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“No,” Lucy said firmly. “I’m done making a fool of myself and don’t have the interest or spare soul juice to run after Linc. I’ve had my fill of situationships, imaginationships, and being hung up on a toxic ex.” She stood and let the day’s disappointment fall from her shoulders. “We both deserve a man who knows his heart and is willing to do something about it.”
“Amen,” Olivia said as she pushed herself up. “We can do hard things and have both come too far to settle.”
Lucy tilted her head. “Perhaps it’s time to remember some of the wisdom Mom has tried to impart.”
“I’m gonna need a lot more specificity.”
“Life is a circle,” Lucy said quietly. “And we’re in the middle of it. We need to choose which part of the circle we want to move toward. What energies do we give our attention to…which reality do we wish to experience more of?”
“Righteous retribution?” Olivia asked hopefully.
“I don’t hate the idea.”
“But it’ll be a hell of a karmic debt.”
“One we might not enjoy paying,” Lucy replied as she slid her phone out of her pocket. “Let’s run away instead and drink our sadness away.”
“I think you need to stay and handle your store rehab.”
“That’s no fun.”
“But somewhat necessary,” Olivia said quietly. “I’ll go hide at Callie’s and check in with our baby sister.”
“I want to run away too!”
“You have too much going on, and you promised Mama that you’d babysit Horrible Horace on Monday.”
“Fine,” she replied quietly. “I will stay in Haven and protect our interests.”
Olivia nodded. “And make sure that any efforts in that area don’t require a plane ticket, a fake passport, and a life lived in a country without an extradition treaty.”
“Now, you’re just trying to kill my fun.”
“Not even a little.” She pressed a kiss to Lucy’s cheek and then headed up the stairs.
Lucy returned the bottle of wine to the fridge and promised herself that she would behave with perfect comportment. She was leveling up in all ways, which meant that Linc, Julie, Ken, and anyone else who thought they could mess with her hard-won emotional health better watch the hell out.
NINE
Lucy stood in the center of her store and decided it was the Mondiest Monday she’d had in quite some time. Not only was her nemesis in residence for the day, but Linc and hisfriendwere due to arrive any minute.
Could she make a break for it and hide away at her sister’s beach house? She glanced at her watch and tried to calculate if she had enough time to make a clean getaway.
“No run. No run. Face music.”
Lucy turned toward the bird’s cage. “Your mind reading is only slightly less irritating than your ability to hurl insults in my direction.” Arching her brow, she waited for a sharp response. Nothing. The feathered fiend was icing her out with a look of disdainanddisapproval. “Whatever. Mom didn’t specifically say I had to return you in one piece.”
“Pretty light. Always right.”
Lucy looked up and saw Bea and her brother, Jordan, walking toward the store. “You finally got something right because that’s exactly what our Bea is.” She pulled the door open and waited for the Perry siblings to walk through. “Good morning.”
“That’s debatable,” Bea mumbled as she followed her brother in.
“Rough one?” Lucy asked as she watched Jordan make a beeline for Horace’s cage.
“Apparently, my unwillingness to whip up his favorite gluten-free pancakesisa perfectly good reason to give in to a meltdown.”
“I’m sorry that you had to go to battle so early.”
