But we didn’t talk about ourselves all that much. Our feelings. Maybe that was a good thing about our friendship. Maybe it wasn’t.
One way or the other, though, I couldn’t tell him about the man I’d killed last night.
“Andrew left early. Molly had to get to class. My shift was supposed to end at 6, but I still have almost a dozen cakes to finish decorating.” I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. “I’m just in a mood.”
That must’ve been the response he was looking for, because his shoulders softened just a bit. “Why did he leave?”
“Probably has to figure out where he’s gonna live now that Julia kicked him out.”
“No shit.” His hazel eyes widened. “What happened there?”
“No idea. Molly’s sister saw her throwing his shit onto the lawn though, so can’t be good.” Taking a big gulp from my iced coffee, I sat on the stool behind the register. A sigh of relief escaped me. “Damn, that’s nice.”
“The coffee? Or the seat?”
“Both. Can’t really sit when you’re decorating a cake,” I said. “But enough about me. Anything going on with you?”
“Same shit, different day,” he said. “I better stop holding you up. I gotta get Lizzie to her dance class by 6. But thanks again for helping her out. She’s really looking forward to it.”
“So am I. It’ll be fun.”
“As long as she’s nicer to you than she is to me.”
Coffee in hand, turning to head for the door, he gave a smile, but it was different than usual. Rather than his smart ass, crooked grin, his cheeks were warmer, and he had a hard time holding my gaze for too long.
The pepperoni roll roiled in my stomach. I had been trying to get past the nausea that romance brought. Rhiannon said I needed to. That dwelling on the past held me back from my future.
Once, I had craved love and companionship. A best friend to share my life with. That’s why I’d gotten married at nineteen. But Troy wasn’t my best friend or a partner to walk through life with. He’d never loved me. Not really. Not in the way I needed.
That didn’t mean a partner like I’d wanted, like I’d thought I was getting then, didn’t exist. Just that now I knew what red flags to look for.
She kept saying,You can have a partner and a best friend who loves you more than anything, Gwen. But you have to open yourself up to it.
It wasn’t that I disagreed with her.
But I couldn’t tell what was happening here.
Clearing my throat, I just said, “She’s always nice to me.”
“So far,” he said, continuing to the door. His smile was a bit more genuine now that there was more distance between us. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t a date. “Good luck with those cakes.”
“Good luck with the dance moms.”
“Oh, and I take it back.” He stood outside the door now, holding it open with his hip. “Heart. That’s my favorite. NotAll’s Well that Ends.”
Damn those butterflies and that jaw aching smile.
Heartby Rainbow Kitten Surprise was a love song. A beautiful, bouncy, almost jazzy ballad that spoke purely, simply, about two people madly in love.
Was that his way of confirming where this was headed?
There was no stopping the skip in my chest. “It’s a good one.”
“Made me think of you.” His eyes twinkled. A wave accompanied it as the door floated shut. Through the windows, we smiled at each other until he was out of sight.
My heart all but stopped.
And I had to get it together, because I was at work, my feet were killing me, and I had literally killed a man last night. I didn’t have enough emotional bandwidth for all of this right now.
Like anyone else in the modern era on a break at work, I swiped open my phone. A few texts from Simone, discussingwhat she had mentioned on the call. Another from Molly, thanking me for being so understanding, and then three I didn’t recognize.
It was a 406 area code number. Not unusual. Girls at the ranch passed each other’s numbers around frequently. Maybe someone had given mine to the new girl, Delilah.
I clicked the message.
Unknown; What did you do with the car?
Unknown; Left the wallet and phone in his pocket.
Unknown; If you’re gonna do it, do it right.
