AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No prob. Thought I’d save you a trip to the Post Office.”
Josh went back to his card game, leaving me alone in the bunk room, staring down at the box. Strange it was sent to the station, not my apartment. The return address was Oklahoma City. Far as I could recollect, I didn’t know anyone there.
I ripped through the tape and opened the box. Inside was a plain white envelope, my name scrawled in familiar handwriting. Just the sight of the swirly loops, the circle above the ‘i’ in my name, caused my heart to lurch, a sour taste rising up the back of my throat.
Inhaling sharply, I tore open the envelope with unsteady hands. A pink post-it note fluttered to the ground. Stooping down, I picked it up.
Sorry it didn’t work out. Hope you’re well.
J
In the envelope was something hard, buried deep in the corner. I fished it out and it glinted in the overhead fluorescent lights, taunting me. One and a half sparkling carats set in a platinum solitaire band she’d picked out herself.
The engagement ring I’d given Julia over two years ago.
No friendly update, definitely no heartfelt apology.
Just the ring.
Typical Julia move. But even after all this time, my heart still squeezed at her abandonment.
This ring was a perfect reminder of my personal mantra: Do. Not. Get. Involved.
3
Delaney
“Well, what happened in the alley?” Mars asked, jerking his head up as soon as I entered the kitchen. “You two looked awfully chummy when you came back in.”
“Oh, knock it off, Mars, we did not!” I said, bumping his hip and rolling my eyes at him. “Nothing happened. He’s Josh’s best friend.”
I snatched his rolling pin and started rolling out dough to the exact quarter-inch thickness we needed for the sugar cookies, avoiding eye contact.
“So?”
“What do you mean, so? That’s a thing. Like, a big, blinking red light thing.” I opened and closed my hand for emphasis.
“Probably more like yellow,” he pointed out, “and it’s blinking. So that means sometimes it’s a go.”
I shook my head, hands on hips. “No, that is definitelynotwhat that means, Mars. You don’t have older brothers, you can’t relate. But let me clarify. It would be a bad idea—like, colossally bad—to get involved with Quinn.”
Mars exhaled, his dark hair rising with his breath, then feathering back down perfectly over his forehead. “That’s exactly what makes him so perfect for you, Delaney. He’s your catnip—tall, dark, and unavailable.”
“Ha-freaking-ha.” I bristled at the insinuation, even though I knew he was right. At least my last three love interests had fit this description.
“And he’s so hunky!” Mars cried, as if personally affronted. “How can you just walk away from a body like that? I mean, I could see his pecs. Through his T-shirt! You know how many guys I’ve seen with a body like that in real life? Like, zero!”
I shook my head, taking a seat next to him at the counter. “Yeah, that part is a shame. But other than that, he’s an ass.”
Mars clucked, not giving up. “When’s that ever stopped you? You know how many asses I’ve seen you date? We’ve lived together for the last four years, Lanie! A certain pastry teacher comes to mind…” Mars cut his eyes at me and I groaned.
“Low blow, Mars.” I elbowed him. “Yes, Holden was a mistake. And an ass. Let’s chalk this up to me learning from my past.”
“Quinn can’t be that bad. Besides, he did make a special inspection happen just so you could hit your timeline.”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“If I were you, Lanie, I wouldn’t carewhohis friends were, I would hit that in a New York minute.”
