Page 28 of Wild Sanctuary

I exhale, letting my shoulders drop. “His father plays golf with my editor every Saturday, and has done so for the last twenty years. And since Felix and I started dating, supposedly his dad’s been telling Glen what an asset I’d be on staff. And that advocacy is the reason I’m in with a shot at a really important promotion. When I told Felix I wanted to end things, he very pointedly told me his dad would keep singing my praises, like he has done for the last nine months.”

June has gone stock still while Maggie sets her glass down with the kind of slow precision that means she’s fuming on the inside. “He threatened your career?”

I shake my head. “He’d never put it like that; he just made sure I knew the math. His dad. My editor. Every Saturday.”

“Motherfucker.”

“Yuuuup.”

There’s a beat of silence before June reaches across and squeezes my hand. “Oh, honey.”

I can only shrug, knowing this is very much a case of it-is-what-it-is. “I play nice through texts, let him think what he wants, but the minute I have a signed contract from Rocky Mountain Magazine, I can drop the act. I wouldn’t have thought he was capable of this before, but it just goes to show, you can never really tell what anyone is capable of, given the right motivation.”

Maggie shakes her head slowly. “What a fucking piece of work.”

“It’s manageable.”

She snorts. “Yeah, sure. In the way root canals are manageable.” June chuckles as Maggie picks her glass back up. “Okay, so girl to girl, what do we need to know? Are we talking six-foot-tall walking red flag, or the kind of disappointment that creeps up on you? I’m thinkin’ the latter.”

I laugh despite myself. “He’s… very put together. Strong jawline. Tall. Wears a lot of navy blue.”

“Navy. Blue.” Maggie repeats flatly, looking entirely unimpressed.

“He’s career focused. Very organized. Being with him felt like…” I trail off, almost ashamed to say the words aloud. “It felt like a responsible, adult move.”

June’s eyes go soft while Maggie shakes her head slowly.

“I know.” I take a long sip of wine as the relief of finally saying the words out loud unfurls in my chest. “Finally being honest with myself is what made me break it off.”

Maggie raises her glass at that, a genuine smile lighting up her face. “To not settling for navy blue.”

“To not settling for navy blue,” June echoes, and we all clink our glasses.

“So, how was the sex?” Maggie leans forward, wine glass dangling from her fingers.

June nearly chokes. “Magnolia Rose Hartley!”

“What? I’m a professional!” Maggie gestures with her glass, completely unrepentant. “I ask about reproductive health all the time.”

“In livestock!”

“Same principles apply.” Maggie’s eyes sparkle with obvious mischief over the rim of her wine glass. “Come on, Daisy. Some of us are too busy delivering breech calves to scratch that particular itch, so spill. That’s what family is for.”

Family.

She didn’t even hesitate. Like there’s no question I’m family.

Like I always have been.

My eyes sting, and silently, I blame the wine.

“It was… fine,” I manage, which probably says everything. “Normal. We were both busy, so…”

“So it was scheduled.” Maggie nods knowingly. “Twice a week, missionary position, lights off?”

“Maggie!” June throws a napkin at her, but she’s laughing too.

“I’m not wrong, am I?”