Page 35 of The Sweet Spot

“Don’t waste your time on him; that’s all I’m trying to say. Badly, I guess.”

Tears pricked at my eyes. I wanted to be angry, but the overwhelming feeling of not being good enough had taken root.

“Because he’d never fall for someone like me. I get it.”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Tangi said, looking wounded, though I was the injured party here.

“But it’s what I hear. I’m not skinny enough. I don’t have the perfect hair, or face, or anything.”

Jill slammed her fist on the table to stop us both. She leaned in close to me and demanded I do the same.

“Wolseley Douglas, you are a fucking goddess, don’t you ever forget that! Do you know how many times I’ve wanted to be you? A million. No, a billion. I wanted to have your life, your style, your attitude. I still want that. There are tons of guys who would kill to have you on their arm, but for some reason, you chase after losers, and that is going to stop right now. Do you understand?”

I thought she might attack me if I didn’t agree, so I nodded quickly.

“If you want to have a crush, a thing, or a damn fling with Brandon Warde, then go for it. And if that doesn’t work out, you both move on? You are going to find the right guy who deserves you, and he’s going to treat you like the goddess you are. So stop beating yourself up, and let that beautiful, carefree self of yours shine because you’re one of the most amazing women I’ve ever met.”

Tears slipped down my face now, and I reached out to hug Jill. At some point, Tangi came over and hugged us, too, telling me she was an asshole. She kind of was, but now wasn’t the time to bring that up.

After we’d wiped all the tears away, Jill grasped my hands. “Please promise me to keep your head on straight and all your doors open, okay? Don’t think about Brandon only. I want you to notice every single man you interact with. The guys at the grocery store, the markets, anywhere. I bet you’re discounting a lot of diamonds out there.”

Jill had a point.

“Okay, I said.”

“Perfect. Now let’s drink to that and to throwing Wolseley out into the world.”

Chapter Nineteen

Brandon

Wolseley seemed in a better mood, smiling more, back to her old self. Which was a good thing since Ryan was coming over for his tasting. I’d gotten home from a workout at the rink to find her puttering around the kitchen, earbuds in, bopping along to the music as she prepared our meals. I’d finally broken her of making it all look fancy. She liked to make everything look like it had come from a restaurant, but I didn’t care about shit like that. It took me a few tries, but the garnishes finally disappeared. Maybe catching me picking them off my plate was hint enough.

I got her attention long enough to wave that I was home. I took a shower, changed, then checked my phone. Mom had texted to let me know she and Dad wanted to come for the holidays since Dad had checked the schedule and saw that I would be home for a long stretch over Christmas. Lucky me. I didn’t look forward to having them around. I could tolerate my mom, but any extended time spent with my father would be torture. I was formulating a response when I went into the kitchen to grab an energy drink, one Wolseley had approved. She’d mademe dump all the artificial colors and chemical ones for healthier choices. I appreciated her concern, but these drinks didn’t have the same kick, but since I didn’t want to disappoint her, I’d suffer through it.

“You look perturbed,” she said, taking out her earbuds and popping them in her jeans pocket.

“A text from my mom. My parents want to come for Christmas, and I’m not exactly happy about it.”

“Right, your dad,” she said with a sympathetic smile. “That sucks.”

I’d told her bits and pieces about my dad. Anyone could figure out he wasn’t father of the year, and Wolseley had immediately deduced it without being nosy. I think I’d muttered something one day about not being able to stand him when he’d sent a barrage of texts about his thoughts on my gameplay. Out of curiosity, she’d asked who the texts were from, and my response had been, “My asshole father.”

“Every few years, we have a long home stand for the holidays, and this happens to be that year.”

“Could you tell them you are going on an African safari and can’t be reached, so they should just stay home?”

I laughed. “I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t believe that,” I said, taking a seat at the island and sampling her new dark chocolate almond energy bites. And then it occurred to me that I hadn’t asked her what her plans were for the holidays. Technically, she was supposed to be working, but since I had a four-day official break—not including the rest of the home stand—she did deserve time back home. “What are you doing for Christmas?”

“I’ll probably hang out with Jill and Tangi in between making you and Ryan your meals. If you’d like, I could make meals for your family, although your dad strikes me as a carnivore.I don’t mind preparing meat dishes, but you know it’s not my strength.”

She was chopping carrots as she spoke, and I watched her do it with grace and precision. The way she worked through those carrots, I would have chopped off several fingers.

“You don’t have to be here over the holidays,” I said. “You should go back home for a few days. And I don’t expect you to make meals for my parents.”

She shrugged. “I really don’t mind. You have that long road trip in January, and I thought I’d go home then. That way, I get to spend more time with my family.”

“Are you sure?”

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