Page 14 of Bending The Rules

I was getting ready to get up, and go watch TV with Bri when my phone chimed, notifying me of an email.

From Toni.

A name I rarely saw in my inbox anymore.

Personal feelings aside, it was honestly impressive how effectively Toni had removed herself from my life. It was a hallmark of just how much I’d hurt her, and I had to come to terms with that fact. No matter how good my intentions were, it remained that I wounded her badly enough that she broke one of the rulesshemade –Rule #16 – Friends don’t hold grudges against friends.

I was young.

I was stupid.

I was stressed the hell out, and just trying to do what I thought was best. Looking at it now, maybe I could – or should – have handled it differently, but… Toni had comesofar with her business. Progress that maybe would have never come about if I hadn’t made the decisions I did.

I had so many ways to justify my actions, but when it came down to it…I hurt her.Point blank. Enough that she’d put me on ice. No seeing her face, no phone calls, no emails, no texts, nonothing, until now.

With one notable exception.

When my mother died, she was there. Came to the house and served people at the wake, sat behind me at the funeral, with her hand on my back. Squeezed my hand at the burial.

We didn’t talk then. I wasn’t really in a place to, and I could safely assume she was still mad.Justifiablymad. I’d just... never expected her to stay so mad, so long.

But here we were.

A dry ass email about banners for the signing, with none of the warmth we used to share. It could never be said that Toni didn’t know how to handle business – she was putting more effort into this signing than my actual publisher ever had.

I knew that it was partially on behalf of the bookstore, because that was her parent’s business, and part of her legacy. Of course she would make sure it was done right. Or, not just right – exceptionally well. Another one of the rules she’d put in place –Rule #78 – Don’t half-ass anything. Commit.

Shit.

Maybe that’s why she’d been pissed so long?

In any case, she’d been clear about wanting to just get through the signing, but I could tell there was more feeling there than that. When she’d opened the door to her hotel room – looking hot as hell – there wassomethingthere. When she was talking details for the signing, there was something there. When I hugged her before we parted... there was alotthere.

I just needed to bring it out.

I leaned back in my chair, tapping my fingers on the phone as I sifted through my thoughts. I’d already established that it was time – past time – to get my friend back. The question was…how?

But I already knew that answer.

With the release of my last book, I was free and clear from any ongoing obligation to Lion Literary.

It was time for Toni and me to have a little talk.

Four

“So tell me… are you gonna take that baby off your titty long enough to have a drink with me or not?”

Aviva – my cousin – rolled her eyes as she handed five-month-old baby Avery to the man she’d described over the phone as her “teddy bear”. He looked it too - big, handsome, and the color of light brown sugar. From the way he accepted Avery into his arms like she was his, grinning at her with obvious love in his eyes, it was easy to see why Aviva was so enamored.

“I’m going to keep that in mind whenyouhave a little munchkin hanging off your nipple,” she warned as she stood up from the couch, checking her appearance in the mirror.

I snorted. “Yeah. You do that.”

She shot me another scowl, then turned back to her man and her baby on the couch. We were in her townhouse – her first purchase after becoming a doctor – getting ready to have dinner, which we hadn’t been able to do in years because of my absence.

“You sure you two are going to be okay without me?” she asked Eric, who reached to grab her ass as soon as she was close enough. They were adorable, and had been all over each other – this big, broad-shouldered man, with my petite beauty of a cousin.

Eric looked down at the baby sleeping in the crook of his arm, then back up at Vi. “I might not, but I’ll make sure Avery is. If I need anything, I’ll call Devyn. She could use the practice.”

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