Chapter 20
Chapter 20
I sit in stunned silence through the rest of the meeting as John and Ed try to work out how to salvage the Bennett Motors sponsorship deal, and Miranda darts me triumphant looks. Eventually, after a lengthy groveling session over the phone with Mr. Stinklater, I stumble home, exhausted.
All I want to do is hide from the world and nurse my poor, wounded heart.
“He said that? ‘You should never have gotten involved with me?’” Darcy’s staring at me with a look of absolute astonishment on her face.
I nod, my lips pressed firmly together. “I don’t even know what it means, but he walked away from me, Darce. He said those words then turned and walked away.”
“Oh, babe. That’s awful. And in front of your bosses, too.”
I close my eyes as I recall the humiliation of having to walk back to the table and sit through the rest of the meeting. “I should have gone after him. I should have made him tell me what he meant.”
“Have you called him?”
“Of course I have. It keeps going to voicemail. All I’ve got from him is one lousy message telling me he’s sorry.”
“I don’t believe it.” She shakes her head in disbelief.
My throat begins to tighten once more. “Why won’t he return my calls? It’s like he’s said sorry and that’s it: game over.”
“Oh, honey. He doesn’t deserve someone like you,” she says, rubbing my arm. “You’re kind and caring and fun and sweet.” She offers me a tissue, and I take it and blow my nose loudly. “You’re one of my favorite people. I have extremely good taste in friends, you know.”
I wipe my eyes and smile at her. “You do have very good taste in friends.”
“I do.” She gets up from the end of my bed, where she’s been sitting.
I’ve been lying here since I blundered back home after the meeting, recounting as much of the day’s events as I can manage for her before hot, angry, hurt tears swallow me up.
Darcy looks at me as the tears form once more. “Right. That’s it. I’m calling in reinforcements,” she states firmly.
“Reinforcements?”
“We need Sophie, and we need chocolate.”
I shake my head vigorously. “Not chocolate.”
“Why not? You love chocolate.” Her mouth forms an O . “Nick likes chocolate. I get it, though you can’t rule out an entire food group because of one idiot guy.”
“I’m not sure chocolate is an entire food group, you know.”
“Girl, it so is. Chocolate is up there with cake and ice cream as the very cornerstones of any well-balanced, post-breakup, eat-away-your-feelings feast. Which is what we are going to do now.” She grins at me.
“You’re the best,” I say as a fresh wave of tears prick my eyes.
She thrusts the tissue box at me as the doorbell rings. “Hold tight. brB.”
A moment later, Sophie bursts into my room with a container in her hands, which she drops on my bed as she collects me in a hug. “Erin, babe. I got here as soon as I could. Oh, my gosh, you look terrible!” she exclaims.
“Thanks,” I reply. “Shouldn’t you be at High Tea?”
“It’s fine. I told Paige what had happened, and she and her husband took over for me.”
I’m torn between being ashamed other people know how upset I am and grateful for having a friend who would drop everything to be with me.
“Paige is very sweet,” I say.
“She is.” Sophie takes the phone from me and puts it on the nightstand. She kicks off her shoes. “Move over,” she instructs and then promptly plops herself down next to me. “Now, I brought you some of those chocolate and coconut mousse tartlets you like as well as some slices of Cozy Cottage cakes.” She opens the lid. “Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, apple streusel cake, and a slice of the flourless chocolate and raspberry cake.”
“Don’t mention the C-word, Soph,” Darcy warns as she breezes back into the room with a tub of ice cream in one hand and three bowls and spoons in the other.
Sophie looks puzzled. “What are you talking about? What C-word?”
“The one you just said,” Darcy replies.
“What? What did I say?”
“She means chocolate ,” I clarify.
“He Who Shall Not Be Named liked it,” Darcy explains with a meaningful look. “And I’m not talking about Harry Potter here.”
“Right. Got it.” Sophie taps the side of her nose conspiratorially. “Don’t mention the C-word.”
I throw my eyes to the ceiling. “You do realize discussing how not to mention chocolate makes me think about chocolate?”
Darcy scrunches up her nose. “Sorry, babe.”
I let out a puff of air. “No worries. It’s an important food group, after all.”
Darcy beams at me. “Part of a balanced diet. Now, you two, make room. Woman bearing salted caramel ice cream here.”
Sophie and I move so that all three of us are sitting on my bed, leaning up against my headboard, looking like a small collection of canned sardines. Once our plates are stacked with enough sugar to give us diabetes, Sophie asks me to tell her what’s happened, and I go through the whole sorry tale once more.
“I really can’t believe it. He seemed so smitten with you. Why would a smitten guy go off with another woman?” Sophie says. “Plus, why would he put himself through the whole vetting process if he didn’t feel something for you? It doesn’t make sense to me.”
I chew on my lip. “I know. I need to find out.” I scoot down the bed and hop off the end. “I’ve had enough of wallowing. I want answers, and I’m going to get them.
Darcy’s face is bright when she asks, “What are you going to do?”
I pick my purse up from the floor where I’d dropped it earlier and slot my feet into my shoes. I turn to my friends. “I’m going to get some answers, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not giving up on him. We’ve come too far to throw it all away.”