Straight Up Love (The Boys of Jackson Harbor #2)(54)

“And you as well?” I ask.

She nods. “Please, Jake, I’m begging you not to tell her yet.”

There’s a knock on the glass, and I look over my shoulder to see Brayden at the door, reaching for his keys.

“I don’t like the secret,” I say, quickly now, because his key’s in the lock.

“And I don’t like that you picked her over me even when she took herself out of the running.” She shrugs as Brayden pushes into the bar. “Sometimes we have to deal with things we don’t like.”





Ava


Molly’s at the table, papers spread out in front of her, tears rolling down her cheeks. I immediately think of the weeks after my husband left me when I was confronted with not only the worst heartache of my life but with the reality of the debt he’d gladly handed over. I felt stupid for the assumptions I made and guilty for embracing a pointlessly lavish lifestyle.

“Molly, are you okay?”

She startles and sweeps all the papers into a pile. “You’re home early.”

“Yeah. Sorry.” I turn away, understanding that she doesn’t want me to see whatever she was studying.

“It’s your house. You can be here any time you want. I just thought you had children’s theater auditions or something tonight?”

I shake my head, and when I turn back to her, she’s sliding the stack of folded papers into her purse. “I’m meeting Jake’s niece to help her with her audition piece, but I’m not heading over there for a couple of hours. Are you okay?”

She gives a shaky smile. “I’m fine. Great, actually. I met with Jake and Brayden today, and they’re going to hire me as their new northeast regional sales rep. It’s totally different than anything I’ve done before, but I’m actually pretty excited about it.” She blows out a breath. “I’m just indulging in a little pity party that my life didn’t turn out the way I wanted. I thought I’d be juggling social engagements, and instead I’m juggling bills.”

“This is why adulting became a verb.”

She laughs. “Oh my God, you’re an English teacher. You’re supposed to hate that.”

“Not at all. In fact, I don’t know why it hasn’t been a verb for centuries. Our parents had to deal with this shit too, didn’t they?”

“Yes, but they’d tell you they weren’t as coddled as children as we were, and that’s why adulthood wasn’t a brutal a wakeup call for them.”

“Whatever,” I mutter. “They weren’t saddled with student loan debt before they even got started.”

“Preach!”

We laugh, and something tugs in my chest—grief for a missed opportunity. Molly and I could have been friends, but I let my own insecurities form a wall between us. I wish I could say it’s the only time in my life I’ve done that, but it seems to be a habit of mine. When I feel unworthy, I push people away. In a way, that’s what I’ve been doing with Jake for years. Maybe I didn’t push him out of my life, but I always put limits on what I believed our relationship could be.

Her phone clatters against the kitchen table as it buzzes, and she grabs it and swipes the screen. “Hello?”

Maybe I should leave the room, but worry creases her features, so I stay.

“How high is it?” She squeezes the locket on her necklace and looks at the ceiling. “Dammit. No, don’t apologize. I understand.” She cuts her gaze to me and then looks at the clock on the stove. “I’m supposed to fly home in the morning, but I’ll see if I can get a red-eye tonight.” She shakes her head. “Don’t. You know I didn’t want to come anyway. The sooner I leave, the better.” She flashes me an apologetic smile, then lowers her voice. “Um . . . I can’t right now? Yeah. I’ll call back when I know something. Yes. You too. Thank you.” She pulls the phone from her ear and ends the call.

“Is everything okay?”

She taps on her phone and nods as she stares at the screen. “My friend’s son is sick, and she has to work. Daycare won’t take him with a fever.” She taps the screen and puts the phone to her ear. “I need to get back.”

I frown. She’s going to get an earlier flight to take care of a friend’s sick kid? “You two must be really close.”

She nods, then turns away as her call connects. “Hello, I need to speak with someone about changing my flight?”

My own phone buzzes in my purse, and I pull it out to see a new text message from Nic.



Nic: Lilly and I are at the store. She wants to know if you prefer your hot chocolate with rainbow marshmallows or jumbo marshmallows.



I grin. Nic is dating Lilly’s dad, and it’s the best thing that ever happened to both the kid and the father. I’ve loved having her in my life too.



Me: Rainbow, obviously.



Nic: Obviously. See you in a couple of hours.



When I slide my phone back into my purse, Molly’s wrapping up her call and some of the tension has left her eyes.

“I’m going to fly home tonight,” she says. “I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay here. One of the reasons I can’t stand coming home is because Dad gets to me. It was a relief to be here and not have to have him judging my every move.”