Page 83 of Book Club Confidential

Devin blinked. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Permanently, if I can find a job to pay the bills. I’d like to get an apartment nearby. I like being with Dad, but I don’t want to burden him. He’s done more than he should’ve had to already.”

That was true enough, but Devin always knew the right thing to say. He was charming and congenial in ways she’d envied. What he hadn’t been in a long while was sincere. But change is possible, she reminded herself. Hard but possible.

“It makes Dad happy to have you with him,” she said. “There’s no reason to rush away if you don’t want to go. I worry about him all the time. His stress level. His long hours. His weight loss.”

“He might say the same about you,” Devin said. “You have his work ethic and a constant need to fix something or help someone. You might even be thinner than I remember.”

“I started jogging more,” she said. “And I’m working less these days.”

“What about the other thing? You’re out here helping me find work when I’m not even sure you like me anymore.”

Tessa slowed, familiar pangs of guilt tightening her core. She pressed the emotions down, worried about saying anything that might thwart his progress toward health and happiness. “I love you, Devin,” she said. “Nothing changes that.”

He nodded. “Yeah, all right. Where to first?”

They spent the afternoon walking the streets of shops along the river. Tessa introduced Devin to several shop owners she thought might be looking for help. Devin’s finance degree and his personality were perfect for growing retail businesses. The owners all seemed to like him.

She hoped the time and effort spent would help Devin and a shop owner improve their situations. Not to mention make her dad happy. The heroine of her story would help someone in need, even if that person had bungled things in the past. Maybe especially then. She only hoped that if Devin received a job offer, he’d be the reliable, conscientious employee she knew he could be.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Tessa drove to Hallie’s house for lunch a few days later. She hadn’t talked to Grant about leaving Hello, Marketing, and she longed to call him. She wanted to tell him everything and get his opinion. She valued his thoughts, and she wished they could share sangrias by the river or wine at Chez Margot and rehash all the things leading up to her resignation. She missed him. Which was highly unfortunate, because she couldn’t work with him anymore, and sharing that news would solidify the truth.

The collection of cottages at the edge of town had once been utilitarian in nature, historically housing textile workers and families who earned their livings via the river in one manner or another. A few years ago, a grant to the city provided funding for updates on the properties and affordable home loans to first-time buyers. Today, the brightly colored rows of homes rejuvenated the long-neglected area.

She pulled into Hallie’s driveway and waved to neighbors as she went to ring the bell.

Hallie’s front door sucked open with a whoosh. “Come in.” She motioned Tessa inside. “I’m freaking out. Thank you for coming.”

“You’re welcome.” Tessa smiled. One glance around the small living room revealed no signs of packing. “Are we waiting for Kate?”

“Kate’s still in hiding,” Hallie said. “But I told her we might video chat later.”

Tessa followed Hallie into the kitchen, where flattened boxes and rolls of packing tape covered the table. Two large bins stood beside the window. One appeared to be full of trash; the other held newspaper and packing materials.

“I’ve been purging,” Hallie said. “And donating. I took a few loads to Goodwill this week and delivered a lot of stuff to neighbors.”

“Everything else in this room gets boxed?” Tessa guessed.

Hallie nodded but made no move to pack anything. She wet her lips and stared. “I put in my two weeks’ notice at the café.”

Tessa waited, unwilling to interrupt if Hallie had more to say.

“I’m watching you and Kate take chances to better your lives and yourselves. You’re doing things. Making choices. Saying to the world that you want something different, and you’re going to go after it now. All I’ve done is change my hair.”

Tessa followed Hallie’s gaze as it traveled around the small kitchen with its dark-green hand-painted cabinets and spray-painted brass knobs. The small pots of herbs on the windowsill. Cast-iron cookware hung over the island from a stepladder she found at a flea market and turned into a rack. Thrifted aprons and baskets hung from beadboard she’d cut and applied to the walls.

This place was all Hallie. Tessa couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for her to leave.

“I’ve been afraid my whole life,” Hallie said. “Afraid I’d never make it out of the trailer park. Afraid I’d end up the next-generation small-town psychic. Afraid I wouldn’t get into college, then that I wouldn’t graduate. That I wouldn’t find a job or a purpose. That I’d never be good at anything.” She groaned. “I was afraid to apply for the job at Roll with It, so afraid to fail. Then I got the job and was afraid to quit, because what if no one else wanted me? If I lost my job, how could I afford this house? God, I love this house.”

Hallie crossed her arms and cupped her elbows in her hands. She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything more.

“You shouldn’t have to leave if you love it here,” Tessa said. “You breathed life into this place. It’s you everywhere I look. Why not stay?”

Hallie snorted. “Because I’m getting married, and Bryce would never live here. Not when he can live in the McMansion his daddy bought him, with money passed down to him in a trust. The shed his landscapers use is bigger than this place.”

Tessa bit her lip, hating the sacrifice her friend had to make for this man. For any man. For any reason. “Don’t let the fact you quit your job make you feel as if you have to get married, sell this place, or move into Bryce’s home. You get to make those decisions too.”