Page 40 of Hard to Take

“Does Waffles deserve to be used as an excuse?”

The Frenchie hears his name and immediately perks up, cocking his little head with a curious whine.

“Don’t you guilt me too,” I tell him before turning back to Nova. “It’s not a big deal. We have chemistry. It boiled over. Again.”

“What if it’s more than that?”

I don’t have an answer. I’ve never had someone go to so much effort, and trying to decide why is beyond me right now.

My gaze focuses on the painting once again. “Why isn’t this on your social?”

“I haven’t had a second. Since the wedding and moving into the new house, plus the start of the new season, we’ve been living in chaos.”

We unwrap the rest of the paintings and I snap pictures with my phone. “Okay. You’re going to post this one now and another tomorrow and this on the weekend. When does the show open?”

“Saturday.”

“Hmm. No, let’s do it this way.” I explain my changes. “You’ll have a line around the block.”

“I’m not sure how to do that.”

“Here. Give me your phone.” I download a scheduling app and link it to her social, then I queue up the posts we talked about. “There. All you have to do is respond to the comments.”

Nova claps her hands in excitement. “You’re hired.”

I laugh, retrieving my coffee from where I set it. “You know I’ll help anytime. It’s the least I can do for you helping with my little photoshoot.”

“I’m serious, Brooke. This goes beyond the scope of a little photoshoot. Can I hire you?” The earnest hope on my friend’s face makes me consider her request.

“What do you have coming up?”

She tells me what she’d like to do for the next few months.

“If I were you…” I flip over a napkin and mock up a quick content plan on the fly.

“That’s perfect! I’ll try it. Will you try something for me?”

I frown. “What’s that?”

“Don’t run away from Miles. Don’t over analyze it or try to put a label on it or decide what it should be. Just have fun for a while.”

* * *

MILES

“Tomorrow’s home game marks the start of the midseason tournament. I’ve got two things to say heading in. First, props to Garrett,” Coach says. “That was beast mode. Keep it up.”

Guys clap me on the back.

“Second…we have an addition for practice today.”

A cheer goes up as Atlas comes around the corner and pulls off his hoodie.

“Nice of you to finally join us,” Jay says with a grin of relief.

If there’s one thing our title last year taught us, it’s that once you win, you have to keep winning.

I wish I could say my only distraction is Grams. Of the facilities that have gotten back to me about Grams, the best one is crazy expensive. I sent a note to my accountant to ask how many years I can afford to keep her there. Yeah I make bank today, but you never know how soon a career could end.

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