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I didn’t. I don’t. I won’t. I refuse to give him any energy at this point.
“He’s kind of always in a foul mood,” Peyton said when she finished chewing.
“I’ve known him my whole life,” Saylor said. “He’s always been a big grump, but if it’s any consolation, he was different with you.”
“I agree. It still doesn’t excuse what he did, but I think he acted out because he was jealous. And we still don’t know what the hell the sticky note thing is about, right?” Demi asked.
“No idea. It’s so him to tell me something on a sticky note and forget to give it to me. And then blame me for not knowing how he feels,” I ranted. “And… and… he accused me of fucking Dereck and lying about my relationship. He’s an even bigger asshole than I gave him credit for.”
“Sometimes people act out when they’re hurt. River doesn’t let anyone in long enough to be hurt by them, but I think he was different with you.” Saylor shrugged. “I’m not excusing what he did; I’m just trying to understand it.”
“He doesn’t get to have a meltdown and lose his shit on you and be excused. The man needs to grovel if he wants to be forgiven.” Peyton raised a brow.
“He doesn’t even know I’m here. He hasn’t texted or called, so I don’t think he cares. And frankly, neither do I,” I lied, and they all looked at me sympathetically, like they didn’t believe me.
And then Peyton took a swig of her water. “Good. Fuck River and his stupid sticky note and bullshit accusations.”
“Wow. Tell us how you really feel,” Demi said over her laughter.
“Hey, I did want to talk to you about something.” Saylor dabbed her mouth with her napkin when she finished chewing. “I’m looking for a house because I can’t live with my brother much longer. He’s hovering and acting like an overbearing parent. I know you want to move out of here and find a place. Would you want to be roommates?”
I’d never had a roommate. I’d lived with my father and had lived on my own ever since.
But something had changed in me since I’d come home. I didn’t want to be alone all the time anymore.
My family no longer felt like the small circle it had always been.
“Yes. Let’s do it. My lease is up on my apartment back in the city, and I’ve scheduled movers to bring everything back here, so I’ve got plenty of furniture to furnish a place.”
“Really? Yay. This is great. I found a few cute little houses on the water, not too far from here. Two bedrooms, lots of charm.” Saylor waggled her brows.
“This is so fun that you two will be living together. It’ll be our new hangout,” Peyton said.
“I can go look at a few places with you this weekend,” I said.
“Perfect. I’ll schedule some tours for us with my realtor. Just don’t tell my brother yet. He’ll start lecturing me about saving money. But I need my own space.”
“If you need to make more money, you can have more hours at Magnolia Beans if you want. Until you get the bookstore open, we can use all the help,” Demi said. She’d hired Saylor while she came up with her business plan to open the bookstore next to the coffee shop.
We made small talk for the next hour before they headed back to work. I looked online at the photos of the rentals Saylor had sent me so we could choose which ones to see this weekend.
I made my way to my bedroom to pick out my outfit for my first day of work tomorrow, and the unsigned contract was still lying on my desk.
I stared at it, hoping I hadn’t made a huge mistake. Dean Langston hadn’t taken the news all that well, and I doubted the door would be open for me there in the future.
I picked it up to tuck it into my desk drawer when a small yellow sticky note fell out. It must have been on one of the pages at the back of the contract. I picked it up off the floor and read it.
Or you could just stay here because I love you. Wild River.
My mouth fell open. Had he seriously proclaimed his love on a sticky note? Who does that?
River Pierce.
The man who never lets his guard down.
I knew he’d never told a woman that he loved them before.
So, even though this was the equivalent of breaking up with someone via text, it was a big move for River.
