Page 632 of Manhattan Bossholes

I walked away before he could answer, hiding a little smile of victory. Once he was out of sight, lost in the crowd, I called Nina.

“Hey, I’m going to Levain. What do you want?”

I picked up my pace at the promise of being comforted by the world’s most addictive chocolate chip cookies.

“Ooh, your favorite,” she cheered. “What’s the occasion?”

“I’m celebrating the first day of the rest of my life.”

“What?” she squawked. “That sounds a little ominous. What do you mean?”

“I just ran into Cameron, and I realized I’m okay,” my voice came out shaky. “Or I’m going to be okay.”

“Oof. Did you cry? Was it awkward?”

The feelings I’d been suppressing as I talked to him were finally taking over. I wanted to seem strong in front of him, and I’d succeeded, but it was all an act.

Damn it, I still missed him.

“I didn’t cry, and it was awkward. Someone clocked us as CamLicity. I handled it.”

Just saying the name made me glance around furtively, but no one on the sidewalk noticed me.

“Was he a jerk about it?”

“He just seemed…grumpy. More than usual. But here’s what’s weird—when I told him I was going to Levain, he offered to tag along!”

“Talk about mixed signals,” she laughed.

“No,” I shook my head. “He’s still firmly in the ‘relationships are pointless’ camp, he just wanted to walk Boris farther. I told him not to bother.”

“Good for you!”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I feel…okay. Now I just need to figure out what to do career-wise.”

“So, you’re quitting for sure?”

I slowed down behind a trio of tourists taking up the entire sidewalk, which gave me time to consider it. The thought made me a little queasy because I loved my job, but I didn’t see a way to do it with the ghost of Cameron haunting me at every meeting.

“Yeah, I think so. Guess I need to find a new job.”

“Treehouse, treehouse…” she sang.

I laughed at her relentlessness. “Yes, of course, but we’re not quite there yet, you know? I don’t have as much saved as I’d planned to, and we need to find a space.”

“We will, it’s coming. I feel it in my bones.”

“Okay, tell me what kind of cookies you want.”

Nina gave me her order and I hung up, feeling more clarity than I’d had in ages. I wasn’t exactly happy, or positive, but I figured the good feelings were on the way now that I was starting to make peace with my life and the end of my relationship with Cameron.

But there was one little persistent thought that kept popping up, no matter how many times I tried to ignore it.

Cameron did a great job of pretending he didn’t care about me, but I knew him. He’d revealed himself to me whether he liked it or not. And when I looked in his eyes, I could see it.

He missed me too.

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