Page 14 of The Sexy Part
“Yes, you do,” Harper shoots back. “You got burned and shut everything down.”
“You’re one to talk.”
They give each other side-eye and turn back to me. They remind me of siblings. Kinda funny. I never got to experience that special sister bond. I would’ve loved a sister.
“Did Cooper give you a tour of the town?” Mackenzie asks.
“We saw him carrying you down the sidewalk,” Harper says.
A rare blush creeps up my neck. “Oh. I didn’t know everyone saw that.”
“We weren’t spying,” Mackenzie says. “We were at the bar helping ourselves and happened to see you because we were facing in that direction.”
“Her dad owns the bar, so she can help herself whenever,” Harper says.
“It was an open bar anyway,” Mackenzie says.
They look at me expectantly.
I take a sip of wine. “No tour of the town. I, uh, got more bad news and sort of lost it on the sidewalk. He carried me across the street to Ludbury House to get my stuff.”
Mackenzie shakes her head. “More bad news! What was it?”
“You don’t have to answer,” Harper says, shooting Mackenzie a look.
I hold up a palm. “No, it’s fine. My friends left early because of an emergency. I just felt sort of stranded.”
“Well, you landed in the right place,” Mackenzie says.
I smile. “I’m getting that feeling. So does Cooper really rescue women all the time?”
“Frequently,” Harper says.
“For a kid who ran wild—” Mackenzie starts.
“He used to throw food at us, even as a teenager,” Harper says.
“He turned into a good guy,” Mackenzie finishes.
Cooper’s warmth and generosity meant everything to me. Not sure how I feel about being one of many wrecked women he fixes up. He made me feel sorta special. Silly. After the overwhelm of my day, I’m not thinking clearly.
The conversation moves to a mystery series they’ve been watching, which just happens to be one of my favorites too.
I warm to the topic. “Only problem is, I watch it late at night on my laptop and fall asleep before I find out whodunit. I’m usually so tired from putting in long hours at work.”
“Work, shmerk,” Harper says. “Do you want to get paid or find out whodunit?”
We laugh.
“I think I’m going to get ready for bed,” I say. “It’s been a hellish long day.”
Mackenzie stands. “I’ll make up a room for you.”
“Thanks, both of you. I really appreciate it.”
A short while later, I crash into a comfortable bed and sigh. My mind bounces from one dire thought to another. Reality crashing in on me. The expense of the wedding for nothing, the stunning breakup with no warning, needing to move my stuff out of Dave’s apartment, finding a new place I can afford on my own, the business. My vision of the future is shattered.
My nerves are raw, anxiety forming a tight ball in my chest. Where do I go from here?
