Page 57 of Where Roads Lead

“Here.” I grabbed it before it could fall to the floor. “And by all means, double count the drawer, if you think I’m too useless to do even that.”

Then she was gone, leaving me with the culpability of breaking my brother’s wife’s heart once again.

Real nice, asshole. I imagined him saying.

For once, I had to agree.

Chapter Sixteen

Elsie

Heartbreak was a hell of a muse.

After Will dropped me off at home, I changed into pajamas, lit a few autumnal candles to set the mood, and collapsed onto my living room floor while I wallowed in my own pathetic misery for a solid half hour.

It was one thing to end a relationship, but quite another to break off an entire engagement. It stung worse because, to me, the sentiment behind it was deeper.

A breakup said, our vibes don’t really match, but I wish you the best.

But abandoning your fiancee? That told a different story. Something more along the lines of, hey, even though I thought you were decent, I’ve come to my senses and realized that, actually, something is absurdly wrong with you. I’ve since realized that I absolutely do not want to spend the rest of my life with you.

And he was right.

I was crying on the floor eating stale graham crackers because a man didn’t want me. What was more pathetic than that?

Not a single one of my favorite book characters would be caught dead in my position. They’d pick themselves up and carry on—and damn it, so would I!

The tears might fall, and the makeup might smudge, but so be it. I needed to make something of myself for myself. To prove to me that I was worthwhile.

So, I wrote. Pouring every drop of emotion I had into my manuscript until my hand ached and the sides of my palm were stained with ink. It was cathartic, really. I wasn’t entirely sure it would even be usable when the light of morning hit, but it didn’t matter. I had to purge myself of it once and for all.

And I did.

When I slammed my notebook closed, my fictional counterpart had taken the first step on her healing journey.

And I think, somewhere along the night, so had I.

I didn’t know if Will would run me out of the café the moment I stepped through the doors.

Besides any resentment he might be harboring from the day before, he seemed like the type of guy to have one of those ‘no laptop’ policies

Or maybe he’d set one in place, just for me.

Still, it was worth a shot.

Around ten in the morning, I walked into Hughes with my writing satchel on my arm, an overcompensating smile on my face, and a desperate need for caffeine.

And as if I had some type of bizarre radar built into my brain that sought grumpy men, the first person I locked eyes with was Will.

He stood behind the register, taking someone’s order while Ava poured coffees in the background, but the moment I stepped inside, his gaze was on me. Maybe he had some type of radar too, only his was for maniac redheads that always seemed to pop up in his life.

I held my breath, waiting to see if I’d be met with a scowl or a blank stare, but he just tilted his head in acknowledgement as I made my way into the line.

My hands felt jittery the closer I got to the front, even before the coffee. Will had spent his whole day helping me, and I’d humiliated myself in front of him.

After he carried the heater inside, I don’t even think I remembered to thank him in my haste to get him out so I could cry in private.

If he wanted to give me an earful today, I think I’d let him this time. I felt like I deserved it.