Page 35 of The Promise Of You

Now even that is lost.

I wonder what would have happened if I’d broken my promise to him, that night? If I’d told him who I was? Would we have figured out our differences? Would he have given me a chance?

Breathe in. Breathe out. I can’t do the what-ifs. It’s too painful.

I need to forget about my night with him. Fiona was right. He was a rebound, and nothing more. I need to move on.

And I need to focus on the reason I’m here. Initially, to keep the restaurant running until a sale. And now that I know the real situation, to bring it back comfortably in the black so a sale can actually happen.

Focus on work, Chloe. That’s always the answer.

A knock sounds, and the door reverberates through my body, startling me. Shoot. Is that him? What does he want? I scramble away from the door.

The knocks become louder. “Chloe!” It’s a woman’s voice. I tiptoe to the side window and peek at two women—Haley and another woman our age.

I open the door and force a smile. “Hey,” I say, unable to keep the defensiveness from my voice.

“Are you alright?” Haley says, gently pushing the door wider so she can storm inside. “That was nuts! Grace, swear to god, never seen him that way. This is Grace, by the way. Chloe.”

Grace has a lock of shiny black curls and soulful eyes. She immediately envelops me in a hug. “Welcome to Emerald Creek. Haley told me everything. I sent Ms. Angela home, told her I’d finish her pedicure later. I’m sure she stopped at Cassandra’s on the way.” She says all this like I’m supposed to know who these people are, then finally releases her hug but holds onto my shoulders. “I can’t believe Justin wouldn’t even want to talk to you. I’m embarrassed. Please don’t judge us for how he’s behaving. How can we make this right?”

“I’m telling Mom,” Haley drops.

“Oh wow. You are? Oh well, then.” Grace pulls a chair and plops onto it like she’s exhausted. She looks around the dining room. “I’ve never been here. It’s… not what I expected.”

“Not what I expected either,” I confirm, happy to change topics.

She scrunches her nose, pulls out her phone, and starts clicking on it.

“How is your chef treating you?” Grace asks.

“I haven’t met him yet.”

Haley crosses her arms. “To be a fly on the wall when that happens.” She sits next to Grace and pushes a chair out for me. “Girl talk. So. What went down today with my brother. That’s not him. You need to know that. He’s a sweetheart.”

Really.

“No, for real. I know where you’re coming from. But that’s not him. You just need to clear the air about the bad blood between him and Murphy. He’ll get over it.”

“Totally,” Grace says.

Bad blood? Is there more than unpaid rent? Aunt Dawn did warn me against him. Seems she was spot on.

“I’ve never seen him this mean,” Haley tells Grace.

“I’ve never seen him mean, period,” Grace answers.

“It’s a girl,” they both say, still looking at each other. Then they laugh out loud. Then Haley takes my hand, because I’m not laughing at all. I’m on the verge of throwing up, of loading my U-Haul, and of telling Aunt Dawn, ‘Sorry—not sorry.’ Because how am I supposed to work with him being like that and being right next to me?

“He really rattled you,” Haley says.

“Yeah, those King brothers, they can be something else,” Grace whispers. “But it’s not like you two have history or anything.”

My blood freezes.

“He’s still the same?” Grace asks Haley.

Haley nods. “Since he and Colton brought Chris back from Boston. Which, you should know—my brother normally comes back very pumped up from his ‘Boston trips,’” she adds with air quotes.

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