As for work, the only thing she’d had the energy to do had been to call into the shop. Though she had a wonderful assistant manager, Xena, a longtime coworker whom she trusted, she knew Xena hadn’t counted on being in charge for an extra couple of days. Keeping the scheduling, deliveries, and bookkeeping in order was more than a full-time job, and it was a lot to ask of someone. For a while now, it’d been too much for Mindy. Running the shop had gone from something she loved to something that took too much of her time and effort and completely drained her. The only thing she’d missed about work in the last two days was the baking she did to sell out of the shop’s front display, because baking fueled her soul.
“No problem!” Xena had said easily when Mindy got a hold of her. “My horoscope said there’d be a new opportunity for me this week because Jupiter and Earth are aligned. You do you, sweetness, you’ve been high-strung for a while now.”
Mindy winced. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Burn some sage, cleanse your aura. Just worry about yourself. I’ve got this.”
Mindy hung up, feeling better about that one area of her life, at least. She’d spent most of her life trying to be perfect, which had finally sucked the soul out of her and left her feeling like she was free-falling into an abyss.
She didn’t know how to do it anymore.
She was lying in Brooke’s amazing bed, smelling delicious from all Brooke’s products, going through Instagram, when she came upon a post of Linc’s. His account was private, and usually his pics were of her and the kids. But today there was a pic of him at his conference. He was looking extremely handsome in a suit, sitting at a table surrounded by his colleagues, all male except the woman at his right. Linc had thoughtfully typed in everyone’s names: Dr. Gerry Lepenksky, Dr. Carlos Ramirez, Dr. Scott Wells, and Dr. Sam Whitney, all of whom she’d heard him mention many times. What had not been mentioned was that Sam was a woman. A tall, beautiful, auburn-haired woman who was smiling at Mindy’s husband like maybe he was lunch and dinner and dessert all in one.
A long minute—or a year—went by. When Mindy could breathe again, she called Brooke.
It’d been a long time since they’d been each other’s go-to person, but suddenly she needed her sister more than she needed her next breath. Only problem, she’d called home so many times that Brooke was now answering the phone with “Hot Mess Hotline, how can I help you?” which was making Mindy feel even more guilty. She disconnected before the call could go through.
And then called Garrett.
He answered with a sigh, reminding her that she’d also called him a bunch of times, wanting details on how Brooke and her kids were doing. He was a close friend and often her voice of reason—and okay, throughout the years she’d also had a periodic crush on him, so sue her. “How’s it going?” she asked.
“Fine.”
“The kids?”
“Also fine.”
It was her turn to sigh. “Can we pretend the word ‘fine’ doesn’t exist and try again?”
She could practically hear him roll his eyes. “The kids did get food poisoning.”
Which she knew from all her calls and texts to Brooke. But her sister spoke less than the men in Mindy’s life. She knew the kids were okay, but were they okay okay?
“Brooke seemed to handle it just fine—” He broke off when she hissed at his word choice. “She handled it well. Relax, Mindy. Breathe.”
She gulped in air and relief, and disconnected. Everything was okay, meaning she could take this last day and head home tomorrow morning.
But the very thought made her stop breathing again. She was still panicking when Tommy let himself in, carrying a pizza box.
She’d discovered that Tommy was an amazing friend. She wouldn’t want him for a lover, since he was utterly disinterested in keeping anyone for more than one night. But as a friend, he was damn near perfect. He was funny and smart, and he loved food as much as she did. And being tall, dark, and gorgeous, he also gave her something to look at. But it was the pizza catching her gaze now. “You know I try not to eat gluten. Or too many carbs.”
“Duh,” he said. “That’s how you stay a MILF.” He set the box down on the bed. “It’s a cauliflower crust, topped with chopped veggies like kale, spinach, and peppers. No gluten. Low carbs.”
Mindy sat up and reached for a piece. She took a bite and moaned. “Oh my God, I love you. Can I steal you away from Brooke?”
“Not a chance. And if you tell her I let you eat in her bed, you’re dead to me.”
The twinge of jealousy wasn’t attractive, she knew this. But Brooke had everything: an exciting job, great friends, sexy lovers . . . She’d met Cole last night when Tommy had brought him along for dinner, and wow. The guy was smoking hot and clearly had a thing for her sister. Even more impressive, Brooke had managed to get herself this fab life away from Wildstone and their parents’ expectations. Her sister’s life was infinitely more exciting than hers. And easier.
Tommy sat his very fine ass on the corner of the bed.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Mindy asked.
“Brooke asked me to.” He smiled to soften the words. “Also, you’ve got edges. I like edges. You call him yet?”
They’d talked about this over the past couple of days. Tommy wanted her to fly out to Florida and meet up with Linc. Since she refused to do that, he thought she should call and actually talk to him—like, really talk.
“I don’t know where to start,” she’d said. “We’ve lost our way. We’re in a rut, everything is rote, ‘hi, bye, love you’ . . . They’re all just phrases we throw around without meaning. Has that ever happened to you?”
Tommy smiled. “Honey, the most common phrase in any of my relationships is usually ‘You sleep in the wet spot.’ Now stop stalling and call your man.”
She actually wanted to. She yearned to hear Linc’s voice and longed for the comfort that usually came with it. But she was feeling so raw and emotional, she knew she couldn’t. Not yet. She needed to be able to have a conversation without bursting into tears the second she heard him. “I’m working my way up to it.”
Tommy pulled a bottle of wine from a bag. “Liquid courage.”
It was a Capriotti red, one of her favorite wines in the whole world, made at a local winery in Wildstone. She felt her eyes fill at Tommy’s kindness.
Tommy accepted her tears the way he accepted everything else about her, without blinking an eye. He handed her a box of tissues and opened the wine.
Half an hour later, the pizza was decimated and she was pleasantly buzzed from two full glasses. “Best diet food ever.”
“I said it was gluten-free. I didn’t say it was diet food.”
Mindy glanced at the empty pizza box. “Nutritional labels should really include a ‘what if I eat the whole damn thing’ section.”
“You’re stalling.” Tommy nudged her phone toward her.
She picked it up. “Maybe I should check on the kids again first.”
“Remember what Brooke said.”
Mindy blew out a breath. Earlier Brooke had said she’d text Mindy hourly updates if Mindy promised not to call and micromanage her anymore. If she couldn’t control herself, the deal was off, and Brooke would take off.