Page 3 of Highland Hearts Holiday Bookshop

John looked up from his phone. He was an average-looking man, nearing his thirtieth birthday, with the beginnings of a slight paunch. A beige boyfriend for bland Rose Withers. Suddenly I wished desperately for the courage that my romance heroines had in their fantasy books.

“Yup, what’s up?”

“Don’t you want to know if I’m okay?”

“I already know. Dad said you were fine.”

“She’s got a black eye the size of my hand forming,” Jessica said, lifting her chin at him. “That is not okay.”

“I mean, I know it’s not great. But it’s just a bruise, isn’t it?” His eyes drifted back down to his phone, and he grinned.

Jessica turned back to me, widening her eyes.

“You didn’t bring me anything.” I enunciated clearly and raised my volume, just to make sure he heard me.

John looked back up, squinting for a second as he thought about my words.

“Um, you didn’t ask me to, did you? Maybe I missed a text. My phone’s been blowing up.”

“No, just like, something thoughtful. Because I was hurt today. It was traumatic, John. I was knockedunconscious,John.” I emphasized his name to keep him focused on me and not returning to his phone.

“Yeah, but you’re fine. Stop making this a bigger deal than it is.” John rolled his eyes as though I was as hysterical as the mob that had fought in his store earlier that day. I pressed my lips together and took a deep breath through my nose for courage. This was now unavoidable.

“Please leave.”

“Okay.” John shrugged one shoulder, still scrolling his phone. “If that’s what you want.”

“And don’t ever come back,” I clarified, finally catching his attention.

“You’re breaking up with me?” This time when he looked up, confusion crossed his face. It was the same look he’d given me when we’d run into each other at Trader Joe’s reaching for tiny bags of dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I’d thought it was a fun meet-cute. Turns out that was the most fun we’d ever really had in our relationship. John was obsessed with watching and betting on sports—all sports—and I didn’t know a rugby ball from a golf stick. Or club. Whatever they were called.

We’d fallen together more so out of casual interest and then the pattern of hanging out had just stuck. At least we hadn’t progressed to moving in together. I’d kept my little apartment that I’d had since I’d graduated university six years ago, with a degree in literature and creative fiction and no clue how to use it. The timing had been crap, per usual in my life, as we’d hit a recession and there wasn’t much work for a nerdy Lit gradwhose people skills extended to asking new acquaintances if they dog-eared the pages of their books or used bookmarks. What? That said a lot about a person, in my opinion.

“I am.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you’re an insensitive prick who has never been the type of partner that a beautiful and smart woman like Rosie deserves. From day one you’ve ignored every one of her needs, putting yourself first over and over, and finally, she’s seeing the light. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.”

“Oh sure, you’ll listen to her, over me?” John finally showed an ounce of annoyance, pointing at Jessica. The two had never gotten on well, with Jessica hating how little attention he paid me, and John bothered with how much of my time I gave to Jessica. But when it was a toss-up between blindly watching sports or hanging with my best friend, Jessica usually won out. I suppose that should have told me what I needed to know, but I’d just reassured myself it was okay to have different hobbies than my boyfriend. It was fine until it wasn’t, which had happened long ago. Again, I’d just sort of molded myself into this pattern to the point I didn’t really recognize who I was anymore.

Getting smacked in the face with a forty-ounce aluminum water bottle had a way of waking one up to the faults in their life, I guess.

“Please leave.”

“You know you’ll be out of a job, right? My parents will never keep you on if we’re broken up.”

“Even better.” Jessica, my knight in shining armor. “She’s too smart for that job anyway. Now get out before I make you get out.”

John stormed from the apartment, the door slamming on its hinges, and I blew out a breath, my eyes still closed. He hadn’t even put up a fight. What did that even say about our relationship? Taking a deep breath, I took inventory of my emotions to see if this was really going to shake my world or not.

“Rosie? You okay?”

“Yeah, I am. I really am. I should have done that a long time ago.”

“As I’ve been telling you.” Jessica was positively cheerful at this point. Clapping her hands, she stood. “Out of all your bland boyfriends, he has to have been the worst. I think you’re regressing.”

“Bland is safe.”

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