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PROLOGUE
Willow
“Ugh, I hate my life,” Nora whines, as she enters Fine Taste, the coffee shop where we both work. She leans heavily against the counter, pushing up her large sunglasses and exposing red-rimmed, pale blue eyes. “Is the coffee ready yet?”
“Almost done,” I call out, adding a few drops of fresh lemon juice to her coffee. She’s lucky that there isn’t much of a line, or she would have had to wait. It’s way past the morning rush hour, and there are barely any customers left.
“Hurry up, Willow,” she cries. “I’m dying over here.”
I roll my eyes at her impatience, but it’s nothing I’m not used to. Since meeting Nora, I’ve had to work out all sorts of hangover remedies, despite that not being in my job description. She tends to drink too much wine when she’s heartbroken, which seems to happen a lot, so it helps that I have a cure for her when she drags herself into the shop.
I place a large coffee cup in front of her and watch with satisfaction as she moans in bliss after the first sip.
“Willow, you’re a gem,” she says into her coffee.
Nora is my boss and the manager of Fine Taste, but she’s also my best friend. Well, she is my only friend. When I began working here six months ago, I had no skills whatsoever, but Nora took me in anyway and showed me the ropes. Nora took one look at me, a socially awkward, wide-eyed girl with trust issues, and hired me on the spot.
And invited me into her life without question.
At first, I’d been reluctant to get close to my boss, which had nothing to do with Nora. Showing up in a strange little town with only the clothes on my back was a clear indication of thetrouble I was in. I had intended to work for a few weeks and earn enough funds to move on to a different place, but Nora had latched on to me, made me her friend, and the weeks had turned into months. Staying in one place still makes me anxious, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
“So, what happened this time?” I ask, cleaning up the workstation.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Nora responds, averting her gaze.
I raise a single eyebrow at her attempt at a poker face, but she is too much of an open book, unlike me. I wonder if the people in this town can read the secrets behind my smile.
“Nora, you show up to work at noon with a hangover, wearing the same clothes you wore yesterday...”
“I am?” She sits up and looks down at the green cardigan she’d been wearing when she left work last night. “Shit, okay, you’re right.”
I drop the rag on the counter and make my way to her before dropping into the seat next to hers at the counter and reaching for her hands. “What happened, Nora?”
“I miss Mike,” she sniffs dramatically. “I still can’t believe he dumped me. He said that I was too clingy. Me! Can you believe that?”
“Hmm,” I mutter, avoiding meeting her eyes.
“Willow!”
I let go of her hand and push up from the seat. “To be fair, you did break into his house. He called the cops on you, Nora. You’re lucky your brother was able to get his lawyer friend to help you out. You aren’t out of the clear yet, either. You should be careful.”
“Oh, come on,” Nora says, rolling her eyes at me as if I am the crazy one. “You know what really happened. I was trying to surprise him with dinner! It was romantic. It’s not my fault hiswindow was broken. He should be thanking me for bringing that little detail to his attention.”
I nod at her words, biting my tongue to stop myself from pointing out all the questionable things she’s done since meeting her boyfriend—now ex—three months ago. This is not her first breakup, and I know from experience that it won’t be her last either. Once the smoke settles on her latest display of crazy, she’ll forget her ex’s name in a week, two tops.
Sometimes, I wish I was more like her, carefree enough to let go of the past and move on, but it has me in a tight chokehold. There is no forgetting who I am or the truths I am hiding from. But I don’t get to focus on my hang-ups for long before Nora drags me back to the present.
“Dating is hard,” she whines, pushing the half-empty coffee cup away and dropping her head to the counter. “Why is dating so hard, Willow? I just want to be in love and have someone love me back. Is that too much to ask”
I take her question as rhetorical and start to wipe down the tables. It’s easy for me to serve her whatever hangover remedy I come up with and listen to her woes, but that’s the extent of it. I can’t offer her more because, unlike her, I know nothing about relationships or dating. From what I’ve seen, I’m not exactly missing out on much.
“You know, I really thought he was my soulmate.” She sighs dramatically before carrying on. “He and I were supposed to go out for Valentine’s dinner at the Italian restaurant that just opened up a couple of blocks from here. It’s hard to get a table in that place, but I managed to secure us one. I can’t go alone though. Instead, I’ll be stuck at work watching happy couples all day before going home to drown my sorrows in ice cream.”
“You don’t have to come to work…”
“And what, stay home all day feeling sorry for myself? Besides, I’m the manager. I can’t miss out on work on one of themost important days of the year. This place will be crowded, and I can’t ditch work just because I hate love.”
“Nora, you don’t hate lov–”
