Page 51 of Sincerely, Mr. Braden

My grandfather was right. I’m a fucking pro at walking away, and I draw upon those skills now as I pocket my phone, square my shoulders, and try to act like my legs weren’t just kicked out from under me.

Chapter Seventeen

Taylor

I rush into Becca’s workspace like it’s a confessional, and my stomach drops. She’s not at her desk. Of course she’s not. She’s busy working like a normal person, not expecting her half-crazed sister to show up two hours early for lunch.

I hear her in Aubrey’s office. I can’t make out what she’s saying, but the cadence of her voice carries a calm I haven’t been able to grasp since losing my freaking mind a week and a half ago.

I glance at the hallway, considering leaving. It’s unprofessional to show up unannounced, not to mention annoying, but I feel like I’m going to crawl out of my skin after spending the morning with my father. Thankfully, he didn’t fight me on resting. His body probably wouldn’t let him. But watching him struggle for energy to walk around his house made me feel like I had no right to be worried about my problems. They’re not as critical as his health issues. But they still matter, because if I can’t pay my bills and if I don’t have the flexibility to take care of him, everything falls apart. That’s why, once I was certain he’d continue resting, I came straight here to see Becca, hoping she could use her big-sister magic and talk me off the ledge.

Aubrey’s office door opens, and Becca steps out midsentence, stopping short when she spots me. “Tay?” Her expression morphs to serious in an instant. “Oh no. What happened? Is Dad okay?”

“Yes. I’ve been there all morning. He’s resting,” I say quickly. “I’m sorry for showing up without calling. I really need to talk, but if you’re too busy, I can come back.”

Before Becca can answer, Aubrey steps out behind her, her golden hair loose around the shoulders of her blue maternity dress. Even six months pregnant she looks as effortlessly put-together as ever. Her eyes sweep over me, sharp and assessing. “Taylor, honey, you’re shaking.” She glances at Becca. “Come on. Both of you. Let’s sit down.” She waves us into her office.

I’ve known Aubrey for years and only stopped working for her husband, Knox, when I decided to work solely for Seth. “It’s okay—”

“Like hell it is,” Aubrey says. “Get your pretty little ass in my office.”

We head into her office, and she lowers herself into the chair behind her desk with the poise of someone who’s used to juggling the impossible and making it look easy.

“All right, sweetheart,” Aubrey says, resting a hand lightly on her belly. “What happened?”

“I blew up my life.” The words tumble out before I can stop them.

“Again?” Becca asks with surprise.

I nod. “Yeah.”

Aubrey smiles. “Lucky for you, I’m the queen of cleaning up explosions. Just ask Knox.”

“What happened?” Becca asks imploringly.

“I resigned from working with Seth.” The words don’t feel real, and at the same time, they leave my insides shaking.

“You resigned?” Becca asks.

Aubrey’s mouth drops open. “Honey, that’s like resigning from NASA mid-launch.”

A weak laugh almost escapes, but it catches halfway out. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“Dynamos like you always have a choice.” Aubrey leans forward. “Explain.”

The words tumble out too fast to stop them. “I made some decisions that felt like they were the best decisions of my life, but they turned out to be the worst, because then I had to tell him I was lying the whole time, and now he doesn’t trust me. Which is why I had to quit. But I have bills to pay, and my design work isn’t enough to cover everything, and I need to have the flexibility to take care of Dad, and it’s not easy getting a VA job that pays as much as I’m making.” I finally take a breath. “Ohmygod. What have I done?”

Becca’s hand finds my arm, grounding me, as she says, “You slept with a man you adore. Give yourself a modicum of grace, okay?” She turns to Aubrey. “She and Seth spent a weekend together, but he thought she was Ellie Nunnally, not Taylor Mitchell. They caught feelings, she took off, he came after her, and when she told him the truth, he took off.”

Aubrey inhales deeply and exhales slowly. “Well, hell, Taylor. That is a mess.”

“I know,” I say. “That’s why I had to quit. But you know me, Aubrey. I don’t sleep with clients, and I certainly don’t jump into bed the night I meet a guy.”

“Seth’s not just some random guy,” Becca says. “You’ve been crushing on him for years, and you two have an amazing friendship. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t white-hot chemistry between you two after all these years of midnight texts and two a.m. emails. And even if he was some random guy, there’s nothing wrong with that either.”

“Damn right there’s not,” Aubrey says. “The fact that you and Seth have known each other for so long is what makes it complicated. No doubt you have a special bond. You have to in order to work remotely the way you two do. The problem is, you hit him right in the ego.”

“What?” I look at her like she’s nuts. “No, I didn’t.”