Page 120 of Prickly Romance

I squirm guiltily.

Sunny sets a brown hand on top of mine. Her expression is full of worry.

I bite down on my bottom lip, trying hard to control the weeping that wants to burst out of me. Instead of thinking about Sazuki and his cold shoulder, I focus on Sunny’s face. She’s a tall and slender woman with shiny black hair that goes all the way down her back.

With her reddish-brown complexion, pointy nose and exotic eyes, I bet she could find work in modeling. If not, she can probably open a Belizean fry jack food truck and help her mom share their culture with the rest of the city.

“I can see that you’re trying hard not to cry,” Sunny says gently.

“I hate that I’m getting emotional. I swear I’m not always like this.”

“I know we just met and you probably don’t want to share with me, but I promise that what you say won’t go any further than here.” She gestures to the door. “Darrel went to get our boys and take them to the library. Kenya’s still at her publishing house and Dawn is a workaholic. I’ll probably have to send Max to drag her away from fixing a car.”

I chuckle because I did get that impression from Dawn that day. As small, delicate and classically beautiful as she was, she wore a pair of overalls stained with oil and talked about car gaskets and internal wiring all day.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing big,” I whisper. My voice is suddenly tight. Probably because I’m using every ounce of will I have to keep my emotions in check.

“Sweetheart, if I pretended to believe you, then I wouldn’t be a very good friend.” She winks. “And that’s what we are. The moment you step through those farmhouse doors, you’re a friend. So don’t be shy.” She folds her arms over her chest. “Lay it on me.”

I tell her about the interview and overhearing Beverly in the bathroom. I skip the details about the fight and jump straight to Sazuki. “I didn’t want him to see the post without hearing from me. But he’d already been aware of it. He just… he cut me off and didn’t want to talk about it. I saw him in the office again and…” My bottom lip trembles.

She slides a tissue box over. “Was he rude to you?”

“He was just… cold. We haven’t seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things. It started that night at the gala and it’s only continued from there.”

Sunny bobs her head. “I remember the look on your face when you stumbled off the stage. If looks could kill, it would have been his funeral that night.”

“A lot has happened since then. I met his daughter, who’s absolutely incredible. He told me his vision for the foundation and it’s something I want to be a part of. I thought we were coming to some kind of understanding and it all just…” I make a ‘poof’ gesture. “Disappeared.”

“I see.”

I scrunch my nose. “What do you see?”

“Tell me, Deej.” Sunny clamps her hands together and leans forward. “What is making you cry right now? That you angered a reporter?”

“No. I would fight her again.” I scowl.

“That you might have caused damage to the foundation?”

“Of course that bothers me.”

“More than the fact that Sazuki didn’t take your side?”

My eyes lurch to hers.

The tears refuse to stay in their place. One comes slipping down my cheek.

“You care about his opinion of you. You want that opinion to be good. You want him to believe you even when all the evidence is stacked against you. But he didn’t.” Her words are soft and gentle. “Isn’t that what hurts you more than anything else?”

“No.” I swipe away a tear.

She pats my back. “No?”

“Yes,” I admit. Another tear falls. “But caring about Sazuki’s opinion of me would mean that I care about him.”

“Maybe you do.”

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