophie sobbed and sniffed and generally made a spectacle of herself, hoping at the end it would act as a cathartic release. Cleanse her and put her back on the track of feeling human again.
It didn’t work.
At the end, her misery wouldn’t abate.
They moved to the couch, and she huddled in the corner with a blanket on while Penelope shuffled around the room to bring her coffee and other girl necessities. When everything was set up to her satisfaction, Penelope sat next to her and patted her knee. “Tell me what happened.”
“I took him to John-Paul’s pub last night, and his partner, you remember François, showed up and he said he wanted me for his VP of marketing.” Tears spilled over Sophie’s cheeks. “It’s my dream job, Pen. It blows my last job out of the water. And I’d be awesome at it.”
“Ah, I see,” Penelope said, as though it explained everything.
“Ryder wasn’t happy.”
“What do you mean he wasn’t happy?”
“He said he saw how excited I was about the job and he couldn’t be with me anymore.” She took a tissue from the box Penelope had brought over and wiped her eyes. “Why is it wrong for me to be excited?”
“Oh, Sophie. Of course you should be excited. It’s a huge opportunity for you.” Penelope shook her head.
“Exactly.”
“Is there more?”
Sophie shook her head. “He wanted to talk about our future, but I can’t. Not yet. I’m not ready and don’t want to face it.”
“Maybe it got to be too much for him.”
“What’s too much for him? Why can’t he enjoy the time we have left? Nothing has changed.”
“Sometimes, your emotions and what you want changes.” Penelope’s forehead pulled as her brows creased.
