Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Cherry
“ What did you just say?” I demand, backing away from him.
“That once you sell your condo to move in here, you’ll be able to use the equity to start your business.”
“I don’t know how many times I have to say this tonight, but I’m fine with how things are. If I sell my condo, it’s because I’ll have bills to pay here when I move in with you. And right now, that’s a big if .”
He presses his fingers into his eyes and sighs loudly. “Do whatever you want, Cherry. Work at the school, make candles, or start walking tours through town, I don’t fucking care. I just want you to be happy and do what fulfills you. But you won’t be paying any bills here, I can tell you that right now.”
I blink at him for five full seconds. “Are you a caveman?”
“No, I’ve already got the bills covered. I don’t need you to pay them.”
“I don’t need a sugar daddy.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” He begins to pace, clearly frustrated. “Wanting to have you with me all the time is a crime? Wanting to take care of you?”
“I don’t need—”
“You’ve made it abundantly clear to me that you don’t need me, any more than I need you to function as a productive member of society. That’s not what this is about. I want to do those things because I care about you. Damn it, I’ve managed to fall in love with you over the past few weeks, and I want the partnership.”
“No.” I shake my head, my frustration waging a war inside of me. “You want to decide how I live my life, with a new business and not paying any of my own bills.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he mutters, hanging his head. “If that’s what you think about me, you don’t know me at all, Cherry. And we’re just wasting our time here.”
My heart is pounding. I know that I’m saying all the wrong things, totally sabotaging this, but I don’t know how to accept love and help, and I don’t know how to fix it.
“I just mean—”
“I get it,” is all he says, interrupting me. “Look, maybe we need to take a night off, you know? Simmer down a bit.”
My mouth drops open, then closes again. “You’re kicking me out?”
“Let’s just take the night.” He moves to walk past me toward his bedroom. He doesn’t touch me as he passes. He doesn’t even look at me.
And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I’ve just fucked it all up.
* * * *
“You look like hell,” Montana says when she picks me up to go to girls’ night out at the inn. “What happened?”
“I didn’t sleep,” I reply and buckle my seat belt. I tried to get out of going tonight, but Montana wouldn’t hear of it and insisted that we ride together. “I should drive myself because I don’t know how long I’ll stay.”
“That’s perfect because I can’t stay late either. I have an early dentist appointment tomorrow. Did you bring your candle samples?”
“Shit.” I unbuckle the belt. “Be right back.”
“Need help?”
“Nah, it’s fine.”
“Cheer up. We’re going to have fun. ”
But I don’t reply as I walk back up the stairs to my condo, key my way inside, and grab the small box of goodies that I brought for Luna to try out. If she buys stock to put in all of her guest rooms, that would be a huge sale for me.
On my way back out, I run smack dab into Zeke, and my heart gives a little lurch in my chest.
“Hi,” I say softly.
He looks like he doesn’t want to reply, as if he thought he’d already missed me, but he nods.
“Hey. Let me get that.”
Before I can object, he takes the box from me.
“Montana and I are going to that girls’ night out thing at the inn.”
“Should be fun.” I hate how short he is, how distant, and I wish with all my might that I knew how to fix this.
When we reach Montana’s car, he sets the box in the back seat and makes a move to leave.
“Zeke.”
He stops and turns to me, one eyebrow raised in question, but I don’t know what to say.
“Can we talk later?”
He licks his lips and looks away, but then he nods. Hope fills me. “Text me when you’re home.”
“I will. Thanks.”
I get back into Montana’s car, and she watches Zeke walk away.
“Whoa, what the hell happened since the gala last night?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Honey, I’m sorry if things aren’t working out.”
“I don’t know what things are right now,” I admit and stare out the passenger window as Montana drives through Huckleberry Bay toward the inn at the top of the cliffs, right next to the lighthouse. I’ve always loved it up here, and longed to see the inside of the lighthouse, to walk along the cliffs.
But it’s never been open to the public, at least until Luna decided to build the inn, Luna’s Light. It opens just before Christmas next month, with a huge holiday party for everyone in town. I can’t wait for it. I’m even going to buy a new dress for the occasion, and probably even splurge on getting my hair done.
“It’s so pretty up here,” Montana says as we climb the road that leads to the lighthouse. “So green, even in the fall.”
I nod in agreement, and then the lighthouse comes into view, along with the new inn just a short distance away.
We park and walk to the portico where the entrance to the inn is. The door is open, and we can hear people already talking and laughing inside.
There’s a huge foyer with a grand staircase that leads upstairs, but we walk straight down a hallway to a dining area where everyone is gathered.
There are even accordion-style doors that open on a pass-through to the kitchen, so dishes can be easily transferred to the dining room without having to walk around.
“This is incredible ,” I breathe, and Luna turns with a big smile.
“You’re here! I’m so happy to have you guys. As you can see, we have drinks and lots of food. You know Mira, the chef at Three Sisters. Well, she’s the chef here, too, and she’s outdone herself on the menu, so have one of everything.”
“Luna, this is amazing,” Montana says with a little bounce. “The inn is just gorgeous.”
“Thank you.” Luna beams at the compliment. “I can’t wait for the rest of the town to see it in just a few weeks. I can’t believe we’re almost there.”
“Everyone is so proud of you,” Montana says and wraps her arms around Luna in a hug. “So damn proud.”
“Don’t go making me cry.” Luna wipes a tear from her eye and turns her attention to me. “Did you bring fun stuff for me?”
“Of course, I did. These aren’t all the scents I offer, but there’s a nice selection to try. And if you want something else, we can work up something unique and exclusive to the inn.”
“Oh, I love that idea,” Luna exclaims but then looks at me closer. “Are you okay, Cherry?”
I probably shouldn’t have come tonight. I hate being the center of attention.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Sarah adds as she joins us. Their third best friend, June, comes over as well and frowns at me.
“Have you been crying?” June asks. “Liquor. That’ll help.”
“It’s just been a shitty day,” I begin, but I’m pulled to a table where someone sets a drink and a heaping plate of food in front of me. Suddenly, I’m surrounded by Luna, Sarah, June, Montana, and even Amaryllis Lovejoy, Indigo’s sister.
“Tell us everything,” Luna invites. “This is girls’ night out. This is what we’re here for.”
“It is?” I ask with uncertainty.
“We’re not here to knit, honey,” Amaryllis says. “We’re here to vent, laugh, cry, solve the world’s problems. You’re up first. What’s up?”
For a moment, all I can do is stare at the women watching me with curiosity, and then I smile. “Zeke is an asshole.”
Okay, so maybe not an asshole , but I just don’t know what to do with him, and I need to talk about him behind his back to sympathetic friends. Plus, he told me he loved me, and I said nothing . Because I panicked.
“Man trouble,” June says with a nod. “We’re here for it. What did he do?”
“He says he wants me to move in with him. That I can sell my condo and start my business.”
They’re quiet for a moment, and then all frown.
“And then what did he do to piss you off?” Montana asks.
“That. That’s what he did. And he said that I don’t have to pay any bills at his condo.”
“Hold up.” Amaryllis shakes her head. “That pissed you off?”
“Yes! I’m not a kept woman. I don’t need to be taken care of. And I keep telling him that I don’t want to start my own business because it’s too risky. I need the stability of a regular paycheck. It’s like he just doesn’t listen to me. He said he wants to take care of me , like I’m a puppy or something. I’ve been taking care of myself since I was a kid.”
I’m all riled up again, and I reach for the glass of champagne, taking a long drink.
“First of all,” Luna says, after sticking her nose in one of my candles, “these are amazing. The labeling is adorable, and I can tell the quality is fabulous.”
“They’re all-natural,” I reply, my voice still hard from being frustrated.
I glance at Montana and see she’s just sitting there, her arms folded, a smug smile on her pretty face as she watches me.
“What?”
“I’ve already voiced my opinion on this ad nauseum. I’m going to let them tell you for a change.”
“Tell me what?”
“That you need to start a business,” June says, shoving a canapé in her mouth. “I mean, if you hate Zeke, fine, fuck him, but the business thing should happen. Because you’re smart, make nice things, and people will buy them. You live in a tourist town. If you don’t want to open a shop, which I totally get, you could put your stuff on consignment in the bookstore, at the inn, the coffee shop, and other places. I’m telling you, people love that smelly stuff.”
“Told you,” Montana says.
“I’ll happily make room for a cabinet for you to display your goods for sale,” Luna offers with a new, excited glint in her eye. “I’ll offer the candles, sprays, and bath bombs for use in the rooms, and guests will love them so much, they’ll buy them in the lobby.”
“Absolutely,” Amaryllis agrees, also smelling one of the candles. “Hell, can I buy this right now?”
“Next month,” Luna decides. “For girls’ night out next month, you’ll be my first featured women’s business.”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“You should listen to me more,” Montana says. “I wouldn’t steer you wrong. I love you. I want you to kick ass.”
“You’re my best friend,” I tell her. “You’re supposed to hype me up. That doesn’t mean the business will take off.”
“Maybe you need to have as much confidence in yourself as Montana and Zeke have in you,” Sarah says thoughtfully, tapping her finger on her chin.
“Are you guys telling me that Zeke wasn’t the asshole last night?”
“I really hate it when the man isn’t the asshole,” June grumbles. “But, yeah. Sounds like he cares about you.”
“He used the L -word.”
Montana giggles. The others smile.
“And what did you say?” Luna asks.
“I told him that he wants to control me.”
“Yikes,” Amaryllis says, and the others lose their smiles. I feel awful all over again. “I don’t think he sounded controlling. He wants you to succeed, and maybe taking care of the household bills while you pursue your passion is his way of helping you do that.”
“I’m not good at the love stuff,” I admit. “But, yeah, that was a dick move on my part. And then he kicked me out of his condo and told me that we needed to take the night off.”
“You hurt his feelings,” Sarah says softly. “That’s what it sounds like to me.”
“ That’s what I’m good at. Arguing and being irritated by him. Jabbing at him. It’s a habit I’ve had since he moved into the place. How am I supposed to change overnight?”
“Do you love him back?” Luna asks.
I blink at her and feel my stomach tie itself into knots. Do I love Zeke? He’s helpful and hard working. He’s funny. The sex is ridiculously out of this world. And he can be really tender at times, which is something that I didn’t know I needed but absolutely do.
Shit. I’m totally in love with Zeke.
“Yeah.” I swallow hard. “I do, and it makes me sad that I hurt his feelings.”
“You need to tell him that,” Amaryllis says. “You need to be open with him. And vulnerable.”
“Yikes.”
Amaryllis laughs. “I know, it’s hard. But it doesn’t sound like he wants to control you. He wants a partnership. That’s what happens in a partnership. You’re vulnerable, and you take care of each other. You can pay some of the bills, but it sounds like he wants to take that burden off your shoulders so you can start the business you want with a safety net under you. Because he probably knows that you need the stability.”
I think back to our picnic on the beach and the conversation we had.
He really is trying to help.
“Luna, this was a ton of fun, and I’ll be here every month with bells on, but I think I’d better go home and eat some crow now.”
Montana, laughing hysterically, stands and grabs her bag. “Let’s go. I’m totally coming back for more food, but I’m her ride, so I’m going to get her home.”
“Hurry,” I say when we’re in the car and Montana is headed down the hill. “I need to fix this before he decides to break up with me for good.”
“He won’t decide that. I saw the way he looked at you last night. You just have to find a way to not be so defensive all the time, Cherry. Not everyone is your parents.”
“I know. I know that, but it’s not easy.”
“You can do it. I have faith in you.”