Dilynne reaches for the open bottle of wine, filling all of our glasses again as we make our way back to the living room, returning to our seats. “Lay it out, Vienna. Again, no judgment.”
Staring down into my wine glass as if it holds all of the answers, I take a minute to debate just how many details I should share.
“I—I just left a relationship shortly after Lydia died, and it wasn’t a great one,” I start.
Laney nods. “Okay…”
“My ex was…controlling, but charming. I fell for him hard and fast, and then it was too late when I realized who he really was. He was jealous, and it took me years to realize that wasn’t a good thing. When I finally did, it’s like I was stuck. He alienated me from my family and the few other friends that I had besides Lydia, but when things started to take a turn for the worse, I finally got the courage to leave.”
“He didn’t hit you, did he?” Dilynne asks. “Because if he did, you give me his address right now. I’ll grab my tools, and he won’t know what’s coming.”
I shake my head rapidly. “No, he never hit me…grabbed me really hard a few times, but that was it.” Reaching up, I rub the skin on my upper arm from where I felt his touch the last time.
Elodie reaches for my hand this time from her spot on the couch. “Then I’m proud of you for doing that—leaving him. It takes a lot of guts.”
Her words instantly make tears fill my eyes—because those are the words I never got to hear from Lydia and feel like I need now more than ever.
Lydia died before I left Cole.
It was a week after she was gone that I finally found the courage to leave, and then it took me months to get my ducks in a row.
But she never got to cheer me on when I did.
And I have no one to blame for that but myself.
Laney says, “I’m so sorry you went through something like that, Vienna. We all have past relationships that have affected us and shaped us in some way. But I say this with the most sincerity I can muster…” She takes a deep breath. “My brother would never treat you like that, and when he lost his wife, I saw a part of him shut off completely. Since you’ve been around, I’ve started to see glimpses of it again.”
“And what part is that?” I ask on a shaky breath.
Laney smiles. “His ability to find joy. When he talks about you? There’s a twinkle in his eyes and I can see him fighting the curl of his smile. He’s so determined to hang on to his struggle that he probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. But I’ve noticed and so has Fletcher.” She reaches for her phone and opens the screen to check her messages. “Speaking of my fiancé, he says that he just told Rhonan that we’re over here having girls’ night with you and he looks like there could be steam coming out of his ears.”
Dilynne stares up at the ceiling. “Yup, I could definitely see that.”
“Well since we haven’t talked, it’s not like I could have told him that I planned on hanging out with Laney tonight,” I say.
“Exactly. Don’t worry, though, I know how to handle my brother.” Laney flips her hair over her shoulder. “He’s going to accuse me of meddling in his life, but honestly? He’d be lost without me.”
“And Joanne,” Elodie interjects.
Laney points at Elodie. “True. But here’s what we’re going to do, Vienna,” Laney continues. “You’re going to keep doing what you’re doing, and let me, Dilynne, and Elodie handle him.”
“Uh…what do you mean?”
The three of them share a look before Dilynne turns to me and smirks. “We’re going to light a fire under his ass so he’ll finally admit that he wants to be with you.”
“And how are you planning to do that exactly?”
Laney rubs her hands together. “The best way for a man to get over his own fear is to make him scared of something else.”
“I—I’m not sure that I like the sound of this.”
Dilynne chuckles. “Honey, just let us handle everything. We’re gonna make Rhonan Hart drop to his knees for you. And when he does, you can thank us later with a cheesecake from Bites & Bliss on our next girls’ night.”
Saliva instantly pools in my mouth. “Oh my God, that was the best cheesecake I’ve ever had in my life.”
“I know. But that’s just because you haven’t experienced a man begging for you yet,” Elodie says, waggling her eyebrows. “And Rhonan Hart doesn’t even know what’s about to hit him.”
Chapter 18
