Page 81 of The Fun Part
“Okay,” she says indulgently.
I give her a hard stare. “Do you swear you weren’t doing any matchmaking between me and Cal?”
She cocks her head. “Oh, what was that? I think Rowan’s saying it’s time for cake. We’d better go over there.”
“I knew it!” I look to the ceiling, relief flooding me. I’m not crazy or paranoid. She was totally matchmaking me! No wonder I resorted to fake dating. “All that networking to help Cal was to see how he’d fit in with our family.”
“And to help him. It’s not easy to build a client list. If he didn’t have enough work, he might not have stuck around.”
I hold up a finger. “Promise you won’t interfere with Finn.” My younger brother deserves to skip all this drama.
She smiles. “I don’t have to. He’s kept in touch with Olivia all on his own. She’s the One for him.”
“Doubtful. They live on opposite coasts, she’s four years older than him, and they’re on completely different career paths.”
“Time will tell. Come on, let’s go have cake.”
I go with her and watch my parents slice the cake and feed it to each other playfully. Bittersweet. I’m so happy for them and so sad for me. Why didn’t I stick with my gut where Cal was concerned? I ended it early on before any heavy emotions moved in to lodge in my heart. That was the right move. The rest was a mistake.
The next morning I drag myself out of bed and force myself to go running. After a night of too much crying, I could use the endorphins.
Just as I’m dragging myself home, I see Sutton jogging toward me. “I didn’t know you were a runner too.”
She smiles. “It’s new. I have a lot of rage. Wasted years, betrayal, regret, the whole sandwich.”
“You mean the whole enchilada?”
“Exactly. Did you and Cal get in a fight? He’s upset, and you look like you lost your best friend. And I get it. I feel like I lost my best friend, even though he turned out to be a weasel.”
“Do you want to come in? I live up there.” I point toward my house.
“I’d love some girl time.”
“Me too. My cousin Harper should be home soon too. You’ll like her. She tells it like it is, though I have to warn you she thinks she’s funny. Not so much.”
She laughs a little. “Okay.”
A short while later, we settle at the kitchen table with tea and chocolate chip cookies. Yes, I’ve been stress baking. “Harper will be home in about an hour.”
Sutton warms her hands on the mug. “I can’t wait to start work on Monday. I could use the distraction.”
“If you want, you can get familiar with this organizational software I’m trying out. It’s a work scheduling app I’m hoping will make it easier for the team to stay on the same page. I’ll show you.”
“Sure.”
We spend the next hour talking about the program as we snarf down cookies. I’m high on sugar when Harper gets home.
“Mmm, cookies.” She smiles and walks over to Sutton. “Hi! I’m Harper.”
“I’m Sutton, the new office manager for Brooks Campbell Security.”
Harper narrows her eyes at the laptop. “Don’t tell me Mackenzie’s making you work on the weekend.”
“I asked her to. I’m getting over a breakup and need the distraction.”
“Same here,” I say. “My fake relationship is over.”
Harper takes a cookie. “Did you fake break up?”
