Page 3 of Fragile Hearts

It makes me want to never come back here. I want to disappear and start over in a place where no one knows me, where no one knows I have nothing.

But that isn’t an option.

I drive over to The Pipe Dream, knowing Alana should be home, living in the little guest house behind the shop. Ever since she and Flynn made things official, she moved in with him, living her happily ever after. She deserves it. She deserves all the love and success that has happened to her.

The lights are still on in the shop when I pull up out front, parking in the little gravel lot on the side. I exit and head in through the front door.

As soon as I walk through the door, I’m met with Owen and his stupidly adorable face. He’s always so damn happy, smiling and laughing, all low-key and aloof.

Must be nice to be him.

To never have to worry about anything.

Especially money.

“Hey, Sloane,” he calls out, practically beaming when he sees me. “What’s going on?”

“Alana here?” I ask without really acknowledging him.

“She’s in the back checking in a stock shipment,” he says, tossing a thumb in that direction, but when I look over at him, he narrows his eyes. “You been crying?”

He sounds concerned, and by the look on his face, he is, but he doesn’t need to know about any of this. He might be all about trying to win me over, pursuing me with sweet little things like flowers left at my house, or asking me to dinner, not that I’ve ever acted on any of it.

If anything, I keep him at arm’s length. I’m sure as soon as he learns who I really am, he’ll run the other way. Right now, all he sees is a pretty blonde with a cute body who can surf. He has no idea the baggage I carry, baggage he’ll never understand.

Turning away from him, I head to the back of the shop, pulling back the curtain that hides the stockroom from the sales floor.

“Hey!” Alana squeals, dropping the clipboard as she comes over to me, giving me a hug. It’s something she’s always done, something that started when I would show up for the after-school surf program. It was how I ended up moving in with Alana when I aged out of foster care. We became friends, and she was the first person I shared my fears about my future with. She took me in and has helped me ever since.

“Daisy and I are being evicted, and I have nowhere to go,” I wail, knowing Alana is the only person I’m like this with. “And Mochi, can you keep him till I find someplace to live? Someplace that allows dogs?”

“Oh no. What happened?”

“Mr. Lang sold the house, and the developers want us out. Alana, where the fuck am I supposed to go?”

She knows how triggering this is for me, the idea of being homeless is something I’ve talked to her about before, and how it really fucked me up.

It’s also how I ended up in foster care. At least that’s how I remember it.

And just as Alana is about to say something, I hear Owen’s voice, and what he says has Alana and me looking at him like he’s lost his fucking mind.

“You can move in with me.”

The words are out before I even have a chance to think about what they mean, what they might imply and how they are going to be received. But it doesn’t matter anyway because I’m not going to take them back. Even if Sloane is looking at me like she’s trying to decide whether to laugh in my face or punch me in the face.

“What did you say?” she asks, but from the tone of her voice, I know she heard me loud and clear. Her question is to make a point. Like, are you seriously asking me this?

My gaze flicks quickly to Alana, who’s smirking, biting her lip like she’s trying not to smile. I know she knows how much I like Sloane. Hell, everyone knows how much I like her because I don’t exactly make it a secret. The only person who doesn’t seem to know, or more likely, doesn’t seem to care, is Sloane.

I turn back to Sloane now, grinning as I slowly repeat, “I said, you can move in with me.”

Sloane tilts her head to the side, like she still isn’t quite sure she heard me correctly. “Seriously?” she asks, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Chuckling now, I lean against the doorframe, mirroring her pose. “Um, yeah, seriously. I wouldn’t have said it otherwise.”

“Nope, I can’t move in with you,” she says, shaking her head.

“And why not?” I ask, brows raised as I hit her with a smile. Behind Sloane, Alana is definitely smiling now, practically laughing, as she watches this all play out.

---