Plans for the store went into hyperdrive. Conversations with Mrs. Tarrington were encouraging, as were the initial contacts I made with product suppliers and accountants.
I just hated that I couldn’t do that with Jack at my side—which was ridiculous.
Utterly. One hundred percent. Flippin’ flappin’ ridiculous.
I came to Wildrose Landing, prepared to open my business on my own. How dare I be disappointed when that was exactly what happened?
“All right. So what gives?” Evie took a long drink of her Drunken Sailor and eyed me over the rim of the glass.
The sound and energy of Cheers ‘n Beers on a Friday night zoomed into focus. People talking and laughing all around us. Music tapping a happy beat over the speakers. Waitresses bustling between tables while Jude stood in the doorway to the office, arms folded, looking pleased with himself.
How long had I been zoned out and ignoring my friends? Hopefully not too long.
This was so not me.
So not the way I wanted to live.
Spending all my time in my head, worrying over stuff I couldn’t change…it was a waste of the present moment.
“Yeah.” Izzy lifted an eyebrow. “What gives?”
Shield’s up, Amelia. Let’s get that positive armor back in place.
I sipped at my cranberry G&T and smiled sweetly. “Whatever are you talking about, oh dearest friends of mine?”
Evie repeated my words, mimicking my nonchalant tone with a roll of her eyes. By the slur in her voice, she’d had just a tad too many Drunken Sailors. “Don’t think you can pull that over on me. For one, you never, ever spend an evening frowning into your drink. And point B, it’s a Friday night and you’re out with us instead of Jack. That seems wrong.”
While I swallowed laughter over tipsy Evie, Izzy sat back and crossed her legs.
“I can shed some light on point B.” Mischief shone in her eyes. “They have a date tomorrow.”
Evie held out her hands, looking at me like I’d broken best friend code. “How do you know that—” she pointed to herself “—and I don’t know that?” She stabbed her finger toward Izzy, then laughed and tapped it to her temple. “Reverse the finger action.”
“Because I’m awesome and am watching the kids while they’re out.” Izzy’s gaze wandered over Evie’s shoulder and landed on Jude, who was talking to one of his waitresses near the bar. With a visible shake of her head, Izzy reclaimed her attention and turned back to me.
And right there was the perfect chance to change the subject. I leaned forward, folded my arms on the table, and looked deeply into her eyes with a know-it-all grin. “Now it’s my turn to ask what gives.”
Izzy furrowed her brow and I pointedly looked from her to Jude and back several times. Understanding landed with a blush of her cheeks and a twist of her lips. “Oh. That.”
“Yes. That.”
“We don’t talk about that.” She shook her head and worried at the edges of her napkin.
“Why not?”
“We just don’t.” Izzy’s tone shut down the topic.
Or at least it tried to. Unfortunately, I was in desperate need of a distraction from my life.
“I can see this is a sensitive subject,” I said, “but I’m just going to put this out there. Your higher self has put that desire in your heart for a reason. If you keep ignoring it, the problem’s only going to get worse.”
Izzy’s mouth opened and then closed. Her gaze flew to Jude, then right back to the table. “He was my first kiss. Back when we were teenagers. Things were intense between us for a while.”
I was so excited, I dropped a hand on the table and sat back. “I knew it!” Several people at the table next to us jumped and stared, so I lowered my voice to a whisper. “I knew it.”
“What happened?” Evie asked. “Was it magical? Was it everything a first kiss should be?” She placed her hand to her heart as her eyes widened. “Did Alex kill him? I bet it got ugly.”
“Alex doesn’t know. And no, it wasn’t magical. It turned into one of the worst nights of my life. Jude…” Izzy loosed a puff of air. “He made it clear his friendship with my brother was more important than me. Shouldn’t have been a surprise. My brother was always more important than me. I just didn’t expect it from Jude, I guess.”
I had so many questions because there had to be more to it than that, but it was clear Izzy had already said more than she wanted to. “That must have been so hard,” I said lamely. Especially because it was clear her feelings for him had clearly grown over the years.
She nodded and finished her drink, offering a weak smile.
Evie slurped down the rest of her Drunken Sailor then plonked the empty glass onto the table. “Let’s leave poor Izzy alone and go back to talking about why you’re having a girls’ night out instead of mind-blowing sex with Wildrose Landing’s hottest single dad.”
I sighed and stabbed a plastic spear of cranberries at an ice cube. “I’m falling in love with him. And, if he can be believed, he’s falling in love with me.”
Evie quirked her head, then swiped her empty glass off the table and stared intently. “How many of these did I have?” She turned to Izzy. “Did that answer make any sense to you? Or am I drinking too fast?”
Izzy shook her head and stared at her own drink, so I elaborated, “The kids are having a hard time adjusting to us being together.” That was the understatement of the year, but I wouldn’t talk about what really happened and invite more of that energy into my life. “We’re giving them space and not being all relationship-y when they’re around. Which is fine. This is the speed the universe picked for us. Who am I to question what my higher self deems appropriate?”
I shrugged, smiling so hard my face might crack.
Izzy grimaced. “That seems like a very responsible choice that sucks big time.”
“Yes,” I said with a sage nod. “We are being very responsible. I miss Jack, but!” I held up an exclamation point of a finger. “This change in our arrangement gives me time to work on my woo-woo shop…”
Evie burst into laughter. “You said woo-woo! You hate woo-woo.” She turned to Izzy to whisper, “She hates woo-woo.”
“She does hate the woo-woo.” Iz knew that just as well as anyone and her expression said as much.
“Maybe I have had too many of these.” Evie frowned at her empty glass.
“Or maybe you haven’t had enough!” I shrugged as I finished my gin and tonic. After all, I was out with my friends on a Friday night.
It was time to let loose and have some fun.
To stop thinking in ellipses and start scattering exclamation points.
“Good news is that I’ll be ready to open my store by the end of August. Early September at the latest. My first shipment of product arrives tomorrow, so the house’ll be filled with boxes until the Tarringtons officially close the doors on Mimi’s Boutique and vacate the premises.”
We talked about my plans for a little while, ordered another round of drinks, and the conversation moved on to Evie’s upcoming wedding. After a particularly rousing discussion about the rehearsal dinner, Izzy sighed. “I’ve never been in love before.”