Chapter 34
Lucy
“Lucy, carino, the embroidery goddess is not on my side tonight.” Marisol waved her embroidery hoop in the air and I grinned. Always the flare for drama.
I helped her untangle her thread before walking around the table to check on everyone’s progress.
I’d played a game with myself when selecting the pattern option for tonight, guessing which attendee would choose what pattern.
I’d been spot-on with one exception—in a shocking turn of events, Stanley had chosen a custom pattern I’d designed of Felix wearing a bow tie.
The cat in question was sitting on the table next to Stanley, closely supervising his work.
“You’ve done a good job organizing this,” Stanley said as he effortlessly completed stitching Felix’s tail.
“Wow, thanks, Stanley.” Praise from our human mayor was rare.
“Although, you do not have a prominently displayed event permit or evacuation route.”
I pursed my lips. There it was.
Harry patted his husband’s hand. “You’re off the clock, babe.”
“The mayor is never off the clock,” Stanley grumbled.
Harry winked at me, and I hid my smile behind my hand as I moved to help Easton and Lars.
“How’s it going, big brother?” My lips twitched at the tangled mess in front of him.
“This is worse than when you made me play with your Barbies,” he grumbled with a scowl.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s weird because I remember you begging me to play with you.”
“As if,” he huffed. He did a double take when he looked at Olive’s flawless embroidery of a mermaid tail emerging from ocean waves. “How is yours so fucking perfect?”
My friend grinned and met my gaze, but I quickly looked away. I couldn’t handle the concern and pity I knew I’d find there. The way I’d avoided Ivy, Summer, and Olive’s pointed stares all evening should win me an Olympic medal.
At first when the guys didn’t show, I’d been concerned that something had happened to them, but as the minutes ticked by, the truth became clear: None of them wanted to spend time with me.
How could I have been so stupid? My twenty-ninth year was supposed to be about me and my personal growth, but so far I’d spent it obsessing over men.
I’d deluded myself into thinking my horoscopes were telling me to say yes to romance, and now I was left with a broken heart and only myself to blame.
Finally, mercifully, the event came to a close. All I wanted was to bury myself in my nest and cry myself to sleep. Was that too much to ask? Yes, apparently it was because my friends were packing up their things at sloth speed, and Olive and Ivy gestured for their guys to wait outside.
“Thanks for coming,” I said brightly, busying myself with putting away the leftover food. “I think people had fun.”
“Lucy.” Olive’s gentle tone brought tears to my eyes, which just made me irritated. My mental breakdown wasn’t scheduled to start for another ten minutes.
“Whew, am I tired. I think I’ll leave cleaning up for tomorrow.” I silently willed my friends to move to the door. It’s right there. Go. Go. Go.
“Are you okay?” Olive took a hesitant step toward me.
My lips were frozen in an unnatural smile. “Me? I’m totally fine.”
“Did they text or anything?” Ivy asked.
I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. I knew my friends wouldn’t judge me, but standing here, all pathetic and rejected, when Ivy and Olive were packed up and happy? I died a little on the inside.
“What fucking assholes,” Summer snapped. “We will get our revenge.”
“Yes, revenge.” Olive nodded sagely. “We’ll recruit Felix to help.”
Ivy, our peacemaking rule-follower, looked briefly conflicted, but when she caught my gaze, she nodded. “No one hurts our Lucy.”
I swallowed the hard lump in my throat as my friends all squished me into a group hug.
“Breakfast at the diner tomorrow,” Summer said, her tone leaving no room for argument. “For plotting and pancakes.”
“I bet we can convince Char to make those strawberry cheesecake ones,” Ivy said, clearly trying to make me feel better.
It was working. I loved those pancakes.
“Sounds good. I’ll see you all in the morning.” My smile was wobbly as we hugged one more time.
A few minutes later, I was in my nest and ready for my breakdown, but instead of crying, I found myself going on my phone and looking up fashion internships.
Most of the application deadlines had already passed for summer and fall internships, but several had waitlist forms that I filled out just for the heck of it.
My heart was a pained, aching lump in my chest at the thought of leaving. Starlight Grove was my home—the holder of my childhood memories and the place I’d hoped to grow old. But I refused to wallow my life away.
And I was done begging people to love me.