“Never.” It was true. She only worked part time, exactly why she had a roommate in the first place. “Mom, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
She picked at a loose thread on the couch. The thing about her mother was that she gave great advice. And man, she needed advice right now. “There’s this guy. I like him. A lot. And a few years ago, I told him how much I like him, but he didn’t reciprocate my feelings. After that, I told myself to leave it. That he wasn’t interested. But then he kissed me.”
“He kissed you?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah. And it was a good kiss. I could feel how much he cared about me in this kiss. But right after, he pulled away from me again.”
“Oh, sweetheart. That sounds tough. And it sounds like he’s been hurt. People don’t build walls like that unless they’ve felt them crumble before.”
She frowned. What had hurt him? Losing his mother? “I don’t know what to do.”
“What do youwantto do?”
“I want to break down those walls.” The response was instant, not a flicker of doubt.
“Well, darling, there’s your answer. Listen to your heart.”
Her heart screamed to fight for him. “Thank you.”
“I’m always here for anything you need, honey.”
“I know.” A part of Clara expected her mother to ask who he was. Or at least ask when she’d reveal his name.
She didn’t. “Are you sure you don’t need me to come by with soup?”
She forced her tired body up from the couch. “I’m okay. I’m going to make a big smoothie and have a long, hot shower.” The longest shower of her life. As long as Scarlett wasn’t in the other one, that was.
She might also put some needles in before her first client. She could use some acupuncture right now.
“Okay. I love you.”
Clara smiled. “I love you too, Mom.”
She hung up, her mind immediately on Holden again. On the kiss. The way he’d held her.
She wasn’t going to give up on him. She couldn’t.
Every muscle groaned as she walked to the kitchen.
Pain…Too. Much. Pain.
In the kitchen, she plugged in her Vitamix and had just started peeling a banana when her roommate walked in, already dressed in slacks and a T-shirt.
Clara cleared her throat. “You were fast today.”
“Thanks. I’ve got a lot on my to-do list.”
Clara nodded. “That’s great.”
“I noticed Helen wasn’t there,” Scarlett said. “I wonder if she’s feeling worse from the alcohol or the attack.”
“Probably both.” Clara dropped the banana into the blender. “Maybe even the stress of work too.”
Scarlett grabbed an apple and stopped. “She’s stressed at work?”
“Apparently. I don’t think things are great at the moment.”
