“We can’t,” I said, panicked.
“Mattie, what other choice do we have? It’s Friday, and we promised we’d have someone there late next week to start the trial. We have no options other than to let Bev know that we can’t fulfill our commitment to her. I’m sure that nasty nephew of hers will be pleased.”
I bristled at the memory of Giles. Letting him feel like he won made this all feel like even more of a failure.
“We’ve never had to back out like this before,” I whispered.
Mike’s face softened. “I hope you know that none of this is your fault. It’s hard to branch out into new markets.”
“Of course,” I replied as he got up to leave the room.
He gave me an encouraging thumbs up. I nodded and tried to smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. Despite Mike telling me this wasn’t on me, I couldn’t help but feel like a complete failure. Why was nothing in my life working out for me right now?
I thought I had it all together. Clearly, I was falling apart.
* * *
“Makesure you girls tidy up the room before everyone gets here,” my mom called through a crack in the sliding glass door.
Frankie and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes before returning to sipping our wine. We had been sitting around the fire table on the patio catching up while our parents scampered around in the kitchen, getting things ready for a neighborhood party they were hosting.
“I swear she still thinks we’re teenagers.” Frankie lifted her legs and held them against her torso.
I snorted. “I can’t believe she’s still making me clean my room.”
“At least you’re getting free rent.”
“Amen to that.”
We clinked our glasses and laughed.
“I’m going to go the bathroom and get more wine,” she said, getting up. “Don’t worry. I’ll throw our clothes under the bed while I’m in there.”
“Bless you.”
Once she was gone, I stared at the flickering fire, trying not to let any negative thoughts break down my mental barrier. This week at work had been a tough one. It was hard not to feel like a loser lately.
I glanced at the door to make sure Frankie wasn’t close to returning. Quickly, I pulled out my phone and redownloaded the social media app she had deleted. I knew it was unhealthy to want to see what Garrett and my ex-friends were up to, but I couldn’t help it. I was a masochist. Pictures filled my screen, and I started scrolling, desperate for updates.
My heart stopped, and my finger froze as I came across Nadine’s latest post. My wine glass almost slipped from my other hand as I sat there in shock.
Filling up my screen was an image of Nadine’s left hand. Her ring finger was adorned with a beautiful oval-shaped solitaire diamond set in a thin gold band. The kind of ring I had always dreamed of having. Panicking, I scrolled to her caption. This could not be real.
This may come as a shock to many that I’m not close to, but I’m engaged! We’ve been keeping our relationship private, but now I’m ready to scream it from the rooftops. I love this man, and I’m so excited to spend our lives together.
I flipped to the next picture she had posted. It was one of her and Garrett dressed in cocktail attire, posing with her hand outstretched to show off the ring.
My mouth hung open in shock. How could this be happening? We broke upthree weeks ago.
The slider door opened, and I scrambled to turn off my phone before Frankie caught me.
My haphazard mannerisms warranted a strange look from her. “You good, Mattie?”
I grinned like a murderer who had just stashed the body underneath a blanket. “Of course.” My voice was unusually high-pitched. I cleared my throat to try to cover it up.
“You’re acting a little squirrelly.”
“I just almost dropped my phone, is all.”
