“I’m wallowing.” She flopped to her back and propped her head against the sofa arm.
Richard brushed a few stray chip crumbs off the couch cushion next to her leg. “Clearly.”
“You’re a happy newlywed. You don’t get to judge me,” she said dully. Finn and Tom were off doing an out-of-town couply thing, so she’d called in sick and devoted the day to her private grief. She would’ve thought so much crying would leave her hollow and empty, but instead she was heavy. Leaden. A dense monument of sorrow who just wanted to be left alone.
“Why are you here?” she grumbled.
“Byron’s having dinner with his brother tonight.” Richard moved an empty ice-cream container from the couch to the coffee table, flipped the bottom of his suit jacket up, and perched gingerly on the cushion next to her. “And you didn’t answer my last five texts.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Right.” He nudged an empty wine bottle on the floor by his foot. “I was worried, so I used my key to check on you.”
“That’s supposed to be for emergencies.”
“I think that’s what this is, sugar bum.” He leaned close to study her face, and she didn’t have the strength to slap a hand over her puffy eyes and oily T-zone. “The last time you had a breakup, you were closing down bars and dragging us all to sushi joints over the Indiana state line just because you could.”
“Yeah, well, last time my heart wasn’t destroyed.”
Richard rocked back in surprise. “That’s… incredibly honest. Where’s the sarcasm? Where’s the Josie sass?”
The concern in his tone made her swallow hard. “I don’t think I have any left. I’m broken.”
He made a sympathetic noise low in his throat. “Want to tell me what happened?”
“No.” With a soul-deep sigh, she pulled herself into a sitting position and reached for a magazine just to have something to do with her hands. She thumbed through the pages, aware that she was miles away from conveying “just enjoying my casual Friday night at home, thanks.”
“So are you going tomorrow?”
Her heart lurched. “No.” The word narrowly escaped her tight throat.
“Are you really not going to go see all that hard work pay off?”
The mild disapproval in his voice rankled. “Of course I’m not.” She sniffled miserably. “We b-broke up.”
“Help me understand what happened here.” He reached over and pulled the magazine out of her hands. “Because I’ve spent some time with him, and I’m here to tell you that Erik the Viking is wild about you.”
She exhaled a shuddery breath and dropped her chin to her chest. “He told me we weren’t happy.”
“Hedid?That shocks me.”
“Well, he told meIwasn’t happy.” She impatiently brushed away a tear. How did she still have moisture in her body left to cry out? “He said I measure my self-worth by how much I help others succeed.”
She looked to her friend for commiseration, but Richard merely tipped his head fractionally to the side before he said gently, “Oh sweetie. Did you not know?”
“I…” She looked at him helplessly. The nightclub launches, the galas, the open houses. Even his and Byron’s wedding. Had she really used the accolades from all the events she’d spearheaded to paper over the neediness inside her?
“Poor Erik.” Richard stood and walked to the kitchen. “Want some water?”
“Excuse me?” The words hit her like a slap to the face. “PoorErik?”
“Yeah, I think you want water,” he said calmly, grabbing two glasses and filling both. “And yes, poor Erik.”
“So much for loyalty,” she huffed.
“Oh stop.” Richard returned to the couch and handed over one of the tumblers.
“Why are you taking his side?” She swiped at her eyes with her shirtsleeve. “He dumpedme.”
