Page 54 of Can't Get Over You
“And don’t get me started with your craft shit.” Willa lowered another finger. “Girl, you leave glitter everywhere. I don’t think I’ve ever come home from visiting you without finding it in my suitcase or under my fingernails.”
“Thatisa problem.”
“Oh. Oh.” Willa got excited and hiked up on an elbow to roll over and face her. “And what about your laugh? Birds scatter. Dogs hide under the bed, and little children clutch their mommy’s legs.”
“Hey. I can’t help how I laugh.” When her friend broke out in shrieking laughter, her mouth stretched impossibly wide, Finlay whacked her. “Okay, now, you’re being mean.”
“Oh, come on.” Willa leaned in and smacked a kiss on her cheek. “Everyone loves your laugh, and you know it. It’s one of the best things about you. You let it rip. Free and unfettered. It’s awesome. Mypointis your ‘flaws’ aren’t even in the same ballpark as Matt’s.”
“He said my expectations aren’t realistic.”
“Yeah, well, he can go screw himself.” Willa reared up, snatched the plastic bag off the floor, and began tossing empty cans and wrappers into it. “You know how I feel about this. We run from anyone who tells us to lower our standards. We hold out for what we want. Now, we’ve got Malibu Barbie cocktails with our names on them waiting for us at Wild Billy’s. You want to fix yourself up, or are we going like feral women who just raw-dogged six days in the wilderness?”
That wasnotgoing to happen. She hadn’t told Willa—or anyone—about the kiss. She was holding on to it like a gift. Or a dirty secret.It’s mine.But her friend knew all about herchildhood crush, so she’d understand. “Jude’s working the bar tonight, so I want to look as fine as wine.” She cringed. “That’s bad, right? Two days ago, I was getting married, and now, I’m glamming up for some guy I knew in high school?”Who touched my boob last night.
“You know the old saying.” Willa swung her legs off the bed. “The only way to get over Prince Charming is to get under a bad boy.”
Chapter Nine
Wild Billy’swas the most popular bar in town, so it was no surprise that every table and barstool was filled. The dance floor was crowded with people two-stepping to a live country band.
While their friends were dancing, Finlay sat with Willa, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Jude. She loved the way his biceps flexed as he held a vodka bottle with one hand and deftly caught the lime another bartender tossed him with the other. He had his hair tied back, which only accentuated his high cheekbones and strong jawline. The man was gorgeous.
Yeah, but you know what?It was his confidence that made him so appealing. That made him stand out.
“I could just take a picture of him,” Willa said. “That way, you could just stare at your phone all night. Might be easier.”
Finlay laughed. “Oh, let me have some fun. My entire life went up in smoke. I’ve lost the father of my future children.”
“Yeah, you for sure look torn up about it. Probably, Jude McKenna’s the only one who can relieve your broken heart.”
“Keep your sarcasm in New York, where it belongs. It’s not welcome in my lovely mountain town.” Her phone buzzed with a photo Willa sent. In it, she was gazing longingly. And sinceshe recognized the taxidermy moose head protruding out of the brick wall behind her, she knew she was staring at Jude.
The yearning, the raw desire, need—whatever you wanted to call it—made her sick to her stomach. “What’s wrong with me? Why am I still so obsessed with him?” She flipped her phone over. She couldn’t look at that lonely, pathetic high school girl who dreamed about him all while cutting out photos of clean-cut, handsome actors and models. “Do you think he saw?”
“Who cares if he did?” Willa asked. “You’re allowed to be attracted to a man. You get to be whoever the hell you are. And personally, I think you’re fantastic. You’re a great friend. A great teacher. You’re smart, creative, and you’re fucking hot.”
Impulsively, she wrapped her arms around her friend’s neck and hugged her. “I didn’t know how much I needed to hear that. Thank you for being here.”
Willa clung to her. “I’ll be here as long as you need.” She pulled back. “Speaking of which… Are we going on the honeymoon?”
Settling back in her chair, Finlay shook her head. “No.” She wiped the moisture under her eyes. “I’ve already canceled the hotel and my flight. In fact, I’m going back to school for the next three days until Christmas break.”
“Sweetie, I know how much you want to keep the house, but I’m not sure you’ll be able to come up with that kind of money in a week.”
“I know. But I’m not giving up yet. I’m holding on to every ounce of hope until the clock runs out.”
“What if I give you a loan?” Willa asked. “We could come up with a payment plan.”
“I love you. And I appreciate that you’d do that for me, but I’m not taking your money. Realistically, I know I can’t come up with that kind of money. I know I can’t keep the house. And it’sokay. I’ll be fine. I just need to peel off one piece of the dream at a time.”
“The easiest part was the groom.”
“Iknow. How awful am I? I mean, did I even love him?”
“That’s a good question,” Willa asked. “Did you?”
But she already knew the answer. She’d spent half the night contemplating it. “I loved what we were building.” It was hard to think with rum sloshing around her brain, but she was sure of one thing. “That’s how we connected from the very beginning. We both had our lives mapped out, and they were perfectly aligned. It was exciting, and it made me feel close to him. But…” She glanced back at the bar—well, at Jude. “But now it’s over, and the only thing I can think about is the timeline. I’m thirty, Wills. This is when I need to buy a house and have a baby. Don’t get me wrong. I love my job and my friends and my family. I love my life, but I’ve had this dream for so long, and now it’s just been…erased.”
