Page 48 of Taming You

It’s his turn to nod.

“Text me when you get home.”

I shake my head. “I’ll be fine.”

“Bug. Text me when you get home.”

That nickname. That damned fucking nickname tears at my walls, and I know I have to leave now if I don’t want him to see me crying. I turn quickly and make my way to my car, as soon as the door closes, the tears start to fall, and I bury my face in my hands.

I let myself get my hopes up only for Matt to pull away and be cold.

When I’ve finally gathered myself, I make the drive home, quietly sneaking into the house so I don’t have to face Henry and Maggie. I do text Matt, because the last thing I want to deal with tonight is him calling to check on me.

I curl up in bed and wonder why the hell I did this to myself.

I wake up Thursday morning determined to do something about figuring out what I want to do with my life. Maggie’s working from home today, and I help her with some of her paperwork. She tells me about a gala they’re planning to raise money for the food bank before the holidays.

We work all day, and I realize I’m actually enjoying helping Maggie with this. She tells me I can help her out whenever I’d like. They’re always looking for help around the holidays. Around dinner, I head upstairs quickly and change before I leave to meet the girls for one of our girls’ nights.

We agreed to meet at the Clover, a bar we’ve frequented for years. I’m the first to arrive and order a drink and snag us a booth in the back corner. The girls slowly trickle in until the table is full and we’re ordering appetizers to share.

“A month and a half until you head back to Willow Valley. You excited?” Liz asks Hannah.

Hannah beams. “Yeah. Grayson’s mom and I have been talking and making plans. Dad’s committed to going with us. It’s going to be so nice to have all of our family in the same place for the holidays. I never thought I’d get that.”

“It’s your and Grayson’s first Christmas together. That’s got to be exciting,” Liz adds.

“We’re excited to start our own traditions. Liv, what are you guys planning for Cate’s first Christmas?”

“Josh and I got her a baby’s first Christmas ornament like I got when I was a baby. We want to give her one every year. We’re doing Christmas Eve at my parents’ like usual and Josh’s family is joining. We want Christmas Day to be just us at home. Nice and relaxed.”

“That sounds nice,” I say. “I’ll be spending the holidays with my rowdy brothers, but it should be fun. Henry and Maggie are hosting again, so I won’t have to go far.” I laugh.

“So, you’ll be able to sleep in until they come kick your ass out of bed, then,” Liv says.

“How was your date?” Liz asks, and I roll my eyes.

I turn and face Hannah. “I’m not sure what I did to make you think that horrible man would make a good date, but please, whatever it is, I’m sorry.” I place my hands in front of me in a prayer position. “I’m sorry. Please, never again.”

Hannah and Liv exchange a quick look before they look at me.

“What happened?” Hannah asks.

I shake my head. “How could you not know that man has an ego bigger than his head?”

She shrugs. “I don’t spend a lot of time with him. I more relay test results and patient status than actually talk to him.”

I throw up my hands. “And you thought that was enough criteria to set me up?”

“He seemed nice enough. I was just trying to help.”

I scoff. It sounds annoyed, but it’s to cover my hurt. “Do I really seem so desperate that I’ll date anyone?”

Liz immediately reaches for my hand. “Zo, none of us think you’re desperate. We all just know you’d like to be in a loving relationship and no one can fault you for that, especially these two when they have that already.”

Bailey nods. “I think we sometimes overlook things when we aren’t looking at someone as a possibility to be a romantic partner. I’m sure that’s exactly what happened with Hannah.” Her gaze moves to her, and Hannah nods enthusiastically.

“That’s probably exactly what happened.”

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