Page 57 of A Break in Communications

“No. But I can still have a good time with them. It’s just casual. I can do casual with a girl.”

Veronica was fully bisexual and just in denial. At this point, the only thing she wasn’t willing to do with a woman was label a relationship. Wasn’t my business, though. “I thought you said she was too dumb to bother with.”

“She’s cute, though. And honestly, she’s really good in bed. I didn’t give her enough credit the first time just because I assumed she’d be a pillow princess and kind of pigeonholed her, but she’s—”

“Veronica, I don’t want to know.”

“She knows we’re just casual. It’s fine.”

I raked my fingers through my hair. “She fullydoes notknow that. Hence our problem. She came to me gushing with feelings about how much she likes you and how exciting it is that she gets to date you.”

“Ah, psh… that’s just pillow talk. You know how it is between girls.”

I stood up, my head feeling hot, irritation bubbling through me. “You know, you do what you like, Veronica. Far be it from me to stop you.”

“You’re just projecting,” she shot as I headed for the bathroom. “Talking to me about leading a girl on and breaking her heart after getting what you want out of her? Get real.”

“I’m taking a shower,” I said coolly. “Feel free to enjoy your cappuccino and then be on your way. I’ll make my own once I’m out of the shower.”

“Ugh—you’re such a baby,” she called as I shut the bathroom door, and I heard her muffled voice from the other side still. “Arguing with me about Kelcey won’t fix what you screwed up with Lucy, you know!”

I turned the water up high, and I leaned against the wall watching steam swirl up through the air, waiting out whatever bullshit my sister had to say next.

Just wish she didn’t have to be right about it.

Chapter 16

Lucy

Press release. Woman was clever. And from the looks of things, the woman won, too.

I’d done everything I could possibly manage, once she shattered my heart like thin glass with theclean break,to pull myself together—to get over her. Sucked knowing I’d probably be single for life, since it wouldn’t be fair to any other women I might have dated that they’d always be living in Anna Preston’s shadow, but she’d given me a damn answer and I needed to accept it.

Didn’t help that she kept looking at me all day at the office, in a way where she clearly thought I didn’t notice. Like she was waiting for me to go over and lean on her desk, pull her away from her computer to look at me, flirt with her like I always did. Change sucked, I guess. Getting turned down by Anna sucked.

Thirty years old and I still fell to pieces getting rejected by a pretty woman. Guess I’d never left high school.

And just like in high school, I couldn’t even bring myself to tell Grandma about it. She was obsessed with Anna, talking about her every morning and every evening, asking when I’d bring her over to see her again—she even promised not to be mean to her, which was a nice gesture even if I knew she would break her promise instantly—and I didn’t have the heart to tell her. So I just smiled, played it like I was shy, nodded along, changed the subject.

I was lucky I still had a promotion to shoot for—something to throw myself fully into while I tried moving on from someone I knew I’d never be able to move on from. Kept me busy, working at the office and then heading home on time these days, getting work done at home. I knew I’d never get work done sitting in an office with just me and Anna Preston.

Went through the documents, tried to put something together, but she beat me to it. Didn’t even have to lift it from her files—Dobbs told me about how he was impressed with the press release Anna and I were doing, and I had to smile politely and askwhich parts exactlyAnna had told him so that I knew what exactly she was doing.

It was a clever strategy. And I didn’t get far into my counterstrategy before it all fell apart, with a loud, haphazard tumble and a scream that was more frustrated than it was afraid, vexed that something would dare to inconvenience her, as Grandma missed the chair lift in the middle of me making dinner and I found her at the bottom of the stairs, looking at me like I’d pushed her.

“Ah, this is because of your no-good father,” she grumbled, trying to push herself up as if she’d just had a little scratch and not a very clearly broken arm. Also—my father had never once even been in this house. He had nothing to do with it. But I was fine with making him our scapegoat.

“Grandma—” I dropped to the floor next to her, easing her back down. “I’m calling an ambulance, okay? Please don’t try to—”

“Oh, let go of me, I’m all right.”

“Grandma, your arm’s at the wrong angle.”

“Is it?” She looked, scowling at her arm like this was its idea. “Son of a bitch. Thought God was supposed to make every body perfectly.”

My heart was hammering so hard, so fast, I thought I might throw up. Lucky outcome all things considered—her wheelchair had fallen at an angle and gotten stuck in the stairway, or it would have come down on top of her. Still, I summoned what I had in me and I put a hand on her shoulder, trying to stay outwardly calm. “Just lie down a bit, okay, Grandma? We’ll get you to the hospital and they’ll take care of you, it’ll be an annoying month or two while it heals but that’s the extent of it—”

“A month or two? You think I’m fifteen years old again?”

---