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Instead, she found Kendall standing on her porch with her hands on her hips, looking irritated. Marley hadn’t seen her in over a week, and apparently jetting off with Brent to some unknown location had agreed with her. She was tan and gorgeous in a blue wrap dress and simple ballet flats, her blond hair in waves down her back.
“Do you know I have called you four times and no answer?” she said.
Marley rubbed at her swollen eyes, trying to wipe away the evidence that she’d been crying over Luke. So many times she’d almost reached for the phone to call him, but words failed her. The only thing that had kept her sane was worrying about the Sweetheart Café, her mom, and the new business venture.
“Sorry, been a little out of it.”
Kendall reached for her hand, taking it with a squeeze as she came into Marley’s home. “I heard about Luke leaving. I am so sorry.”
“It’s okay, I ended it.” When Kendall swung around, her mouth hung open in surprise. “It was doomed from the beginning, anyway. It cost me my job, the café—”
Kendall broke in with a cry, “How did your being with Luke cost you the café?”
“Because if I hadn’t been with him…”
“You could have what? Followed Sonora around all night?” Kendall shook her head. “It was nobody’s fault but my sister’s. It especially wasn’t Luke’s.”
She knew Kendall was right, but hearing the words aloud just made Marley’s eyes mist, and she rubbed them again with a sniff. “I know. But if I don’t have a reason to justify sending Luke away, then I’ll never get over him.”
“Why do you need to get over him? Just call him and tell him you’re sorry and you love him. I know he’ll forgive you.”
Marley laughed bitterly. “Really? Because he practically told me that I had screwed him over, and he would never forget it. So, I’m not so sure.”
“But—”
“Please, Kendall, can we just save the drama for another time? I haven’t seen you in a week and I want to hear about you.”
“And I want to know what is going on with you!”
Marley shook her head, giving up. “Fine, but my life is definitely not all hugs and puppies. It turns out the insurance money won’t cover all of the remodel, so my mom is thinking about not rebuilding.”
“Yeah, I talked to your mom yesterday after you’d ignored my call twice.” Kendall reached into her purse and held out a white envelope to Marley. “Here.”
“What’s this?” Marley opened it up and when her eyes scanned the check inside, she started coughing. When she finally stopped, she wheezed, “What is this for?”
“It’s an advance. I want you to be one of my bridesmaids and Brent wants you to edit the tell-all book he’s writing.”
Marley gaped. “Brent is writing a tell-all?”
“He’s tempted, especially after Sonora just got offered a huge advance for her version of what happened this summer. I’m betting she’s going to leave out her little fling with Dustin Kent and burning down your mother’s café.”
“Probably,” Marley said.
Kendall shook her head. “I still don’t understand why she’d make a move on Dustin when she had Brent. It is incredibly mind boggling, especially since he’s so…”
Kendall’s voice trailed off and her cheeks turned bright red. Whatever she’d been about to say was obviously very naughty.
Which Marley didn’t need to know anything about.
“Some people are never satisfied, I guess.” Marley slipped the check back inside the envelope and held it out to her. “I can’t accept this. I no longer work for Something Borrowed, and even if I did, I would be your bridesmaid for free. You’re my friend.”
Kendall pushed it back towards her. “Which is why I am giving you this. Brent and I talked and we agreed that if it wasn’t for you speaking up before the wedding, Brent would have married Sonora and been miserable until he divorced her. Now, we get to be happy together, and for that, you deserve every penny. Plus, I thought you could use some of it to fix up the diner and the rest for your move to New York.”
Marley walked into the kitchen, turning her back on Kendall. “I’m not going to New York.”
“What? But you said it was your dream!”
“It was, but dreams change. I changed this summer. With the loss of the café and my mom getting hurt, I realized that I was just running from memories. Running from the constant reminder of what I’d lost and ignoring everything I’ve gained.” Marley turned on the coffee maker, her third cup of the day, and turned to Kendall with a reassuring smile. “I can be an editor anywhere, even if I go into business for myself, but this place? This is home. And I used the money your parents gave me for not contesting Sonora’s sentence to restore Buzzard Gulch.”
