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But Aubrey was here.
And what I had to say to Adam and Brooke reached a lot deeper into my heart, and would rip me open a lot wider.
“Go,” she said. “I have a place to open too.”
And that was the last thought I had about anything but antiques and how much they were worth for the next ten hours. We opened the doors at ten, locked them at seven, and haggled with stragglers until eight.
When I finally collapsed onto one of the stools behind the counter, exhaustion caught up to me. That was possibly the best day I’d ever seen this place have. People had driven in from other states. Not just Wyoming and Idaho, but Washington and Montana.
“Good day?” Aubrey’s question startled me and I realized she had joined Adam and me.
“Holy shit, you scared the fuck out of me.” My tired brain paused to remind me it was unusual to see her here, since she was mad at me, and that I’d forgotten to send her dresses over. “I’m so sorry. We didn’t have anyone free.” That was true.
“I kind of figured,” she said. “That’s why I’m here.”
“We’ll bring things over now.” Adam was already on his feet.
My back ached just thinking about it—silk was a lot heavier in bulk than it looked—but Aubrey’s was one door over and I owed her.
As Adam headed into the back room, I stopped Aubrey. “You have to hear me out first.”
“You’re going to put conditions on us doing business?” Aubrey didn’t look impressed. “What are you going to say? That you’re sorry for not liking me? That you still want to be friends? I get that.”
I shrugged. “I’d say it more kindly than last time.”
“We’ll get there, D, but give me time.”
It was a reasonable request. “How much time?”
Aubrey rolled her eyes. “I guess it depends on how much it hurts when I have to see you with Brooke every day.”
“I’m not with Brooke.” ButfuckI wanted to be. Now that I’d finally allowed myself to think it, the reality of how much I wanted her hit me hard.
“You guys coming?” Adam poked his head back in the room.
Or him. I wasn’t with either of them, and I wanted to be. That was a jagged, bitter truth to swallow, since I’d been working so hard to make the opposite happen.
“You’re such an idiot. So’s she.” Aubrey hopped from the stool. “Faster we get this done, faster you can go ice your back, old man.”
“Give it a few days, until your lines are out the door, and see how you feel, Grandma.” I fell into step beside Aubrey as we headed toward the basement.
She stuck her tongue out at me.
Over the next few days, things slowed to busy rather than hectic. Which made sense—the big antique hunters worked to get here first, and the rest would take their time. But we were putting out a bigger word on Friday, in hopes of drawing a huge crowd on Saturday.
The stream of customers didn’t stop me from wondering if Travis was freaking out about the Main Street parking situation.
But more, it didn’t stop me from noticing how absent Brooke was. For the third week in a row. Last weekend was supposed to mean she was back.
“Earth to Deacon.” Adam’s sharp whistle caught my attention. At least he was talking to me, though it had barely been about anything but business. “Dylan’s taking off.”
He couldn’t. Not until all the customers were gone. I looked around the showroom floor. Oh. It was seven and we’d gotten everyone out. “Yeah. Okay.” I shooed Dylan out and locked the doors behind him.
“Wow, a whole Thursday night to ourselves,” Adam said. “Whatever will we do with our time?”
“Sleep. For a billion years.” And pop some ibuprofen.
Adam shook his head. “I can give you until Saturday.”
