“It sounds like a winner.” I could have used a book like that to go with my ice-cream binge this weekend. Just thinking about the loan repayments was threatening to tip me over the edge, right into Sulks-ville.
Adi managed to cheer me up a bit, which I was grateful for. At least, she did until she asked her next question. “What are you going to do this weekend?”
“Me?” I did my very best not to grimace. “I need to work. I’m thinking about extending my store hours. Might as well give it a try this weekend to see what happens.”
April pulled a face before sitting up straighter, flashing me a smile. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you come have dinner with us tonight? You can try the extended shop hours tomorrow.”
“I...” I trailed off when I noticed the look in her eyes, practically begging for my help with Adi. At six years old now, she was a handful. A sweet, adorable but ridiculously busy handful.
April hardly ever asked for my help, so the fact she was looking at me like that meant she really needed me. “I’d love to.”
Saying no to her would have been too cruel, even if that was what I had been about to say.
Besides, it wasn’t like people had been tripping over themselves to get into the shop today. Maybe as the days kept growing longer and the season came into full swing, people would be more inclined to spend money on flowers as opposed to warm drinks on their way home.
April brightened, mouthing “thank you” before holding a hand out to Adi. “Come on, baby. Let’s let Luna lock up and wait for her outside.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” I said. “I just need to put the books away before I can go anywhere.”
I slammed them shut as April and Adi made their way out of my office, burying them under a stack of papers in my bottom drawer. If I hid them from view, maybe I’d be able to forget about the potentially devastating consequences the numbers in them hinted at.
There was no more of the winter chill in the air when I stepped onto the sidewalk to join my friend. A breeze ruffled my hair, carrying on it whiffs of meat grilling from trucks parked nearby and the sharp stench of garbage.
Spring was the season of new beginnings, of fresh buds blooming, and both people and animals coming alive again. As we walked to their apartment, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia for the days when I still believed in the magic of springtime, in what the new beginning would hold for me. These days, even springtime felt more like the smell of garbage suited it and not the sweet scent of flowers.
No. Snap out of it. You’re not this person.
Darn straight, I wasn’t this person. I’d be darned if I was going to spend the entire weekend sulking. I straightened my spine instead and pulled back my shoulders. Everything will work out in the end. It has to.
It didn’t matter that I didn’t know how it would work out. It only mattered that I had to believe it would.
“I saw Landon on the cover of some or other business magazine earlier this week,” April said as we walked into their kitchen, making me wonder if she had read my mind. At least I knew the situation with Landon had worked out right in the end. Dodged a bullet with that one.
“I’m going to say hi to my dollies,” Adi announced, seemingly oblivious to her mother’s statement or how sick I felt just from hearing his name. She didn’t wait for an answer before she dumped her backpack by the door and took off down the short corridor to her room. The sound of her greeting her dolls in a quiet voice filtered back to us a minute later.
Settling on a chair in the breakfast nook, I propped my elbow on the table and rested my chin in my open palm. “I don’t understand why they’re still doing so many features on him. Surely, his site has to be old news by now.”
April shrugged as she walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of cheap wine. She twisted the lid off, then reached for two glasses from the cabinet above her head and filled them.
“I think it’s his way of trying to stay relevant,” she said, taking a seat across from me and handing over my glass. “He was such a dick. I wish they would just stop paying attention to him.”
I took a long sip of my crisp white wine, my taste buds shrinking back as the acidity hit my tongue. The spots beneath my ears ached for a moment. Then I swallowed and figured the next sip would be better.
“That relationship was, hands down, the biggest mistake of my life.” Taking another swig, I was happy to find I’d been right. This one went down better, even if it did still burn my throat. I kept the glass in my hand, leaning my cheek against it. “But I will find someone eventually. I know I will.”
“You still planning on getting married?” She arched an eyebrow as she tossed half her glass down in one go. “I really thought you’d have learned your lesson on that one.”
I shook my head. “I won’t let Landon take that away from me. I might not have any idea when it’s going to happen or to whom, but I do want to get married. I just need to find the one, you know?”
“That one can be pretty elusive.” She refilled both of our glasses, then carried hers with her to the fridge to start getting ingredients for dinner out. “Better idea. Just marry me. We already know we get along well. All we’ll need to get ourselves are a couple of super-strength vibrators and we’ll be good to go. Who needs a man? You can take care of Adi and we’ll change your name to Leo.”
I laughed. “Thanks for the offer, but I enjoy a good man. I’ll keep it in mind, though. If I can’t find a good husband, maybe I’ll change my mind and we can grow old together.”
“You’ll find a good husband,” Adi said as she drifted into the kitchen, hopping up on the seat beside me before turning to look at her mother. “What are we having for dinner? Can I help?”
“Thanks for your support, sweetheart,” I said and ruffled her hair. “At least someone has faith.”
April chuckled, spreading out fresh ingredients on the counter. “Well then, maybe while we’re waiting for this great husband of yours to show up, you and Adi can make a salad while I cook the chicken.”
I stood up and carried my wine over to her. “I’m sure he’ll be right here.”
Ha. I wish. I peeked at the door, but there was no knock from a handsome, mysterious new neighbor who needed to borrow a cup of sugar. Too bad. It would have been a pretty decent story if my future husband had knocked on the door right then.
In real life, the man of your dreams didn’t just appear out of the blue like some knight in shining armor. Still, how cool would it have been if he had?
Chapter 4
Cyrus
“Good to see you again, Cyrus,” Billy said, standing up as I walked into the conference room. He was a fellow investor in an educational technology company and we’d been called to their headquarters downtown. “Do you know what Mike wants to discuss with us?”
I shrugged after shaking his hand, taking a seat across from him at the polished boardroom table. “All the email I got said was to come in to talk about the upcoming year.”
“I got the same one,” Daniel said.
The three of us had bought into EduTech around the same time, and while I didn’t see them very often, Daniel and Billy had invested in a couple of other companies together. They were friendly with one another, which suited me just fine since it usually meant they entertained each other and I could just sit back.