“But I didn’t throw anything away. You did that before I had the chance to.” Willow’s voice caught as she tried hard to halt the tears threatening to spill like a waterfall. She didn’t want to lose it—not in front of her father.
Thankfully, her momma realized this and ushered Daddy to the door. “Time for you to leave, Richard. While I try to fix this mess you made.” She pushed him out the door. “And don’t you think for a second this conversation is over. When I get home, you and I are going to have words.”
Willow had already dissolved into tears by the time her momma wrapped her up in her arms, rocking her back and forth and telling her everything would be okay. Now that they knew the truth, everything would be all right.
Except it wouldn’t. Because, truth or not, Finn had left. The rumor mill was still cranking full time in Havenbrook, and she’d heard just that morning he and Drew had headed back to California.
Once again leaving Willow behind.
* * *
Willow knewshe shouldn’t take advantage of her daddy’s guilt by continuing to call in sick to work, but three days over the course of five years could hardly be considered abuse of sick days. Besides that, she needed time to process what her daddy had done before she saw him again. And she definitely couldn’t process that on top of all the whispers in town.
So she’d holed up in her house, her ass making a permanent indent on the couch as she’d watched daytime television and ate her weight in microwave popcorn. She hadn’t even had the desire to paint anything, her half-finished canvas sitting and waiting for her. But she’d started it when things had been good with Finn. Though it was just a painting of the sunset over the field on Old Mill Road, it oozed happiness. Contentment.
If she touched it right now, she’d ruin it.
Her front door opened, the smell of Chinese food wafting over to her. She twisted her head to look behind her toward the front door. There stood Mac, Rory, and Avery, one holding dinner, one carrying The Sweet Spot’s signature bright pink box, and the other a stack of movies.
“Reinforcements have arrived,” Avery said, dumping the movies on the table. She lifted Willow’s legs off the couch and sat down, then draped them over her lap. “And we picked up a stray along the way.” She tipped her chin toward Rory.
“We’re here to smother you with affection.” Rory walked past Willow, heading into the kitchen with the box of cupcakes.
“And shitty movies.” Avery patted Willow’s leg.
“And shittier food.” Mac pulled out a white carton and passed it to Willow. “Kung Pao Chicken—or what passes for Kung Pao Chicken in good old Havenbrook.” She grabbed another carton and passed it to Avery before pulling a third out. “Sweet and sour for the wild child, Ror—”
Willow glanced up only to find Mac’s mouth dropped open as she stared behind Willow. She turned and looked into the kitchen. Rory stood at the counter, biting into what appeared to be her second cupcake, one liner already discarded on top of the box.
“What?” she snapped, her mouth full, chocolate icing rimming her lips. “I’m an adult, and if I want to have my dessert first, I can.” Rory made quite a sight, her hair perfectly done, makeup a bit heavier than usual but still subtle, wearing a pretty dress as she inhaled a cupcake. She looked like she was headed for a night out on the town, not a night in with takeout and bad movies.
“How come you’re all dressed up?” Willow asked.
“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Rory grabbed the carton Mac held out, then plucked out a piece of chicken with her fingers and popped it into her mouth.
Willow exchanged a look with Mac. Had their sister been possessed? It was probably nothing, but truth be told, Willow latched on to any small thing that took her mind off the tragedy that was her love life.
Fortunately, Mac was on the same page. “The girls at home with Sean?” she asked.
“No. The girls are with the sitter I hired so Sean and I could enjoy a lovely dinner out. But he thought working late would be a better use of his time on our anniversary. Never mind that he’s worked late every damn day for the past two months. Never mind that whenever I’ve called on those late nights, his new assistant,Desiree,has been there too.” She shoved another piece of chicken in her mouth. “Now, can we drop it, please? And will someone put in one of those shitty movies already?”
Willow’s eyes grew huge, her shock mirrored on Mac’s face. Willow could count on one hand the number of times she’d heard Rory swear. Or talk badly about her husband—come to think of it, Rory hadneverspoken poorly about Sean. And while Willow certainly didn’t have a lot of experience in marriage woes, in her inexperienced book, skipping your anniversary dinner with your wife to hang around at the office was epic level of douchiness.
“Hey, Rory?” she asked.
“What?”
“You wanna borrow some yoga pants and a shirt?”
Rory’s shoulders sagged, and she gave the subtlest dip of her chin in acknowledgment. It probably made Willow a horrible sister, but it was nice to know she wasn’t the only one whose love life was imploding. And to see it happening to Perfect Rory? Was there hope for any of them?
It’d only been a week since Finn had left Havenbrook without a goodbye. Though, could Willow really blame him? She’d told him to get out of her life for good. Hadn’t answered his calls or his texts when he’d tried getting ahold of her. And by the time she’d found out the truth from her daddy, he’d already been gone.
Only a week, and yet it felt like a lifetime. She’d thought the pain she’d felt when she was younger had been raw and intense, but the truth was it had nothing on what she felt now. Because now, it wasn’t just sadness over his absence. It was regret for not listening to him when he’d tried to tell her—and she had no doubt that was exactly what he’d tried to do. And mourning for a lost love so powerful it could’ve moved mountains.
Despite wanting to hide away in her house, she’d done the adult thing and had gone back to work. The whispers had stopped, surprisingly. She wasn’t sure what had their attention that was more intriguing than her and Finn, but she wasn’t complaining.
She’d been home for a couple hours already. Had made herself a gourmet dinner of frozen pasta in a cardboard box. She had all the fixings to make her favorite, but those damn sandwiches were so intertwined with Finn now that she couldn’t stomach them. It turned itself inside out at the thought. So instead, she was the frozen meal queen, at least when Mac wasn’t home to shove something down her throat.
