Page 34 of Lovewell Lane

“Derek, that had nothing to do with you. She’s clearly just an ungrateful bitch. I can’t fathom someone choosing to leave you and Tessa. I promise you, she’s regretting it now.”

I didn’t allow myself to dwell on the implications of that statement. She took a long deep breath and stood up. Her face was significantly less pale, and her hands had stopped shaking. “Thanks, for coaching me. I freeze up sometimes with things like that.”

“No worries.”

“Let’s go check out this sign,” she said excitedly.

We both stood out front, craning our necks up to take in the new, and only, restaurant in town. Lucky’s.

11

Margo

Scarlet: Have you joined a cult?

Margo: Should I?

Scarlet: Only if the leader is a woman. Call me.

“Sorry, I can only speak when a male is in my presence, let me go find the Supreme Leader.”

“Margo, that is not funny,” Scarlet groaned.

I chuckled. “Trust me, Honeyfield doesn’t have enough people to inhabit a cult.”

“That’s how it starts. They prey on isolated people, so it’s the perfect breeding ground. I just watched a documentary on this, actually.”

“Scar. There are no cults. I promise.”

“Okay, then please supply me with some other valid reason for why my best friend is suddenly radio silent? You call me every day of your life and send at least a dozen texts harassing me about my daily activities. I didn’t even get so much as a ‘how are you’ yesterday.”

“Oh,” I stopped sorting silverware to think. “I’m sorry, I got all of my appliances delivered yesterday, so I must have gotten distracted testing it out and thinking about the diner opening.”

Maybe I was distracted thinking about Derek too. Maybe.

“That’s it?” Scarlet judged. “Not accepted. Try again.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “My hot landlord slash neighbor might have something to do with it.”

“Spill,” she demanded. I could hear the smile in her voice. She totally knew the answer before I said anything. “You haven’t told me anything since you baked cookies with him and his daughter. I mean there was no way that wasn’t turning into anything.”

“He’s a total asshole. He communicates in mostly grunts and one-word answers. But I keep getting total whiplash because out of nowhere he’ll say something so thoughtful, or do something kind. I have no idea what to think about him.”

“Examples, babe.”

“Well, he fixed my car.” Scar and I spoke every day, but I’d managed to hold back anything regarding Derek. Speaking with her was my one opportunity to not think about him, so I didn’t want to spoil that time. But now, it felt like the dam was about to break.

“He fixed your car? Did you ask him to?”

“No, it broke down while I was out at a bar. Then he came to pick me up from said bar and drove me home. The next morning, I woke up to it magically fixed and in the driveway.”

“Margo,” Scarlet scolded. “He’s so in love with you. I know husbands that wouldn’t do something that kind for their significant other.”

I silently wondered if that was a shot directed at her long-term boyfriend, Chad. Who very distinctly is not a man that would do something like that.

“He tried to blame it on ‘fairies’. And then later the same day told me I looked like one of his pigs.”

“What the fuck?”

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