Now Summer and Wynter were telling me they’d had similar experiences with the men they were happily married to? “They broke up with you?”
“Ended it all,” Wynter said.
I gnawed the sensitive flesh of my cheek. Yet Wynter and Myles were married with kids. Same with Summer and Jonah. They’d managed to weather the storms of their dating life. “How did you...” I blinked back tears, and my gaze skated away. Fear clogged my throat.
“We each took a risk,” Summer said. “Because we thought they were worth it.”
I cleared the growing lump out of my throat. “Did Tenor tell you how we started dating?” No surprise rose up inside me when they both nodded. “He said he was going to show me what I deserved in my dating life. Mission accomplished, I guess.”
Summer leaned forward. “Unless you think he can be what you deserve.”
And we were back to the beginning. I couldn’t trust him to be what I deserved. I couldn’t trust him with my heart.
Me: What did you want to talk about?
My curiosity had gotten the better of me this morning, but Tenor still hadn’t answered. I’d texted him right before I’d left Bozeman. I had to take myself by surprise and just do it. I briefly thought about swinging by his house—not because I was desperate to see him—but he probably wouldn’t be there.
Besides, it would’ve taken more courage than I had. I had wanted to go into my decision well informed, and just coming out and asking Tenor what he wanted was it.
It had seemed like a good plan. Until he hadn’t replied for hours.
He was probably working.
I took a swig of my almost clear Malibu and Coke. Madison had gone in the storeroom to help Allen find more Malibu. Madison and I had been the only two in Flatlanders at first, but a few more customers were populating the tables. It was early yet and I was on my second drink.
I held up my glass to the dim lights behind the bar. “Allen, do you realize how strong you make these? Coke is a lot cheaper than rum.”
“You here to give business advice too, Rue?” He leaned in and smirked at my boobs. “I mean, Ruby.”
“Eyes up here.” I pointed my index finger and middle finger at my face. “My boobs don’t have a mouth, but if you keep staring at them, they will bite you.”
He grinned and it was just sly of sleazy. “Promise?”
I snickered. “I walked right into that one.”
He laughed. “I appreciate nice tits. What can I say?”
Allen was one of the few men who could get away with being a little sleazy. Madison had introduced him as a cousin. Her brother was out of town, and she swore again he knew why I was here. She also mentioned that she might’ve asked him when he was drunk and he might not remember he’d said yes afterward, but the bar’s books were getting too bad to ignore. His reputation was tanking the place. She hoped to remedy some of the damage via social media. I could help with that.
Madison breezed out of the back room and sat on the stool next to me. She adjusted her notebook and picked up her pen. “Sorry, where were we? Oh, the algorithm.” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand that.”
“It’s an ever-changing thing, but the important part is that others spend a ton of time understanding it so you don’t have toreinvent the wheel. Here’s what I’ve gleaned.” I happily geeked out on all things scroll feed and for-you-page related. I glossed over the different posts I’d tried, the types of videos that I’d found responded the best, and other variations I had tried over the eighteen months I’d worked at Copper Summit.
Allen placed a third drink in front of me with slightly more Coke than the last time.
“Just get comfortable with notes and spreadsheets. If you have someone who can design the shit out of a spreadsheet, it helps so much. Whatever I asked for, Tenor could—” My breath caught in my throat. My vision got all cloudy. I swiped at my eyes. Tears. Dammit.
“Everything okay, Ruby?” Madison asked softly.
No. It hadn’t been okay for almost a month. All I got for trying to be true to myself was lingering heartbreak. “You ever fall in love with someone and then they hurt you and you want so badly to forgive them but you’re scared?”
Her dark brows lifted the more I prattled.
I sucked down more of my drink. “Yeah. I’m pathetic.”
“No.” She sighed. “You’re relatable.”
“Really?” I sniffled and emptied the rest of my glass. The ice tinkled as I knocked it back. Madison had said the drinks were on the house. My second time getting free drinks.
