Page 69 of Grinch Girl

“Wh-what?” I shook my head so hard I could smell wafts of hairspray. “Half of my half?”

“Yes.” She pressed the slip of paper between my fingers, and I realized it was a check. When I read the number on it, my eyes widened. A sizable check.

“Hear me out,” she said quickly. “You keep a piece of the shop because you should. It’s a part of your home. But that doesn’t mean you should stay and run it. I’m obviously planning to be in Falworth a lot more now—let me figure out how to keep it going. Carol and Diane are going to help.”

She smiled at my confused frown. “Jane, take the money and use it to go for the life you really want.”

“Bella…” I shook my head on autopilot. “Thank you. But no. I couldn’t. I can’t—”

“Why can’t you?” she asked, but she wasn’t really asking. “Greta is gone.”

I knew that. But there were other people who I needed to take care of too. “I’ll keep an eye on Kelly,” Bella said pre-empting my next argument. “You told me yourself that she’s got a solid support system now, Jane. Things are different than they used to be.”

I swallowed. What about…um, Sean? Of course, all I had to do was look across the room and my fears about him became ridiculous. He was directing the group of cameramen, completely in his element.

I blinked several times. Even if I didn’t need to take care of people anymore, I couldn’t accept this offer. Running the shop was the first step to making my life better. Wasn’t it?

Bella was reading my mind again. “You’ve been thinking too small, JZ. I don’t blame you—given what you’ve been dealing with up to this point, it was only natural that you were focusing on how to make life in Falworth tolerable. But you don’t have to limit yourself anymore.”

She put her hands on my shoulders and gave me a little shake. “Try something entirely new. Leave! Move to the city! See what else is out there for you. You can stay at my apartment in Chicago as long as you want.”

Buoyed by my stunned silence, Bella kept talking. “Remember when you were drunk and trying to explain to Nate how things wouldn’t work between you? You kept thinking that no one chooses you.”

“I can’t believe I told you that,” I muttered.

In my defense, having a best friend again after a decade of abstinence was super-intoxicating. Bella and I were talking every day all day about everything. In fact, I now knew so much about Michael’s bedroom moves that I couldn’t make eye contact with him.

“Here’s the thing, Jane.” Bella stared me down, pinning me with her huge eyes. “Right now, the person who needs to choose you isyou.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

It didn’t takelong to realize the New Year’s Eve party was going to be an enormous success. The DJ found his groove right away, alternating between dirty Christmas songs, good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, hair band music, and country anthems. The Satin Ladies walked the warehouse floor like it was a catwalk, drawing eyes and admirers, dispensing Jell-O shots with authority and attitude.

Partygoers gaped and pointed at ourSingle Bellscontestants, reminding me of wide-eyed tourists on safari witnessing animals walking in the wild. Bolder visitors grabbed the web series participants for selfies. Michael kept a protective arm around Bella as they dutifully beamed into photo after photo. Tripp proudly escorted Diane around the warehouse, whispering things in her ear.

Nicole was standing with a group of her girlfriends. As I watched, Jim brought her a red Solo cup of beer. She accepted it with a smile, and he nodded and walked away. A group of tourists sighed audibly like it had been an epic romantic moment.

“Jane!” Brian rushed up to me, looking handsome in jeans and his typical flannel.

“Hey!” We gave each other a brief hug. “What’s up?”

His eyes were a bit wild. “My ex showed up. Here. Tonight.”

My mouth dropped open. “Really? Wow.” I gave him an impressed nod. “I guess the whole making-her-jealous tactic really worked.” I was happy for him, but oh. My heart ached a bit for Mabel. I sure hoped Brian had been as open with her aboutthe reason he’d participated in the show as he’d been with me. “That’s great.”

But he stayed silent, his eyebrows low over his hooded eyes. I angled my head. “Isn’t it?”

“I don’t know!” he exclaimed. “That’s all I wanted when we started, but now…”

Aw.“Mabel?” I asked.

He flushed and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Maybe. I don’t know! I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

I grabbed a tray of red Jell-O shots from a passing Satin Lady and handed one to him. “I don’t have any answers for you, my friend. Just…” I thought hard and sighed. “Be honest with yourself about what—or who—you want. Be brave enough to go for it.”

Brian did the Jell-O shot, looking ridiculous. “Honest and brave,” he muttered. “Honest and brave.” I saluted him as he walked away. He looked like a man headed for the gallows rather than two interested women.

Carol appeared in front of me, staring down at her phone and cackling. “Give me one of those!” she demanded. And then she didtwored Jell-O shots.

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