Page 25 of The Heartbreak Hotel

Ella let the words roll around her mind before responding. She unpicked other memories she’d shoved into the recesses of her brain. How Maeve turned her nose up at her for reading fantasy novels and watching romcoms. Their polarising moral views and how Ella was banned from discussing politics with Maeve’s family. How, when Ella put on a few pounds, Maeve offered to pay for a gym membership, which just made Ella feel worse.

She knew on a logical level that she and Maeve weren’t right for each other, but there was something about that door being slammed so firmly in her face that unsettled her.

“Let me hear you say it,” Winnie said, with all the enthusiasm of a cheerleader. “I deserve better.”

“I’m not saying that.”

“Come on. You know I won’t stop until you do.”

“Fine.” Ella huffed, but her mouth pulled at the corners. She could always count on Winnie. “I deserve better.”

“Louder!”

“I deserve better!”

Winnie cheered, and she laughed. “So, whose phone are you calling me on?”

“It’s Riley’s, she’s—”

Winnie wolf-whistled down the line, and Ella pulled the phone away from her ear. “No. It’s not like that. She just works here.”

“Mmm. I don’t buy it. I have an Ella bullshit detector that’s currently flashing red and whirring like an air-raid siren.”

“Winnie.” Ella rubbed her hand over her face before continuing. “Fine. But it’s not what you’re thinking. I don’t think she’s into me at all.”

“How could she not be? Look at you!”

Ella smiled at her best friend’s enthusiasm before the feeling fell away. “I don’t think so. She works here, and I just keep being so stupid around her.”

“Isn’t that the Ella sign that you’re into someone?”

“Hey!”

“You know what I mean.”

Ella could see the nonchalant wave of Winnie’s hand in her mind’s eye. She missed her. She could almost see her sipping cocktails in their favourite spot, too, complete with a grumpy Calvin tending the bar.

“I don’t want you to be chasing this girl instead of focusing on you,” Winnie went on, “but I’m not gonna tell you to be a nun, either. A good shag might just set you right.”

Ella blushed, and she looked for Riley, even though she knew she couldn’t hear her. “Oh my god, Winn.”

“I mean it, Ella. I want you to do things for you. Find your groove again. If sleeping with a hot woman helps you do that, I’m all for it.”

Ella laughed, tracing a circle on the cushion with her finger. “How do you even know she’s hot?”

“Well, is she?”

Riley’s prominent cheekbones, blue eyes, and strong physique flashed before her eyelids. Her toned arms and dimples. But she was more than that. The kindness she’d shown Ella stirred a warm feeling in her belly. “Yeah, but—”

“Knew it.” Winnie’s voice took on a serious tone. “Look, I know it’s not exactly what you thought you’d be doing at this point of your life, but life is unpredictable. Roll with it. Seize every moment. Take advantage of this course. Don’t regret it.”

“Sounds like you could get a job here, Winn,” Ella grumbled.

“That’s ‘oh wise one’ to you.”

The sun streamed through the tall, open windows, warming Ella’s skin. She looked out, wondering where Riley was, but could only see the ocean from here. It did seem like she was stuck here for the foreseeable. She might as well make the most of it.

“So,” Winnie said. “Tell me more about this Riley.”