Page 87 of Tuned To Break
I groan and bury my face in my hands, the cool press of my palms no match for the ridiculous grin I can’t stop wearing. “I can’t believe this is my life now.”
“What, being madly in love with a gorgeous mechanic who worships the ground you walk on?” Ally says, twirling her straw like she’s stirring drama. “Yeah, terrible problem to have.”
“It’s not terrible,” I admit slowly. “It’s just… new. A few months ago, I was making coffee and living a quiet, predictablelife. Now I’m running a business, in love with a man who makes me feel things I didn’t know I was allowed to feel, and apparently having phone sex in spa bathrooms.”
“And?” Megan prompts, eyes gleaming like a cat that already caught the mouse.
“And it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Even the phone sex in public places?” Emily teases again, because of course she does.
“Especially that,” I laugh, full and unrestrained. “God, what has he done to me?”
“He’s helped you discover who you really are,” Yasmin says, voice softening like it does when she means it. “The confident, successful, slightly adventurous woman who was always there—maybe you just needed the right person to bring her out.”
“You think?” I ask, half hesitant, half desperate to believe it.
“I know.” She leans forward, elbow on the table. “You’ve completely transformed since I met you at Doc’s. Not just professionally, but personally. You’re bolder. More self-assured. Willing to take risks.”
“More willing to have bathroom sex,” Ally adds, entirely unhelpful.
Yasmin throws a pillow at her. “Yes, that too. But seriously—you’re glowing. You’re not surviving anymore. You’re thriving.”
The words land somewhere deep, beneath the banter and steam facials; beneath the woman I’ve been pretending to be and the one I’m finally becoming. And it hits me all at once.
“I am happy. Really, genuinely happy. For the first time in years—maybe ever.”
“That’s what love is supposed to do,” Ella says gently. “Make you feel like the best version of yourself.”
I glance at her. “Is that how you feel with Arden?”
“Every damn day,” she says without hesitation. “Even when he’s being an overprotective caveman.”
We dissolve into giggles, and just like that, the heaviness lifts. We drift through the rest of the afternoon the way only the best girl groups can—lazily, lovingly, lost in stories and shared snacks and safe spaces.
By the time we’re gathering our things, I feel floaty in the best way—like I’ve been scrubbed clean inside and out.
“Same time next month?” Emily asks, already tying her hair up like she’s bracing for the real world.
“Absolutely,” I say. “This was exactly what I needed.”
“What we all needed,” Megan agrees. “Self-care is important. Especially when you’re busy being a boss bitch—and having incredible sex.”
“Everything comes back to sex with you lot.”
“Because you’re having the best sex of your life with one of the hottest mechanics in New Hope,” Yasmin points out.
I sigh dramatically. “Well, when you put it like that…”
As I drive home, Yasmin’s words circle in my head like a compass needle finally settling. About Jake helping me discover who I really am. And she’s right, because the version of me who walked into that workshop months ago never would’ve dared to want more. To lead. To love like this.
And definitely wouldn’t have had phone sex in a spa bathroom.
My phone buzzes in the cup holder.
Jake
Hope you had a perfect day, beautiful. Can’t wait to see you tonight.
