Page 113 of Sassy Love
A magnificent one, that’s who.
On our floor, I slide the key into the door and let us in.
“Ugh, Mills.” I close the door behind me and lean against it, letting my head fall back, hitting the wood with a thump.
She turns back, startled. “Montana was that good, hey?”
“No—”
She folds her arms and pins me with her ‘don’t you dare lie to me, little miss’ expression.
On a sigh, I breathe, “What if I can’t give him what he deserves? Hell, I barely believe in the concept of love.”
She closes the space between us, her expression softening as she rests a hand on my shoulder, looking at me. “If love is anything, my girl, it’s a risk. But when you find the right man? It’s a non-brainer.”
I huff a strangled laugh. “It’s ‘no-brainer’, Mills.”
“Yeah, that one. That’s what love is when you find it. It will be the easiest decision you ever make.”
“It doesn’t fix my baggage.”
She shrugs. “Who says it needs fixing? Geez, leave it behind and replace it with better possessions.”
I frown at her before raising an eyebrow. “What?”
“I’m saying, replace your luggage or whatever you call it with things you place more value on. Like family, the one you create. Not the one you left behind. Honey, you already did it once before. Hence, I’m here.”
She turns away, heading for the kitchen. “Listen to me.” She waves her hands in the air with a manic laugh. “I’m freaking Dr. Phil.”
Our little lady watches far too much daytime television now that she’s not working.
Good, it’s about time she was a lady of leisure.
It’s my pleasure to take care of her. I always will.
Hours later, I slide into bed, exhausted from the nonstop reel of what-ifs and scenarios playing through my head. Laying my head down on the pillow, I jolt as something hard digs into the side of my face.
“What on earth?” I utter, sending my hand under the pillow.
Cool, hard angles meet my fingertips.
I pull out the pink glass heart. Setting it on my bedside, I lie down, head on my pillow and hands under my head. Now, staring into the endless pink nothing of the heart, I let myself wonder for the first time what it would be like to be someone’s priority. Someone’s everything.
I ignore the pulse of dread in my gut as my body fights this new willingness to let go and hand my heart over to a man. That’s how I drift into the deep sea of new dreams, with thoughts of Lawson beside me. His warmth. His love. My fight. My determination. One big, beautiful life.
Our life.
As the first tear soaks into the pillow, I force my eyes closed, reprimanding myself for my wishful thinking.
The photocopier, the stinking relic that it is, just ate my motherfucking menu mockup.
The hell?
With a frustrated groan, I head for the one man I know can fix it. My cowboy. Copy wrangler from the hills. I chuckle as I swing into the fish tank with a, “Hey, give me hand?”
Lawson looks up from his screen, his handsome face breaking into a smile. The kind that lights up his eyes and my stupid heart.
Settle the fuck down, heart.
