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“Wow,” Natalie said.
“I know,” I said with a sigh.
She shook her head and went back to making dinner.
“Small fucking world,” she said.
Didn’t I know it.
* * *
Natalie didn’t bring up the Alivia situation again that night, and I was grateful. We watched a movie together, and it was nice to have some roommate time.
“How’s Em doing?” I asked. Emerald, Natalie’s girlfriend, was on a trip to retrieve shells for her business, Low Tide Creations. She used to just comb the beach in Castleton, but she’d since expanded and went on various shell excursions to expand her collection.
“Good. She said she’s found a lot of stuff, so I’m looking forward to a sorting party when she gets back.” Natalie helped Em figure out which shells to keep whole to use in wreaths or lamps or other art, and which ones to crush up to make her famous coaster sets.
“She seems so much happier now,” I said.
She twisted her mane of curly blonde hair into a bun on top of her head. “I know. It really took a lot of me pushing her and showing that she could quit her job and still make her rent. She’s still adjusting to not having to go into the insurance agency every day.”
Em had worked for her uncle, and hated every second of it, but had been terrified to branch out on her own and be self-employed. I knew exactly how that felt. When I’d graduated from college with my degree in graphic design, I’d been determined to get a cushy corporate job, but that had turned out not to work for me, so I just started freelancing full time when everything had happened with my ex. It was the thing that had given me the freedom to up and move to Castleton and stay here in the first place.
“I guess I can’t really talk because, technically, I work for the family business,” I said. Difference was, I was truly passionate about my job. I loved taking pictures of the gorgeous cakes and creations and coming up with the perfect social media captions and monitoring our ads and campaigns and planning events. Since I was splitting rent with Natalie, I’d managed to save a little bit even after paying my loans. The cost of living in Castleton was very different from the city.
“She’s killing it,” Natalie said, smiling. She couldn’t stop grinning whenever she talked about Em. I’d never told either of them this, but I loved their story. How they were childhood best friends who’d had a falling out but had come back together and realized they’d always loved each other. I tried not to be jealous, but it didn’t help that I was surrounded by happy couples. It stung, but I kept that to myself. I’d been too much of a rain cloud when I’d come here, and even though they said it had been fine, I knew I’d been a downer.
Now that some time had passed, they were all dropping hints about me dating, and I was getting tired of brushing everyone off. I definitely wasn’t even close to ready to start doing that yet. Honestly, I really wanted another hookup. My last one had gone well.
I mean, until I ran into her again.
Alivia. It really was a gorgeous name.
