“It’s worth getting yelled at,” I say, following him into the house.
“Easy for you to say,” Cash says. “Sebastian yells at you all the time, and there’s no woman around you’re trying to impress who’s going to see you getting told off like a toddler.”
I look back over my shoulder at him. “I thought you didn’t care about Millie.”
“I don’t,” Cash says as he follows me inside.
My alcohol-soaked heart warms. Cash can be a shit, but when it really matters, he’s always got my back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Amelia
Istep into Shaleigh’s office and want to turn around and step right back out. She doesn’t look happy with me at all. With unfortunately excellent reason.
Since I dumped Deacon, I’ve been doing a shit job of being polite or charming.
“Hey, boss,” I say as I slide into a seat in front of her desk. “Everything okay?”
“I just got word from the mayor’s office. You’ve been awarded the scholarship for veterinary school.”
I just stare at her. I feel numb. I’ve been feeling numb since I demanded Deacon get out of my house and saw the absolutely devastated look on his face. But I should feel happy now. I should be jumping up and down with excitement.
I must be PMSing or something. Three weeks too early, but hormones are weird.
Right?
“Why do you look so pissed about this news?” I ask.
“Why don’t you look happy about it?” Shaleigh asks. “This is a dream come true for you.”
My throat tightens, and my eyes burn. “I think…” I work through what I’m feeling. This is more than just missing Deacon and Handsyguy. This feels like existential dread. Like I’m about to walk off the side of a mountain with no net or face down a rapid dog with no backup. It hits me like a ton of bricks. “I’m scared. What if reality doesn’t live up to my dream? What if I fail out of school? What if I’m a horrible veterinarian and no one comes to my practice?”
She leans forward, elbows on her desk. “I get it. When I was promoted to run this department, I had all kinds of doubts, but you got this, Melly. You’re one of the hardest workers I know. You can do this.”
I don’t feel as sure as she seems to be, but a little bubble of happiness sneaks in. “I really got the scholarship? I’m really going to be a veterinarian?”
She nods, smiling. “You sure are.”
And then, to what I’m sure will be my everlasting humiliation, I burst into tears.
Shaleigh immediately gets out of her seat and rushes over to kneel by my side. “It’s okay. I’m sure it’s overwhelming. You just take it one step at a time.”
“It’s not that,” I say, pulling myself together as best I can. “The first thing I wanted to do was tell Deacon, but he’s an asshole, and I dumped him.”
“Who’s Deacon? I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend.”
I sit up, swallow hard, and swipe away my tears. “He wasn’t my boyfriend. Just a guy I hooked up with when I had the time. Turns out he was also the guy I’ve been messaging with on a dating app, so when I lost him I lost them both.”
She sits on the edge of her desk, looking confused. “I don’t get it.”
I throw up my hands. “Me neither.” I tell her the whole story, and she ignores all her calls to hear me out. Her assistant would let her know if there was an emergency. “Bryson talked to Deacon and totally believes that Deacon didn’t know I was DogPerson when we met in the hardware store, but that’s too big a coincidence to believe.”
“In a town this small?” Shaleigh asks. “Is the problem that you don’t believe it or that you don’twantto believe it?”
“Ugh, you sound like Bryson.”
“I don’t know Bryson, but I don’t think he’d want Deacon around you and Harper if he had any hint that the guy was manipulating and stalking you. I mean, it’s not great that he didn’t tell you as soon as he found out, but—”
