Page 122 of Broken

“Good, my second favorite coffee shop is down there anyway and I’m craving a hazelnut macchiato. So tell Aunty Sinclair what is going on with you. Ruby already told me you had to take a personal day after our night of margaritas. And I thought she was the lightweight.”

“You must have been putting extra tequila in mine to loosen my tongue.”

She side-eyes me but doesn’t answer. Of course, Sin didn’t do that. I’m a lightweight too, I guess. Also, I was otherwise occupied.

“Come on, what gives? You’ve been down, babe.”

“I’ve been getting these letters postmarked from home.”

“Letters,” she frowns. “What is this, the nineteenth century?”

“I deleted my online presence, including all my email accounts.”

She chews on her lip and nods. “No one is supposed to know your whereabouts.”

“They don’t. Except my lawyer.”

“What did they want?”

I explain as we reach the waterfront. It’s no better coming here than the park. I have memories of Garrett here too. I suggest we grab our coffee first and we sit on a bench by the water.

“Are you looking for advice, or have you decided?”

“Advice?” I shrug.

“Tell me your thoughts.”

Inhaling, I watch a boat on the water for a while. Sin waits me out.

“I don’t want to go back.”

“That’s understandable,” she nods.

“But I also don’t want to pass up the chance to do this. I thought it was all over. I lost my business, my home, my life… This contract meant a lot to me. When everyone dropped me, this one hurt the most.”

“Have they explained why they’ve reached out again?”

She’s asking questions she knows aren’t related to my heart. I appreciate that about her.

“They love the design. They never wanted to pull out, but there was a lot of concern around the case and the money…” I wave a hand, not wanting to go into all that again.

“And now they realize they can’t get anything better they’ve come back to you?”

My nose wrinkles.

“That’s a compliment, babe. No one can beat you. Their shitty indecisiveness aside, they want you to come back on board. That’s the decision. Do it, or walk away. What is your heart telling you? Don’t think, just say it.”

“I want to build it,” I blurt out. “Sin, I dreamed about it so many nights, before and after…”

“Then what is the problem?”

“I’d have to go back.”

“And that is bad because?” She waves off the look I give her. “Those who shall not be named aside. What else?”

My back bows as I slouch in the seat. “It’s mostly that,” I say. “And it was all shitty the way everyone blamed me, believing I was in on it and walking away without bothering to ask. I thought I knew the people I was working with. That felt shit.”

“What else?”

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