And yet…
Leo’s voice was smooth, familiar, a voice I’d once loved and trusted. I drew in a choking breath—half shiver, half sob.
It made me sad and angry at the same time.
There was a pause, just long enough for me to hear him exhale, like he wanted me to imagine him sitting there thinking of me.
And then, “I miss you, Looney. The show’s not the same without you. The set’s falling apart. Ed changed the color scheme, but that means reprinting all the graphics—idiot move. And the herbs? They’re dying. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Probably everything.”
I blinked.
He sounded so lost. So…defeated.
But I started shaking my head.
Leo knew exactly how to tug at my heartstrings. To make me second-guess myself.
And for one shameful second, it almost worked.
Until I remembered:
Those weren’t my herbs anymore.
And I wasn’t his Looney.
I closed the voicemail without listening any further and deleted it on the spot, my heart racing, hands shaking. Why hadn’t I deleted his message the second I saw it? Instead, I’d reopened a healing wound, like an idiot.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I waited for the little storm I’d unleashed to pass. An emotional thundercloud, nothing more. Just breathe in…and out.
Once I found something close to equilibrium, I made sure to turn off the feature that had allowed my ex-boyfriend to track my every move and then headed straight for the hottest, longest shower I could take.
And much later, when I climbed into bed, I did my best not to think about any of it.
HOLY GUACAMOLE
By the time I made it outside early the next morning, the bus was already waiting in front of the hotel, idling beneath the still-pale morning sky like a sleepy giant that had just finished its first cup of coffee.
Because, personal lives aside, Tay had a schedule to keep. And Tay’s schedule was sacred.
I climbed aboard, feeling like I’d done this a thousand times before instead of just… Was this really only day three? It felt like so much longer. Maybe because every single second of our days was filled to the brim. And yesterday…had been unexpected.
And…fun.
Really fun.
Until Noah had disappeared when he’d taken his phone call, leaving me feeling like an idiot for assuming he liked hanging out with me as much as I’d enjoyed hanging out with him.
Oh my God, I felt like I was in high school again.
Now, as I stepped onto the bus, I was second-guessing everything I’d told him yesterday. Had I talked too much? Overshared? Had he spent the entire gondola ride down thinking of ways to get away from me?
And as if my spiraling thoughts weren’t enough, there was also my call with Ashley. And Leo’s confusing voicemail.
To top it all off, as I made my way down the aisle, I spotted Babs once again seated next to Mrs. Grady, her crochet hook gliding through yarn with the focus of a woman entirely immune to relocation. Dressed in her usual purple-and-mint tracksuit, she looked like a queen claiming her throne.
When her gaze landed on me, she winked. “Morning, sweetheart.”
Then, right back to Mrs. Grady: “You’re gonna have to frog it, Christine.”
