Yes,this was juvenile.
Wendy could stand back and look at her behavior and see it for what it was.
Did that ability change the fact that her heart was broken?
Nope.
Did it change the fact that it wasn’t her own dang fault?
Still no.
Did it mean that she was going to get the courage to do something about it any time soon?
Also no.
Seeing Tripp with that woman had brought back every fear, every insecurity, and every single thing she’d disliked about Tripp, only now it warred with everything she loved about him.
She could see the potential he had when he was with her. She’d witnessed what it was about him that had made Olivia like him so much. And stupidly, she’d believed that he’d change for her.
Stupid.
Yep, that was what she’d been. Naïve and ridiculously hopeful. What had she expected would happen when she insisted on keeping Tripp at arms’ length? That he’d eventually fall to his knees and beg her to change her mind so they could give whatever this was a go?
That would have been nice.
And she hated the way her heart leaped in her chest at the thought of him laying it all out to her like that.
The truth of the matter was that her heart was too tender right now to see him face to face and tell him she needed to end their strange friendship. She couldn’t look him in the eye, knowing that he wanted to see other women.
Because she was selfish and she wanted him all for herself.
A little voice told her she should just tell him that so he could be the bad guy when he inevitably got that look on his face. The one that said he was interested but not that interested.
She groaned and let her forehead fall atop the desk in her office. She’d seen Tripp’s truck before he climbed out and hurried into the shop. Thankfully, he hadn’t cornered her anywhere too public. Nor had he tried to get to her at home.
It was only a matter of time. She had to remind herself of that fact daily.
Each day only got worse. She continued to imagine him taking girls out just for the fun of it. Sure, they might not even kiss or hold hands, but that didn’t prevent her stomach from going rogue on her and churning like it wanted to upend everything she’d eaten in the last couple of days.
The shop would be closing down soon and if she managed to stay put in the office until Serenity hung the closed sign in the door, she’d be able to slip out of here without risking seeing anyone.
Her office door opened then footsteps shuffled inside. Then the door closed. That was what had her lifting her head because why would her door need to be shut if the only two people in the shop were in this room?
Only she wasn’t with just Serenity. Hallie stood by her side and the pair of them looked almost livid.
“Spill.” Hallie’s stern one-word statement made Wendy want to shrink back in her chair and slither away like the vermin she related to lately.
“I don’t?—”
“Oh, enough.” Hallie glanced to Serenity who gave her a short nod. “We know you’re upset with Tripp and honestly, we’ve known him long enough to believe that he’s at fault. But you’re not talking to us about it and that means you’re letting whatever this problem is fester. So out with it. Tell us what the idiot did, and we can go on attack mode.”
Wendy glanced from Serenity to Hallie and back. “He’s not the idiot.”
Hallie snorted but Serenity’s expression remained unchanged.
“I mean it. I’m the dumb one. I’m the person who messed up.”
Hallie rolled her eyes and plopped down in one of the two chairs on her side of the desk. “Okay, so tell us what you did that made you think it was a good idea to hide. We’re on your side, sweetie. You don’t have to be the one to go dark.”
