Page 51 of Beautiful Thing

It’sme. Something’s wrong withme.

I turn away, having lost track of how long I’ve been staring at my ex-boyfriend and the woman he chose over me.

I have to keep it together. And I assume I’m doing a good job, until Karli grabs my arm. She makes some lame excuse to the others and pulls me in the opposite direction, clearly realizing that something is bothering me.

“Are you okay?” she asks, her voice soft.

I nod. Then I shake my head. Then I nod again.

“I see that the d-bag is here.” She seethes. “Not gonna lie, I amsotempted to go over there and give him the wedgie he deserves!”

I cringe. “His hygiene seems to be deteriorating quickly. I can see it from all the way over here. Going anywhere near that underwear might not be the best idea.”

Karli snorts. “You’re right. His shit-stained boxers are probably rotting between his ass cheeks as we speak. They’d probably crumble to dust if I yanked on them right now.”

I feel a little bad for talking shit about the father of my child. Yet still, I find myself cackling right along with Karli. Her sense of humor always helps me lift my head above the surface when I’m drowning.

Her face goes serious. “Talk to me, girlie. What are you feeling right now?”

“I’m…It’s hard to explain.” I let out a heavy sigh. “It’s like karma doesn’t exist. I sure as heck don’t want Razor back, butit just feels unfair that he gets to have a happy-ever-after with someone else. Meanwhile, I’m damaged goods, and no one will ever love me.”

My mind tries to convince me otherwise, flashing back to just earlier when Archer had me pushed up against the side of the filing cabinet. I definitely felt the erection he had going on.

Sure,maybehe wants to get in my pants. I mean—he’s a guy, I’m a girl and we’ve basically been in forced proximity for the past few weeks.

But I doubt he’d ever want more from me. Love isn’t in the cards. I come with too much baggage.

Karli makes a loud sound. “Seriously, woman? You’redamaged goods? That is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard.” She grabs my face in her mittened hands, looking me straight in the eyes. “You, my sister from another mister, are absolutely worthy of all the love in the world. Razor never deserved you in the first place. He doesn’t have any love to give, not even to his new fling. Trust me. You are one-thousand percent better off without that asshole in your life. You hear me?”

Karli stares me down until I give a watery nod.

Then she wraps me up in a warm hug and slaps my butt. “The nerve of you to be insecure with an ass like this.”

“I love you, Karls,” I mumble into her scarf with a laugh.

I don’t know if I entirely believe her, but I know that she loves me, and for today, that’s enough.

21

ARCHER

“Thanks so much for your help with this, Archer.” Daphne smiles, handing me a water bottle as I step down from the ladder.

“No problem.” With a slight nod of my head, I accept the drink from her hand.

Felix saunters across the boutique and wraps an arm around his fiancée’s waist, jerking her against his body. “And what about me? Am I chopped liver?”

Daphne gives my brother a suggestive look. “I already thanked you.” She lowers her voice. “In the back room earlier.”

A smirk rolls across Felix’s face. He leans by her ear and whispers too loudly. “And when we get home, you’ll thank me again.” He slaps her butt.

Daphne only giggles, her genuine happiness lighting up the room. “You bet I will.”

I make a sound of disgust.Ugh. The two of them are nauseating.

But that’s to be expected. Especially in the weeks leading up to their wedding. I guess their PDA is more annoying than usual tonight because it’s been a long day and I just want to get home.

I’m here at Wisteria & Grace right now. Felix needed help installing some shelves he ordered from the hardware shop as a surprise for Daphne.

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