Sweet Little Memories (Sweet #3)(9)

“I don’t know.” My reluctance to drink was making this harder than it had to be.

Chantel gave me a brief nod. “I’ll pick it. Sit and eat.”

I watched as she perused Stone’s bar. I couldn’t help but worry about them using his things, but they seemed at home here. Letting them inside might have been a mistake. Stone didn’t want me here much less other people. I didn’t think it was possible to get Shay to leave though. She was determined. The best thing I could do was drink, eat, fulfilling her request quickly so she’d leave.

Taking a bite of the donut, I followed Shay into the other room.





CHANTEL WALKED INTO THE ROOM carrying bottles of Grey Goose, Makers Mark, and club soda. She sat them on the table and went back for the glasses. I stood there watching as Shay opened the boxes, taking out a chocolate pastry then began eating. “Sit. Relax, bitch. Don’t stand there nervous, he’s not here. This is what he gets for running off.”

Shay sank onto the sofa and propped her feet up on the coffee table. Stone’s furniture was expensive. Sitting on it made me uncomfortable. But there was no asking her to remove her feet from the furniture—she was doing what she wanted.

When Chantel returned with glasses and ice, Shay pointed at the vodka. “Fix her something please. She’s so uptight she can’t sit.”

I slowly bent my knees and sat on the rug beneath me. I couldn’t bring myself to drink and eat on his furniture.

Shay rolled her eyes at me and Chantel handed me a vodka soda. “Drink up,” she said cheerily.

I wrapped my hands around the cold glass and I looked at it for only a second before taking a long swig. Shay was right. I was uptight and needed to relax.

Shay clapped. “Bravo! Now eat a sandwich or ten. They’re tiny as hell.” Shay glanced over at Chantel. “You could use ten or so sandwiches yourself.”

Chantel plopped on the sofa and curled her legs underneath her. It was impressive considering she had legs as long as most people were tall. “I’m drinking my calories,” she replied. “Did you get in touch with Fiona? Is she coming?”

Shay reached for the bottle of Makers Mark and poured a glass neat for herself. “She’s on a date. New guy.”

“Ah, Bruno. I forgot about that,” Chantel said thoughtfully.

“His name is Bruno?” Shay sounded amused. I had to agree the name was interesting.

“Yep. He’s a school teacher. High school algebra. She met him getting coffee.”

I couldn’t imagine Fiona with a teacher. She seemed too glamourous, but the juxtaposition made me smile. Or it was the vodka making me smile. The bite of donut was not soaking up the little bit of vodka I had consumed. I leaned back against the sofa and pulled my knees up, resting my drink on my right knee while I ate the rest of my donut with my left hand.

“Jasper showed up, there was yelling, you ended up being intercepted by Fiona at Stone’s request, Stone left you a letter the following morning, now he’s gone and you’re here. That’s the summary I got. Want to talk about it?” Shay stuffed a tiny sandwich in her mouth.

I thought for a moment then tilted my head. “No. I would rather forget.”

“Fair enough,” Chantel said. “Let’s talk about what you’re planning to do next.”

Talking that through wasn’t a bad idea. I had no one else to talk to and needed to figure things out. I sipped more of my drink and licked the sugar from my finger left by the donut before responding. “I think I’ll find an apartment outside of town. Rent is more affordable there. If I don’t keep my job with Geraldine I will have to find work somewhere else. I’ve been putting money away so I should be good for a few weeks.”

Chantel sighed. “Damn. I was hoping you’d stay and fight with him. He needs to have a fucking reaction to something instead of not giving a shit. I get so tired of that bored expression of his.”

“He’s been good to me and helped me when I was completely lost. I don’t know why he left really. Unless I was asking for explanations for more than he wanted to tell me. In the end, it was his choice. Regardless, I can’t stay here and force him to stay away.”

“I don’t see why not. We like you better.” Shay smiled at me while she chewed the sandwich she just popped into her mouth.

They didn’t really know Stone. My assumption is that no one did—not even me. He was hard to get close to, but no matter what mistakes he’d made I knew there was goodness in him. Even if he had some twisted issues resulting from an abusive childhood. I had seen him be kind when he didn’t have to.

“You haven’t seen him with Geraldine. I can’t describe the way he takes care of her and he’s always there when she needs him. I know he loves Geraldine. He also went out of his way to help Jasper when I know Jasper didn’t deserve it. Stone’s got a good heart. He’s just careful with people. There’s a lot of hurt and damage inside him.”

Chantel poured herself more vodka. “He’s an idiot. You see all that when no one else can see past the elitist uninterested expression he always wears on his gorgeous face. He should have kept you. He needed to keep you. All the other women in his life were with him for this,” she held her hands out as if the room was why they were with him. “All the shit he has. His money. His name. And of course, his talent in the sack.” She winced and gave me a sad smile. “Sorry. But I’ve heard the talk.”