Page 68 of Always a Roommate
Waking up in a house alone shouldn’t have felt so strange at my age. Not hearing another person clatter around the kitchen or have them scoot into the bathroom before me should have been freeing.
Though, Shane had followed the rule of allowing me to have the bathroom first. Really, we’d followed all our rules once we set them. No avoiding—except for a brief spell—less bickering.
And yet, I missed the bickering. I missed his horrid coffee smell in the morning before he’d learned how it affected me. I missed him.
There were officially three days until the wedding of Drew Stone and Lola Ramirez. Crunch time. My last meeting with the security team was yesterday and everything was set. The Beach Club was packed to the gills with A-list celebrities, and Gulf City was buzzing with their arrival.
It should be the most exciting time of my life.
But all I could think was there was no one here to talk to about how nervous I was to go to The Beach Club today, to be surrounded by people I’d only seen in the tabloids.
I pulled myself out of bed and into the shower. Then, I went through the motions of straightening my hair until it was sleek down my back and applying my makeup perfectly. Not a thing was out of place.
I slipped into a fall shift dress and low boots. My stomach growled, but I doubted I could handle food right about now.
Coffee. I needed coffee. And that desire surprised me.
Sure, I loved it, but I also hated it. Yet, this morning, it seemed like it would be the only thing to keep me going.
On my way to the bakery, I gave Finley a call. She answered on the second ring.
“Are you too in with the rock stars now to be my friend?” she asked.
I laughed. “If by in you meaning working for them.”
“Can you tell them I said hi?”
My eyes rolled skyward before focusing back on the road. “Sure, Fin. I’ll tell them some weird girl they’ve never met says hi.”
“Fine.” There were voices in the background.
“Where are you? That doesn’t sound like work.”
“Oh, I took the day off. I’m with Johnny at the hardware store.”
Since when did Finley even know where a hardware store was? “That’s very like you.”
She laughed at that. “Yeah, well, anything for my brothers. We all took the next couple days off to get started helping Tanner.”
“Helping Tanner?” Last I’d heard, he wasn’t planning to repair the Hut.
“Yeah. I’ve got to go, Rae. Have fun with your rock stars.”
She hung up as I pulled into the lot at Momma Loves Sugar. If I was going to get a coffee, it had to be the best.
Mariana smiled when I walked in. “Tea?”
I shook my head. “I’ll take a coffee with extra cream please.”
Her brows shot toward her hairline. “Whatever you want, Rae.”
She set the to-go cup in front of me. “Shane was in here earlier this morning. He’s recruiting people to help at the Hut. I think I’m going to close up early to go. Will you be there?”
I didn’t want to let it show how much it hurt he hadn’t called me. That Shane had written me off so completely I couldn’t even help with Tanner.
“I can’t.” I offered her a tight smile. “I’m busy with wedding stuff today.”
Her eyes lit. “Oh yes, I’ve had assistants coming in all morning for coffee. Apparently, someone told them it was better here than at the club.”
