Page 34 of Scoring with my Bestie's Ex

She needs time. And if I’m any sort of friend, I’ll give her that time.

Besides, I’m not in a position yet where I want a steady relationship.

Time is what we need. Hopefully, we’ll have the chance in the future.

If not, then I want to look back at Castleton with fondness, not regrets.

Chapter thirteen

Bella

Leaving Castleton and getting back to normal life is…

Well, it just is.

Living with Ellen has been good so far, but I’ll be happy to have my own place.

I’ve never had that before. I went from living with my parents to living with a roommate, and finally to living with Steven.

“You look good,” Imogen tells me when I breeze into my first day back at work.

“Thanks.” I hand her a coffee made to her specifications. “It turns out Ellen had the right idea by dragging me away.”

Imogen grins at me. She wears a bright green wig today, which matches her eclectic fashion.

For someone who makes the most beautiful designs, she isn’t exactly a fashionista herself.

I think she does it on purpose to weed out the snobs.

“What’s on the docket today?” I ask her.

She grabs her sketchbook and passes it to me. “I need these designs to have patterns made for them. I’ve gotten an offer for a show in Moscow next month, and I’m running around like a headless chicken! I’m glad to have you back.”

“Of course.” I open up her book and flip through the pages. While she is terrific at getting things to fit on paper, Imogen has a hard time developing patterns off them.

Oh, she’s great at making patterns. Just not the ones that line up with her sketches.

She is constantly bubbling with new ideas and changes things accordingly.

“I can get on this right away,” I assure her.

Then I hesitate.

Is now the right time? I promised myself that I would take more time on my own designs. That I’d take the risk and at least find some way to improve myself.

Imogen glances at me. “Is something the matter?”

“No. There’s just something I’d like to ask you, and I’m just screwing up my courage to actually ask.” I laugh nervously at my own admission.

Imogen smiles encouragingly at me. “Do you need more time? I know that you’ve been through a lot.”

She never liked Steven. She didn’t say it aloud, but I could tell every time I talked about the wedding.

“Actually, I’m hoping that you can help me with something. To put more work on my plate overall but with an end goal that is hopefully better than what I’ve got going now.” I shake my head at myself.

I’m rambling.

When what I ought to be doing is just being direct about this.

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