Page 27 of Healing Hearts
“Am I the only gossip game in town?” I ask.
“In the family at the moment, yeah.”
“I don’t know if it’s going to work out with Michael,” I admit, slotting a children’s aspirin back onto the shelf.
“Really?” Maggie says. “Aww. That’s too bad. Kelvin was already planning the wedding.”
“He just got divorced,” I say. “I’m sure Michael is not in a hurry to walk down the aisle again anytime soon.”
“I don’t know. Kelvin said Michael told him he didn’t want to be an old dad. So you had that in common.”
We did. Neither of us wasted any time in getting to the heart of what we wanted. His first marriage hadn’t worked out because she’d changed her mind about kids, and he definitely wanted them. In that way, we were a match. But just because two people wanted kids didn’t make them long-term compatible. Dating Michael has been pleasant, and it has reminded me that there are princes who want commitment out there—not just the toads I found on my dating app, but I couldn’t force a spark.
Wanted or not, I know what a spark feels like again, and I can’t fake it.
“Are you going to keep dating then? Or back to a donor?” Maggie asks as she starts tidying to close up.
“Donor,” I say with more decisiveness than I feel. “I had it narrowed down pretty well at the start of January, and then I got cold feet.”
“You’re breaking things off with Michael?”
“Tomorrow. We’re meeting for coffee after he’s done at work. Are you okay to watch Amir?”
“Grady can grab him from school again. He’s got him right now. Grady doesn’t go back to New York for another producingproject until next week.” Maggie checks her phone. “Would you like us to feed him?”
“Oh, I can go get…” My phone rings, and I check the display.
Mullen Mechanicsflashes as the caller.
“Just a sec,” I say to Maggie as I turn away. “Emily Sullivan Real Estate,” I say when I answer.
“Emily! How are you?”
“I’m good Bruce, how about you?”
“Well,” he chuckles, “I don’t know exactly how to do this, but I’d like to list my business and the shop in March. I’m retiring.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” I say, as though I didn’t already know his plan. My heart thuds at how sad Trent will be, even if he tries to hide it. I hold my hand over the phone and say to Maggie, “Can you feed Amir? I’m going to pop over to assess Mullen Mechanics.”
“No problem,” Maggie says. “You can pick him up when you’re done.”
Removing my hand from the speaker, I say, “I can pop over now and give you a preliminary estimate, if that’s helpful?”
“Yes, that would be great,” Bruce says.
After I’ve left Bruce’s shop, I sit in my car, and I debate whether I should text Trent. I have some sense of how much is a fair price for Bruce’s business, but things haven’t been normal between me and Trent, and I don’t know if a reminder of why they’re not normal is a good idea.
Still, if the situation were reversed, I’d want to know that my dream business was going up for sale. Even if Trent expected it, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t tell him.
Before I can second guess myself more, I fire off a text about Bruce contacting me.
I’m still happy to keep my part of the deal, if you’ve changed your mind and you’d like my help.I type it all as quickly as I can and hit send.
What happens next is up to Trent.
I’m not expecting a quick reply—he’s been slower to respond the last few weeks, which I’ve tried not to worry about. One kiss, as hot as it was, isn’t going to break us.
Text me when Amir’s asleep, and I’ll pop over.
