Chapter 6 #2
It had happened once before, before we opened the store, when I was still working full-time.
This guy who’d recently started there had flirted with me like there was no tomorrow.
I’d then found out from a coworker that he had a girlfriend.
I still remembered the humiliation and that deep ache at knowing I’d just been a joke to him.
Not to mention the guilt. It was nagging at me now too.
I would never, ever intentionally —knowingly —date someone who was involved in a relationship.
How was I supposed to face Robert now? Or his… partner ? Actually, I didn’t have to face them at all. My involvement was over. Except for that tiny little detail that he lived next door.
Well, I’d handle it somehow.
I had shit luck when it came to dating. The last guy I went out with, Dean, broke up with me after Tess and I had had a horrendous week.
The investor we were talking to had dropped us.
Since we’d already budgeted the money, it forced us to go back to the drawing board.
It had been intense, and I’d felt completely defeated.
Instead of comforting me, Dean said life was too short for him to waste time with someone who moped around all the time. Jackass.
Yeah… I hadn’t been on a date since. Honestly, I didn’t mind. With everything going on with the business and helping my neighbors with their house, I’d been crazy busy. I’d been varying between being single and dating for a few years anyway and hadn’t been in a real relationship since college.
I wasn’t exactly a romantic, but was it too much to ask to meet a guy who was decent and loyal? Someone who didn’t make me feel small and meaningless?
I shook my head, focusing on all the great things I had.
My life was full as it was, with my family, the business, and the Ballroom Galas.
I liked having complete freedom. I was so comfortable now with doing what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it, that I wasn’t totally sure I’d like to be in a full-on relationship anyway.
After we lost our investor, Tess and I decided to grow the business at our own pace. With an investor, we could pour more money in product development, even open more stores, but for now, we were grateful that our store was bringing in solid sales and profits, enough for us to live comfortably on.
To take my mind off everything that had just happened, I called Mom while sitting on my indoor swing.
It was one of those modern ones with a half-moon metal railing and a rattan cocoon hanging off it.
They were meant for outside, but I’d brought it in once during a storm, and it had looked so stylish and cozy that I left it here.
It went well with my white furniture and pale pink couch. My bedroom was upstairs, in white and pink tones too. Several friends had mentioned that I had a “girly house,” but well, I was a single woman renting the place of my dreams.
This house was very small compared to the others on the street, which was lucky for me, because the owner had had trouble renting it out.
Most people who moved to the suburbs had kids and needed more space, so he’d lowered the rent enough that I’d thought it was a mistake when I first saw the listing.
My mom didn’t answer, but the second I disconnected, I saw a notification from the WhatsApp group I had with my family (well… except Mom, because some things were not for parental eyes to see).
Ryker: Anyone else dying for the weekend to start?
Cole: Hell yes. How are my favorite ladies doing?
I loved how the roles in our family had reversed. Tess and I used to fuss over our younger brothers, even after they finished college, so they wouldn’t burn out with all they were doing. Now they were the ones fussing over us , checking in on us regularly, making us take breaks.
Tess: I’m now indulging in an ice cream.
Skye: I’m already home.
Ryker sent a few pictures of a gorgeous view of a lake surrounded by green. I knew what that was before he explained: he’d gotten engaged recently, and he and his fiancée were planning a wedding in December. The venue was at a restaurant located on a lake outside New York.
Skye: Ooooh, that is beautiful.
Ryker: Wedding location looking good. Now I just need to convince the wedding planner to side with me on a few issues. Muahahah.
Cole: Is she hot? I can put my charming skills to use… all to help you, obviously.
Ryker: Cole… do NOT hit on our wedding planner. The last thing we need is for her to bolt.
Cole: Is it just me, or is Ryker becoming more intense by the week?
Tess and I responded at the same time: It’s not just you.
Cole: I think we need a strategy to help him… relax.
Ryker: Still here, folks.
I grinned widely. The fact that Ryker was now engaged was such a surprise to Cole that he kept teasing him about it.
He hadn’t seen it coming, and honestly, neither had I.
My brothers had declared a long time ago they’d be bachelors for life—just like our cousin Hunter…
who was now married. Yeah, things were changing fast in our family.
Tess and I took turns teasing each of our brothers, depending on what the situation required.
Right now, I was definitely siding with Cole, but only because Ryker did seem to need the teasing to relax a little.
I bit my lip, looking at that gorgeous picture. Ryker definitely had enough going on, organizing the wedding on top of everything. It was paramount for Tess and me to find someone to man the store on Sundays.
I laughed, sitting in my swing again when Cole wrote Tess and me in a different group message.
Cole: Best strategy to tease Ryker?
Tess: I have something in mind. Maybe we can tell him that we’ll have strippers at the bachelorette party.
I burst out laughing. Ryker was very possessive when it came to his fiancée, Heather.
Skye: Are you crazy?
Cole: We should at least consider the possibility.
This was just what I needed. A Winchester conspiracy/strategy to sink my teeth into and forget about everything else.