Page 35 of Make You Mine

Finally, I found my voice. “Richard and Dana want to buy me out of the shop. And they think I should stay away from Cody for now.”

“Like fucking hell. None of that is going to happen,” Paige bit out.

“What is wrong with them?” Eliza hissed. “They can’t just pull the rug out from under your life and go about their merry way. I don’t think so.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring their faces. The room closed in around me. I blinked rapidly, trying to control myself.

Lucy and Cara were at the back door. Without hesitation, they enveloped me in their arms.

Paige’s fierce expression softened as she looked at me in sympathy. “We’ll figure this out,” she assured me. “They don’t get to dictate your life.”

“Yeah, they dropped a bomb, for sure,” Lucy added. “But that doesn’t mean what they say goes.”

“Maybe if I gave up the shop, they’ll let me have Cody,” I wondered aloud.

“No,” Paige hissed. “You were not born to give up your dreams and tolerate selfish assholes like them. You’ve worked too hard.”

“Whatever they said to you is bullshit. I know it,” Cara added.

“Now isn’t the time to make decisions,” Lucy said. “We’ll talk to a lawyer if we have to. They can’t do this to you.”

“I’m not deciding anything right now.” I heaved out a sigh. “It’s just—why am I surprised? This is me. I’m not a woman who has good things happen to her—I’m just not. Richard looked at me like we hadn’t spent nearly two years together, and he looked at her like—I mean, it’s obvious he never cared about me the way I cared for him. I think I’m just not a grand gesture kind of girl. Dana doesn’t have the money to buy me out, but he does. He’s doing everything for her, buying my shop for her, and taking my dog for her. He never offered to help me. I didn’t need it, but it’s the thought that counts, right? He never even asked me about my plans for the bakery. But he’s all in with her.”

“Oh, Piper, no. Plenty of good things happen to you and you deserve way more than a selfish prick like him?—”

“That’s not it. I don’t want him back. I want?—”

“You want what he’s giving to that cow, Dana,” Eliza deduced. “But not from him.”

“Love like that is not for me. I’m just going to have to accept that I’m never going to be swept off my feet. I’m always going to be a step on the road to someone else’s happily ever after. This is my life.”

“Please, you’re breaking my heart.” Paige pulled me into her arms. “Stop torturing yourself. We can fix this.”

“Hello?” I pulled back. “I would love to stop torturing myself, but I don’t seem to know the safe word.”

Cara’s expression was soft. “You don’t need a safe word. You’ll remember your strength once the shock wears off.”

“Lucy nodded in agreement. “And we’ll be here.”

“I’m being negative right now, I know that. I’m not in a good headspace. I want to go home.”

“My car is at my place. I’ll go get it and drive you, okay?” Lucy lived behind the Honeybrook, in one of the forest cabins they rented. Some were long-term rentals, and the rest were for tourists and skiers.

“Thank you. I don’t want to see anyone, especially them.”

“I know, I totally understand. I’ll be right back.”

Lucy drove me home, insisting that we stop to pick up lunch for me to eat later when I declined her offer to stay with me.

It was ratty robe and caftan time for this girl. My brief foray into hopeful optimism had been foolish, and it was all because of Ren. It was nice to let my little crush on him bloom—to fantasize, to dream of maybe having something real with him someday, but I had to go back to reality. Some things were not meant for me. Like love, romance, a man who would do anything to make me happy, shit like that. I could have a nice life without those things. I could be content, and I would be after I allowed myself a few days to get over it and figure out what to do for the rest of my life.

I texted Ren that the vet appointment was off and he didn’t have to worry about me, then reentered hermit mode.

I spent the next few days in a haze of self-pity, alternating between binge-watching oldFriendsepisodesand napping. My phone was a constant source of anxiety; the notifications were piling up, but I ignored them all. It was easier to avoid everyone, to pretend that the world outside my house didn’t exist.

Lucky for me, I had plenty of groceries and cat food. Smog and Nimbus were thrilled by my constant presence, and napping was their favorite thing to do, so we were getting along just fine.

After a few days, the fog began to lift. I took a long, hot shower and let the water wash away the remnants of my mopey despair. Sometimes, I required solitude and silence to cope.

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