Page 84 of More Than Words
She was sad.She was hurt.
This thing between us wasn’t casual orsmallat all.It was real, and it was worth so much more than I’d been giving it.
But that changed now.
My brothers were right.Delaney wasn’t upset about the patio—although I could have been a hell of a lot more thoughtful about that, too.
It was about so much more, and it had taken me way too long to figure that out.I just hoped like hell that it wasn’t too late.
Delaney
The shop was finally quiet.
Normally, hosting book club energized me.But it had been a long day.A long week.
I should have immediately gone up to bed, but something pulled me back to the window and the deserted plaza outside.Most of the shops had small apartments above them, but usually the evenings were quiet.
With a sigh, I realized how much that would change with a patio right outside my door.
I blew out a breath, but the flash of anger I might have expected never came.It was hard to be angry when I was so damn sad at everything I’d lost.
I pressed a hand to the window and just for a moment allowed myself to hope that Ethan was outside and that he’d be walking across the plaza to my shop.That he would knock on my door and…say something.Fix this thing that was broken.
But there was nothing but emptiness outside.A moment was all I could afford to allow myself.
I stepped away from the window and turned to survey the shop.
Myshop.
My dream I’d built from the ground up.I’d scrimped and saved and sacrificed for Plot Twist.No, it wasn’t perfect, and all the couches and chairs might be second-hand, the pillows collected from thrift stores.The shelves full of inventory that I’d personally sourced and selected.The tables with indie authors I’d read and recommended myself.
Every day was hard.Balancing the books that sometimes didn’t want to add up no matter what I did wasn’t easy, but it wasmine.
I’d already lost a dream to a man who made promises he couldn’t keep and, when I wasn’t looking, made all the important decisions without me.
I wouldn’t do it again.
I couldn’t.
No matter how much my heart longed for him.
ChapterTwenty-One
Delaney
Iknew better than to make them wait.
It had only been two days since the romance book club met and already the women were blowing up my inbox with inquiries about the list of holiday books I’d promised them.
Out of all our book clubs, the romance club was definitely full of the most avid readers.Those ladies could put down three or four books a week.Which was why they were the only club I gave a list to, instead of only one book to discuss.
Normally, I had the selections chosen right away, but I couldn’t seem to bring myself to even go near the romance shelves, let alone pull out the best holiday books I could find.Maybe I was being dramatic, but the last thing on my mind was love.
Yes, I was definitely being dramatic.But I didn’t care.I was allowed to wallow in my own self-pity.At least for a little bit longer.
“Rochelle.”I finally gave in and handed my employee the clipboard where I’d written a few titles before scratching them out.“Can you please pull together some holiday romances for book club.I just?—”
The bells over the door saved me from an explanation, not that one was needed.I didn’t generally talk about my personal life with my staff, but Rochelle wasn’t stupid.She’d noticed a change in me, and probably the very noticeable absence of the brewmaster from next door, who, up until recently, had popped in at least once a day.
