Page 78 of Caught Up In You (The Monroes 2)

Sophie and Macy? Cora wasn’t necessarily in the mood for company and she hadn’t met Macy before, but she’d heard mention of the local hardware store owner.

With a sigh, she flicked the lock and opened the door. It would be rude to turn them away and, honestly, she was getting sick of herself at this point.

“We come bearing gifts,” Sophie stated. “And I’m sorry I didn’t call, but this is sort of a last-minute girl gathering. We hope you don’t mind we’re using your house.”

Two sets of feet moved on into the foyer so Cora closed the door and forced a smile. “I’m in a crappy mood a

nd I’m out of junk food, so I can’t guarantee the ambiance for this party.”

Sophie laughed. “Bad mood? We’re in the right place, Macy.”

“I’m Cora.” Cora held out her hand, hoping Macy would take it so she didn’t look like a fool. “We haven’t met before.”

Macy shook her hand. “I’m sorry for barging in on you. Sophie was on her way to your house when I called her. I needed to vent and she said she was coming over here because you and Braxton were having problems, so she picked me up and here we are.”

“I didn’t say they were having problems,” Sophie defended.

Macy laughed. “Fine. Your exact words were ‘Braxton is acting like an ass and Cora hasn’t been around for a few days. I want to figure out what’s going on.’ Did that sum it up?”

Cora crossed her arms, intrigued at the banter between the ladies and the fact they were talking about her as if she were their old friend. Small towns. Gotta love them.

“Pretty much,” Sophie stated. “I’m sorry, Cora, but I can’t handle seeing Braxton like this and I figure if he’s miserable, then you probably are, too, and I know you still haven’t made many friends in town and I like to think we’re friends—”

Cora held up her hand. “We’re friends and I’m actually glad you guys are here. I need some serious girl time.”

“Good because we have rocky road ice cream,” Macy proclaimed, a smile in her voice.

“It’s like an early Christmas present.” Cora gestured toward the back of the house. “Head on back to the kitchen and we’ll get some bowls. Ice cream is exactly what I need.”

As they gathered in the kitchen, Cora pulled out the bowls and spoons. Sophie scooped up the servings and they all sat around her small kitchen table.

“Cora, do you want to start?” Sophie asked.

“Not really. I’d rather just plant my face in this bowl of ice cream.”

She also wanted to know how Braxton was acting. He was obviously hurting if he was being a jerk. And if he was hurting, why didn’t he talk to her so they could work this out?

“I’ll go first,” Macy chimed in. “I’ll keep it short and simple. I’ve been interested in a guy for a while—”

“Liam,” Sophie interrupted. “Don’t be so veiled about it. Carry on.”

A spoon clanged against the side of a bowl and Cora dug in for another bite herself. So Macy had a thing for the quiet, mysterious Monroe brother. Interesting. Those men were something, that was for sure. And right now, Sophie seemed to be the only one who was happy with one of the frustrating men—granted she’d had to struggle through a decade of heartache to get to this point. Cora didn’t think she had the energy to fight that long.

“He refuses to give me the time of day,” Macy went on, not denying the fact she had a thing for Liam. “So I go on with my life, because I’m not sitting around and waiting for him to wake up. So this guy I’ve dated a couple times lately ends up being a total control freak. We were set to go out tonight and when he showed up to get me, he told me to change. Told me, not asked. Of course, if he’d asked I still would’ve said no.”

“Why did he want you to change?” Cora asked around a bite of gooey marshmallow.

“He claimed other guys would look at me because my top was too revealing.”

“Men look at boobs through a turtleneck,” Sophie replied. “They see a woman, they zero in on boobs. It doesn’t matter what you wear.”

“Yeah, well, I told him I didn’t feel like going out tonight and that I didn’t think it would work out.”

Cora scraped her spoon around her bowl, sad to find she’d already eaten the last bite. “I’m going to need more ice cream before I get into my mess.”

“I’ll get it,” Sophie said as she scooted her chair against the wood floor. “So, Macy, now that you’re done with this guy, are you going to make a play for Liam?”

“I’ve tried to talk to him, tried to flirt even, but he just pushes me away. He doesn’t even act like we’re friends sometimes.”

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