Page 113 of Not Just a Trick Play

“You missed Brady’s recital!” she launches, sweeping past me to collapse on my settee.

“Sorry,” I mumble. “Given everything, it didn’t feel…appropriate.” It was a family affair, where I’d be the uninvited ex-girlfriend lurking in a corner.

Yvonne’s brows furrow in confusion. “Huh?”

He hasn’t told her.

Misery and irritation knot in my gut thanks to Jake’s radio silence. Now it falls to me to break the news and watch her walk out the door, too.

“Jake and I are no longer together,” I force out, voice flat, then brace for the inevitable.

“What? Really?” For once, Yvonne is genuinely taken aback, a rarity. “I should have known he’d fuck something up.” She’s shaking her head, talking more to herself.

But I can’t let her blame Jake. I can’t torpedo their relationship, too. “Oh, no. It wasn’t him. It was me.”

“You?”

I nod.

“You?”

I nod again.

“But why?” She looks a little lost. “You guys were so good together.”

A fresh wave of grief rushes through me. Trying to explain feels like I’m coughing up splinters. “Remember how I told you my tours were mobbed by the press, right?”

“Yeah.”

“They scared off all my genuine clients. Said terrible things about me and children.”

My stomach twists at the memory, as if I’m reliving the moment. “Refunds were requested. Horrid reviews were plastered online. And then, the investment from Gotham Guides fell through.”

Despondence stirs in me. I was close. So bloody close.

I wait for understanding to set in. But then she shrugs. “That sucks… But what does that have to do with you and Jake breaking up?”

I sigh and continue. Might as well see this sad story all the way to the end. “Then, Gran called. She told me she was turning management of the inn to Ben and Margo. Because I’d said I wasn’t going home.” I pause here. Now she’ll understand.

“And then?” She waits as if there’s more to the tale.

And then what? That’s it. That’s all. Though I can’t even quite figure out how I went from there to here. “I don’t know. I was in a panic. And when I told Jake, he immediately asked me to move in with him.”

Because of course he would. Why did I get so angry with him?

“Ah. Mr. Fix-It. His default configuration. So, what’s the problem?”

Why are these Cunninghams so insanely stubborn? “I said no. We broke up. I have to go back. I don’t have a job. My tours are a failure. I don’t have a place tolive.”

“Let’s not forget you lost your boyfriend, too,” she adds sarcastically. “Doesn’t sound all that different than things werewhen we met. Maybe we should go buy you a teddy bear to hug?”

I glare at her. Really? I’m trying to feel sorry for myself. Thanks, Yvonne. “So, I’m still a loser.” I flop down beside her.

“Obviously. But if nothing’s changed, why are you leaving?”

I blink. It’s an entirely reasonable question.

But isn’t my answer entirely reasonable as well? Slowly, I turn to face her and try again. “The inn was my backup plan. I thought I’d always have the option to return. But if I don’t go back now, there won’t be room for me at the inn.”

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