Page 7 of Ever With Me

Maddie gave her a half-hearted smile. “I’ll try. I promise.”

And she meant it, really. Or she thought she did.

She could make it through the night without crying. Or worrying about what she was going to do about the town fair when morning came.

But as she walked Lindsay and Naomi through the attic apartment to the door, she considered having them stay, watchGilmore Girls, and eat too much chocolate. God knows she’d already done that enough the last few weeks since the breakup, though, and it hadn’t helped. Their company would be nice, but the best thing to get them to stop talking about everything for now was to convince them she was fine and then do whatever she wanted when they left.

Naomi seemed to sense it. “You’re not just trying to get rid of us still, are you? We really want to help.”

Maddie forced a smile. “No, really. I’m good. You’re right. It’s ridiculous for me to be mourning someone who’s clearly happy without me.”

“That’s not what we said.” Lindsay looked chagrinned. “I was just?—”

“Really, it’s okay. I’m just tired at this point. Maybe if it wasn’t almost midnight, we could do something, but I don’t want you guys out all night on my behalf.”

“We tried calling and texting earlier, but you didn’t answer,” Naomi said.

“You know how bad cell service is at the store.”And also, I put my phone in Do Not Disturb mode.Maddie held the apartment door open. “I’ll call you guys tomorrow. Maybe we can grab brunch at the pub. If I’m still heartbroken by then, I’ll drown my sorrows in Orange Crushes.”

Somehow, the attic apartment felt even smaller once they’d gone.

Maddie turned, resting her back against the doorway. This wasn’t meant to be a long-term living solution—she’d just moved in here three weeks ago after Josh had broken up with her. She and Naomi had designed the place when Pops was still coming up with plans for the Depot—a little functional apartment complete with a tiny kitchen, a bedroom, and a full bath in case either of them wanted to crash here after a long day.

At first, they’d both used it a lot. Getting Pops’s store off the ground had been a ton of work, considering his level of national fame from his cable television show on the Happy Home Network, which owned theThis Charmed Lifemagazine that had discovered her grandfather. The Depot had becomethedestination for any tourists coming to Brandywood to get the “Peter Yardley experience”—so popular, in fact, that half the town had lobbied to kick it off Main Street at one point.

But now that Naomi and Maddie had been at it for a few years, they’d been able to delegate many of their responsibilities to their employees. They were both still at the store almost every day—Pops insisted on a personal level of involvement for any of the family businesses he’d established—but the apartment had lain unused for almost a year until Maddie had moved in.

She hadn’t considered at first how it might be to have her home and work be at the same address. Maybe it was part of why she’d felt so suffocated lately.

Maddie sighed and smoothed her hands over her T-shirt. She needed a shower, but she was tired and grouchy and ready to jump back into her bed.

Naomi and Lindsay were right.

It was time.

She needed to move on from Josh.

Not shed another tear over him. Especially after the stunt he’d pulled with his cousin’s band.

Maybe tomorrow she’d wake up ready to face her problems head-on. Tonight, though, a little sulking wouldn’t hurt anyone. Sleep would help her feel better anyway.

She shut off the lights in the living room and headed for the bedroom.

Convincing her brain to sleep was easier said than done. Doubts crept around the edges of her racing thoughts, frustrating her with everything she should have said to Josh. Comebacks that were several hours too late, and she’d never get out of her system.

An hour after lying in bed sleeplessly, she pulled out her phone and started scrolling. That didn’t help either, though.

When it was finally past three in the morning, she threw the covers to the side.

This is ridiculous.

No more.

I’m not letting Josh rob me of one more second of sleep.

With a sigh, she headed to the bathroom.

A half hour later, she exited into her bedroom, a towel wrapped around her torso. She’d taken the time to linger in the hot water and exfoliate anddamnif it hadn’t made her better than all the sad love songs and cupcakes.

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