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Sweat cooled the back of his neck.
“If you think you’re protecting Paige by staying away from her, then you’re deluding yourself. She doesn’t want to be protected, Jake—she never did. She wants to live her life, every minute of it. She’ll take the laughs and she’ll take the blows, because she knows that’s what living is all about. Ups and downs. Laughter and tears. You need to decide if you want to be part of that life or not. And you need to make that decision. Your mother made hers. Now you need to make yours, but most of all you need to stop connecting those two things.”
“I came here thinking you’d give me a hug, feed me and make it all better.”
“I’ll give you a hug and I’ll feed you, but the only person who can make it better is you. In the end we make our own choices.” Maria sighed. “Do you think I like seeing you suffer like this? It kills me. But you’re my son, and when a mother sees her son doing something stupid, she says so. It’s a duty. Now go and talk to Paige.”
“She probably won’t talk to me.”
“She doesn’t need to talk. She’s already said everything she wants to say. Now she needs to hear you doing some talking. And you’d better make sure you use the right words.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Happy endings aren’t only for fairy tales.
—Eva
ONE OF THE MANY good things about running your own business, Paige reflected, was that you could work whenever you wanted to, including the middle of the night and on Saturdays.
Work anesthetized the pain in her heart.
Eva was upstairs in their apartment testing a recipe and updating her blog, and Paige and Frankie had chosen to work on Frankie’s kitchen table rather than go to the office.
Her phone rang.
Because she knew it wasn’t a client, Paige ignored it.
Frankie glanced across and saw the number. “It’s Jake. Again. Fifth time. Want me to tell him where to go?”
“No.” Her fingers shook on the keypad. “Let it go to voice mail.”
“Are you sure? The guy obviously has something to tell you.”
“He can tell it to my voice mail. I’ll speak to him when I feel ready.” And that would be when she was sure she could do it without making a fool of herself. She tapped her tablet screen and brought up her to-do list. “Did you get that request about surprise flowers for a wedding anniversary?”
“I did. Came through the app, which, by the way, is genius. It’s handled and they’re going to be the happiest couple in Manhattan.”
The app was genius, but she didn’t want to think about the app, because thinking about the app made her think about Jake and she was trying not to do that. “One of our clients put in a request for their roof garden to be maintained.”
“I’m going over there Monday to talk to them, and I’m taking Poppy, who I’ve worked with a million times.”
“Poppy? British Poppy with the cute accent and the smile like a lightbulb?”
“That’s her. She needs the work and she’s good.”
“Why does she need the work?”
“Because she wants to stay in New York. I guess she wants to keep a large ocean between her and the rat boyfriend who slept with her friend.”
“Enough said. The work is hers.” Paige went back to her list and Frankie hesitated.
“Did you get any sleep last night?”
“Not a lot. I spent the night rehearsing what I’ll say to Jake next time I see him. I need to order a new lipstick to give me confidence.”
“I might be able to help with that.” Frankie thrust a package at her and Paige took it.
“You bought me lipstick?”
