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Chapter 34
If you’re feeling stressed out, make a nice cup of tea and spill it on the lap of whoever’s bugging you.
Idon’t bother greeting Aspen when she answers the phone. I blurt out, “He’s gone.”
“Who’s gone? What are you talking about?”
“Cole. He left.”
After I cried myself to sleep last night, I woke up alone in bed with puffy eyes and a shattered heart. I know I told Cole to leave, but I didn’t think he would. I thought he’d sleep at the inn for the night and be back this morning to fix me breakfast.
When he wasn’t at home, I ventured to the inn to search for him. I couldn’t find him anywhere. None of the unoccupied rooms have been slept in. And Soleil didn’t check anyone in before she got off shift last night.
Once I realized he wasn’t at the inn, I ran to the parking lot to check for his Jeep. It’s gone. Which means, Cole’s gone. Well and truly gone.
“I’m on my way,” Aspen says and hangs up.
I throw my phone toward the coffee table where it bounces a few times before skidding off. I don’t bother picking it up. No one’s calling who I want to hear from anyway. The inn will have to survive a day without me. I’m in no state to handle guests or their toilet paper emergencies.
Literally, I’m in no state. I haven’t washed my face let alone combed my hair or brushed my teeth. Why bother?
“Oh boy,” Aspen says when she enters. “Someone’s having a pity party.”
“Where?” Ashlyn asks as she pushes past her. “I don’t see a pity party. There’s no chocolate, no tequila, no Long Island iced teas.”
“A pregnant woman shouldn’t be drinking Long Island iced teas or tequila,” Lilac says as she walks in.
Ashlyn rolls her eyes. “I know. I read your emails. What I don’t know is how to comfort a broken-hearted woman without alcohol. There should be a rule book for comforting teetotaling women.”
“I know how to comfort her,” Juniper shouts from behind the group. The group parts and Juniper marches in carrying a fluffy puppy. “Don’t worry. I know you can’t handle a puppy right now. I’ll keep her until she’s potty trained, but a cuddle from this fluffy ball of fur is exactly what the doctor ordered.”
She dumps the blonde furball into my lap and the puppy immediately pushes up on her hind legs to lick my face. She’s not very steady on her feet, though, and she falls to the side and ends up licking my arm.
I lift her up until I’m eye to eye with her honey-colored puppy eyes. “She’s adorable. What’s her name?”
“She’s your puppy. You get to name her.”
“Honey. I’m going to name her Honey.” The pup yips and licks my cheek. “She already knows her name. You’re the smartest dog in the world.”
Juniper dusts her hands off. “My work here is done.” She bows. “Goodbye and goodnight.”
Ashlyn grabs her before she can walk out the door. “You’re not seriously leaving, are you?”
Juniper rolls her eyes. “It was a joke. Of course, I’m not leaving. I do win sister of the month, though.”
Ashlyn holds up a bag with the logo from Bake Me Happy on it. “Not all the votes are in yet.”
“What did you bring?” I ask, the puppy momentarily forgotten.
“I told Rowan to give me one of everything with chocolate.”
“What are the rest of you going to eat?”
Lilac purses her lips. “I don’t think an overabundance of chocolate is good for the baby. Chocolate contains caffeine.”
“And I don’t think I care right now. When the man you love walks out on you, you’re allowed to eat all the chocolate you can regardless of your state of pregnancy.”
“Walks out on you?” Aspen asks before flopping down on the sofa next to me. “What happened?”
