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“Whose side are you on, Milton?”
“I didn’t realize there were sides, Chastity.”
“Well there are.” I pouted. “There always are.”
“Then I’m always on yours.” He nudged my shoulder.
I huffed out a breath. “I don’t need to spend the holiday with a guy I’ve met twice and his kids who I've never seen. I love our Thanksgiving.”
“I do too. Your pie is already under construction, by the way.”
“I might need two this year.” I said around another sullen mouthful of donut.
“Noted.” He paused, I could feel the weight of his attention on the side of my face before he spoke again. “It’s probably just an excuse to see you.”
“She doesn’t need an excuse to see me. She needs an excuse to get me to Derrick’s house, after announcing she was sellingour home. Another decision I was not included in.” At some point I was going to have to go and clear out whatever I’d left behind. There wasn’t much, and most of it would probably get trashed, but I still wasn’t looking forward to it.
He gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Just talk to her.”
“I will. Later.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Anyway, we’ve got things to do. Let’s get to it!”
8
MACK
“Well?”My sister said by way of greeting when I answered her call. I’d considered screening her for a solid fifteen seconds before picking up.
“Well what?” I hit the speaker button, dropped my phone onto the counter, and continued to dice the apples in front of me.
“I need an update on the plan!” Pip’s voice was shrill, with irritation or anticipation I wasn’t sure. I resisted the urge to tell her that calling the drunken ramble she’d unloaded last weekend a plan was extremely generous. I tipped the apples into the bowl beside me, tossing them through the lemon juice and sugar.
“No update.” And, honestly, I wasn’t sure there was going to be. Over the last week I’d been having some serious reservations about the whole thing. Had my feelings changed? No, obviously not. But it wasn’t a good time. Things at Rudi were busier than I had ever seen them. Chase was having a family crisis, of sorts. And I’d realized that I didn’t know if she was even seeing anyone at the moment. I could probably just ask her, but then she’d want to know why I asked her—because I didn’t make a habit of asking her generally—and I was not going to be having that conversation.
I picked up another apple and listened to the displeased growls rumbling down the line.
“How is that possible? It’s been over a week. Are you telling me you’ve done nothing in the last nine days?”
“No, that’s not at all what I’m telling you, I’ve done plenty in the last week.”
“Your pies, yes, I’m sure they’re keeping you very busy.” The sarcasm dripped from her words. “What is the matter with you?”
“Nothing is the matter with me,” I fired back, frustration climbing my spine.
“I beg to differ!” she wailed.
My eyes rolled to the vaulted ceiling of my loft and I only just resisted hanging up on her. “Look, Pip, I’ve had some second thoughts—”
“Oh no, no, no. No, Mack! Now is not the time for second thoughts. Now is the time for action!” I could imagine her thrusting her fist into the air as she said it. Not that it changed anything. She didn’t know Chase like I did. And it just … it wasn’t a good idea, not now. Maybe not ever. That wasn’t what Pip wanted to hear, though.
I ignored my sister and her unwanted pep talk as I made short work of the last of the apples. I wasn’t in the mood to have this conversation. Not when a cold lump of self doubt sat heavy on my chest. The only person whose pep talk could shift it was the one person I couldn’t speak to about this particular issue. It was inconvenient.
“I’ve gotta go, I’ll call you when there’s an update.” Which there wouldn’t be. I hung up on her screeched protests.
It wasn’t any one thing that had thrown me into this spiral of self doubt and second thoughts. It was everything. My past, and hers. Our relationship now—which I wasn’t willing to risk any more than she was. The fact that the longest ‘romantic’ relationship I’d ever had ended in a raging fight and me being told I was a child who’d never be able to commit to anything. In my defense, I was twenty-four at the time. In Tamsyn’s defense, she wasn’t entirely wrong.
