“The lawyers are completely confident that I’ll keep one hundred percent of the inheritance. But they did let slip that Trey hired some slippery ambulance chaser, and there’s a chance he’ll try to pull a fast one, claiming emotional infidelity.”
“Oh, Summer.” She reached across the table, and I met her halfway, feeling her hand grasp mine and squeeze. “I have no doubt you’ll get every penny, but I can’t imagine how tough that was for you to hear. I’m here if you need anything. A drink. A shoulder. A shovel. Perhaps a travel companion? Hell, we could go visit the country your aunt is from. Italy, right? How amazing would that be?”
“Maybe. I would love to see where she lived and find out if there are more relatives I haven’t met.”
“Yes. We could absolutely do that. Eat pizza for breakfast. Drink wine. See the sights. Tour vineyards.”
“That sounds amazing,” I mused, before feeling a twinge of guilt for jumping at the opportunity to leave Dad. He was healingso well, but with his age and health, I couldn’t justify being that selfish.
Plus, Maverick,a voice whispered, reminding me of whatever was budding between us. For all I knew, he wasn’t looking to start anything, but a part of me remembered the sweeter parts of our night together. The way he held me and cherished me. That wasn’t something you did if your goal was only to have a one-off.Right?
My thoughts continued to spiral until our server stopped by to refill the water glasses. I shook my head and smiled at Mina.
“Thanks for saying that, and it’s something to think about. But now I want to hear about all the amazing things you want to do when you travel.”
“I still can’t get past the fact that this is really happening.”
I let go of her hand and patted the top before settling mine on my lap.
“I want to try new things. Eat weird food. Sleep with a random guy. Or five. Or don’t. The point is to leave each place I visit with no regrets.”
“That sounds amazing,” I said, pulling my Bloody Mary closer.
“Well, I’ve been trying to stay positive, but the overwhelming fear of taking this big of a risk is scary. I feel like I need to defer to the adult in the room before realizing I’m the damn adult.”
I chuckled, plucking the bacon from my drink and taking a bite of the salty goodness. In truth, I felt anything but qualified to give life advice. Between Dad, the inheritance, my divorce, and the complicated feelings about my not-quite-next-door-neighbor,my qualifications landed somewhere between shoveling snow in the summer and ridding the beach of sand.
I finished the bacon, wondering how I could spin the conversation while still having her think I possessed a moderate amount of emotional intelligence.
“I’d like to defer to another adult half the time as well. Years of being married to a narcissistic jerkface who constantly needed his ego stroked to make up for his complete lack of morals and dignity will do that to a person.” I shrugged, wincing at my harsh words.
“Damn, but good for you. Getting out of that shitty situation couldn’t have been easy. Or maybe it was after seeing the writing on the wall.”
“Probably a little of both. But no more about that. I hadn’t meant to bring it up. Tell me more about your cruise.” I encouraged as our server dropped off breakfast and my mouth watered with anticipation. “Was it the one through the Caribbean?”
“No. I booked a fourteen-day cruise through Alaska. Whales. Icebergs. Wilderness, you know?”
“That sounds amazing. You’re going to have the best time.”
“I hope so,” she said, pulling her plate closer and covering her waffles with an obscene amount of syrup. “But for now, I need a distraction or I’ll spiral with the million things on my to-do list.”
“A distraction?” I asked before moaning around a bite of breakfast. The creamy sausage gravy complimented the buttery biscuit, pairing with the Bloody Mary perfectly and making me thankful that I wasn’t some stick-figure woman suffering through celery for breakfast, ice chips for lunch, and watered down oxygen for supper.
“Yes, please. Just tell me your grocery list or your hair care routine. Anything that will occupy my mind. Hell, tell me your deepest, darkest secret or let’s solve the energy crisis. Tell me all the things, Summer.”
“Oh gosh. The energy crisis. I suppose we could brainstorm other ways to use recycled cooking oil? Potatoes can charge your phone, you know? Maybe that’s the answer. Potato powered Hondas. And after we submit that patent, we can conquerdeveloping a bra with shoulder straps that don’t slip down. Perhaps seamless panties that stay out of your butt crack?”
“All admirable pursuits,” she said, giggling as the server brought more syrup and refilled our waters. Mina rubbed her hands together before smothering her breakfast in the additional syrup. I speared a sausage patty and dipped it in my eggs, wondering what other worldly challenges we could face with diversions, alcohol, and carbs.
“True. But if you were looking for a lighter topic, I suppose we could discuss how Maverick stayed over last night.”
“What?” she exclaimed, her fork clattering onto the plate, causing the bartender to look our way and raise an eyebrow. Her dramatics caught me unaware, but knowing she cared enough to see what a big deal this was had me smiling. “Why didn’t you open with that juicy morsel?”
“Because I’m still trying to wrap my brain around last night.”
“I’ll bet that’s not the only thing you wrapped around.”
“You have no flipping idea,” I said before widening my eyes as she laughed.
