I was glad everything was okay with Pia.
But…
“He wentfishing?” I repeated, trying to decide if I wanted to laugh or throw something.
“I feel like there’s more to this.”
I began to pace in the reception room, meticulously re-decorated to give Heritage Hill a more modern feel but also capturing the small town, lakeside vibe that had always been here.
“Yeah,” I said. “But I’m sure the last thing you want to do is re-hash mine and Beck’s first fight.”
“First? Come on. You must have fought before?”
“Teasingly, sure. But for real? Never. I guess that’s what happens when you complicate something good.”
“Your friendship.”
It was not a question, so I didn’t answer. Instead, I looked at the photos on the wall. Many of them were of Mason’s parents and him when he was young. Papa Bennett had been absolutely devastated when his wife died, according to my parents.
It was so sad. And a good reminder that I was wasting time being angry when today was just as much my fault as Beck’s. Sure, he’d thought the worst of me. But how else was the guy supposed to feel when I’d been giving him mixed signals?
Brakes. No brakes.
“Yeah,” I said finally. “It was always so easy before…”
“Couples fight,” she said.
“But we’re not a couple.” I finally stopped circling the room and sat down. Pia joined me on the couch.
“Do you want to be?”
“If I could look into a crystal ball and know things will work out, and that we’re not ruining a friendship trying to make it more than that, yes,” I said with as much certainty as I’d felt in a long time.
“You know as well as I do, there are very few guarantees in life.”
I thought about that for a second. “True. But we have a good thing, Beck and me. And look at today. Our first fight.”
“Maybe you could have a better thing?”
“I still can’t believe he’s fishing,” I said. “Like it’s no big deal. I’ve been losing my mind all afternoon. I hate this. The only reason I didn’t text him back sooner was because I didn’t know what to say.”
“And you do now?”
“No,” I admitted. “But I know being mad at him feels horrible. I hate it.”
“Seems like a good start to me.” Pia smiled. “You’re welcome to stay until he gets back.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I might head home. It’s been a day.”
“I bet. Want me to tell Beck you were here?”
“Sure. Thanks, Pia,” I said, just as my phone rang. “It’s Jules. I’ll catch you later.”
She waved as I made my way out of the inn and started walking to my parents’.
“You don’t check your texts these days, or what?”
I pulled the phone away from my ear. Sure enough, Jules had texted “call me.”
