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“It’s silly. I have work too.”
“Scarlett, you’re a freelance Graphic Designer and I’m sure the Vet can get a replacement secretary for however long you’re away. You must have an insane amount of holiday days by now. So, what’s your next excuse?” Lily raised one brow and I chuckled.
“Okay, that’s fair. I… I guess it would be nice to get away.”
Lily grumbled suddenly and she glowered past my shoulder and out into the shop. Turning in my seat, my heart clenched painfully when I glimpsed Shane loitering outside.
“You should do it,” Lily said. “Get away from here. Go and enjoy yourself. Nurse that broken heart with some forgetful city dick and get some space to clear your head.”
“I’m not interested in any dick,” I replied, my gaze still lingering on Shane. “Not right now.”
“You never know. This might be the best thing that’s ever happened to you,” Lily added. “And if not, then you can come back, and we’ll drown in cheap wine. Deal?”
Turning back to my bestie, a real smile finally crept across my face.
“I’ll think about it.”
Lily had an uncanny ability when it came to making me feel better. Some said it was surely because of how long we had known each other but I was certain it was because we had always followed the simple rule of no bullshit. It was tough to organize complicated feelings into acceptable words, and Lily had never turned away when I had splurged out a mess about my mother. The same understanding also came from me when Lily had struggled with her business after losing her husband.
A small touch of understanding went a long way.
We parted with kisses, and I tried to cling to that feeling of calmness as I left the florist, but I only made it two steps before Shane loomed over me like a dark cloud. He stepped in front of me, angling his body so that I had no choice but to walk closer to the wall and then come to a complete stop.
“We need to talk.”
“What?” I barked up at him. “I don’t have time for this. I’m late for work.”
“See, that’s your problem, Scarlett. You never have time for the people that are important. You always have someplace to be, something to do, or someone else to care for. Never me, your boyfriend.”
“Ex-boyfriend.” I corrected as a tremble shot down my arms. It took all my strength not to appear uncertain in front of Shane, even as he leaned closer with the stale stink of cigarettes nearly smothering me.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Scarlett. I’m the only one who will put up with you. You think anyone else around here would have stuck by your side while you were running after your sick mother, huh?”
My gaze hardened and a pulse of disgust shot through my body. “I don’t remember you being there for me.” How quickly feelings could change.
“I came to the funeral.”
“That hardly fucking counts.”
“There you go again with all these crazy rules and hurdles that people have to pass through. Maybe if you put out once in a while and actually showed me you cared, I wouldn’t have looked elsewhere.”
Sidestepping Shane, I tried to move past him, but he pushed off the wall and followed.
“I’m a man with needs, Scarlett and if you want me to stay, then you better?—.”
“Enough!” I barked out shrilly, taking even myself by surprise. Shane came to a stop, his eyes wide. “I don’t have time for this, Shane. I don’t have time for you. I told you, we’re over and that isn’t changing, so just back off, okay?”
“Bullshit,” Shane sneered. “You’re too much of a coward to let me go. I know you.”
Right then, facing the prospect of Shane’s relentless attempts to wear me down, I decided.
I was going to go to New York.
4
SCARLETT
“Keep it together. You’ve got this.”
