He interlaced his fingers. “I don’t want to mess this up. But he’ll be here for dinner. You’ll stay?”
“Of course.”
I played with the rim of my cup. “I have an idea. Several ideas, actually. On how to save the store. I think you were right.”
Otis’s brows rose to his hairline. “I’m all ears.”
Before I could let out a breath of relief, he added, “After we discuss what we’ll do about John.”
My smile fell. “There’s nothing to discuss. He played me, and now it’s done.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Nora, snap out of it.”
“What?”
“When was the last time you’ve been truly happy?”
“Really? We’re doing this?” I huffed.
Otis pointed his finger at me. “If you want my help with Skye’s, we have to have this conversation.”
I threw my hands up. “I don’t know. Maybe when I got into the competition?”
“You mean when you were in your obsessive-Nora era? No. I’ll tell you.”
I bit my lip and watched his expression warily.
“The morning I found you naked in the store.”
I grimaced. “That was all the sex.”
“Maybe. But maybe not. You’ve gotta stop running away from your own happiness. Let yourself live a little. When I saw you that morning, I saw the Nora I knew before your dad passed. You were happy, girl. You, like, literally glowed.”
“Again. Orgasms will do that to you.”
He sipped pointedly on his cup.
“Besides, you told me not to get my heart involved.”
“Well, sometimes even my brilliant advice may be wrong.”
“But you know what he did, don’t you?”
He grimaced. “Jeremy and I have puzzled things together.”
“He lied to me, Otis. The whole time.”
He set down the cup, his face serious. “Are you sure you entered this competition for yourself, or did you do it for your dad? Is it really what you want? A book deal? Writing? Don’t get me wrong, you’re excellent and all, but interviews? Panels? Teamwork?”
Of course, I’d thought about this. The moments when I felt suffocated by the pressure. But the prize money had waved at me, telling me it would blow all my worries away.
“Even so, what he did?—”
Otis nodded. “It was shitty. But, love, if he could’ve turned his back on you, he would’ve. There was no reason for him to risk it if he wasn’t entirely smitten with you too. Maybe it’s wise to see his side.” He held up both hands in a calming gesture. “Notsaying it has to be right now, but just don’t write him off right away.”
“I love you,” I said. “For now, that’s enough.”
He patted my hand. “You aren’t your mom, Nora. You’re a strong-ass bitch, and no man will ever break you. I’ll make sure of that.”
