Page 14 of Seeing You

Oh crap. Did I?

She immediately pushed that thought aside. “No. Absolutely not. I had been in love with Marcus since the ninth grade. We made all kinds of plans and…no,” she said adamantly. “My family needed me, and he didn’t understand. He didn’t want to come back to Sweetbriar Ridge, but he would never keep me from doing it. I mean, he didn’t like it, but it wasn’t like he forbade me from coming back to visit.”

“Are you sure that’s all there is to this?” Ashlynn asked. “Because from the way you’re describing it, you were like, ‘Hey, my family needs me,’ and he was all like, ‘Well, I won’t go with you,’ and then you just packed up and left.”

“O-kay…and…?”

“And that’s no drama. If that’s all it was about, then seeing him today shouldn’t have been a big deal. Even if he’s an uptight asshole—which, judging by today’s behavior, he is—you should be happy that you broke up. I mean, who would want to spend their life with a person like that?”

I did.

Was there more to the story? Absolutely.

Was she going to share it? Hell no.

Instead, she poured herself another glass of wine and noticed Jade texting. “Hey, who are you texting? Is Levi wondering when you’ll be home?”

Smiling serenely, she shook her head. “No, I’m texting Julie to ask her to cover your shift in the morning. I have a feeling you’re not going to want to be awake at four in the morning.”

“Pfft…I never want to be awake at four in the morning, but I do it anyway.”

“Not with a hangover,” Jade murmured. “No worries. Julie’s going to take your shift. We have plenty of inventory for her to work from and she can make a few things from scratch. If you want to come in late and do your thing, that’s totally up to you.”

“You don’t have to baby me. I’m a grown woman and I can come in for my shift, even if I’m hungover.”

“Okay, but now you don’t need to.”

“But…”

“Oh my goodness, Billie!” Chloe said loudly. “Just say thank you and move on! Sheesh!”

They all grew silent for a moment or two before Ashlynn asked, “Do you have any cookies? Dinner was great, but I’m seriously in the mood for something sweet.”

“Did you finish all the chocolate croissants I gave you?”

“No, but they’re home and I’m here.” Grinning, she stood and walked to the kitchen. “I know where you keep everything, so don’t get up!

“There are cookies in the pantry, and cupcakes in the carrier on the island,” she said before going back to sitting on the couch. Chloe followed while Jade cleaned up their dinner dishes.

“Can I ask you something?” Chloe tentatively asked.

“Of course. Anything.”

“If you could say anything you wanted to Marcus right now without him arguing or giving you some sort of snarky insult, what would you say?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. I’m not sure anything needs to be said. What would be the point?”

“Closure. Everyone needs it, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of if you do too.”

Sighing, she got a little more comfortable. “Nope. Nothing’s coming to mind. Plus, it’s a moot point. Now that he knows where I work, I can guarantee he’s never going to come into Books & Beans again.”

“Sweetbriar’s a small town. You could run into him anywhere.”

“I think we’ve said all we needed to say. It’s ancient history. I think seeing him today was my closure. Anticlimactic, but still closure.”

“I heard you smashed a muffin in his face. So maybe not so anticlimactic?”

That made her laugh a little. “Maybe.”

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