‘I’m doing a collaboration tomorrow with Alex Rose,’ he had told her breezily. ‘This is what I’ve been waiting for for months.’
‘Oh yeah, sounds great,’ Willow had replied, trying to sound vague. The truth was, she was painfully aware that Jake was moving on and she wasn’t and that frustrated her.
Why should he be having all the fun?
Willow knew she should be happy for him and in many ways, she was; it was his continued lack of interest in her that upset her. He had stopped asking her how the wagon was doing, or even asking how she was, and when she had told him about Eric’s fall, he had been particularly dismissive.
‘So what – the guy has been drinking again! What do you want me to do about it?’
‘I don’t know – call him maybe? Check in.’ Willow remembered what Lucas had said and added, ‘He’s not well, Jake.’
Jake had scoffed at that point. ‘Yeah, not well in the head. Will, I’ve got a lot going on at the moment. I really don’t need to be listening to my dad’s drunken ramblings, OK! I don’t need your help.’
It was at that point that something had snapped inside of Willow. What was she doing here? This ‘break’ wasn’t working. He was still messaging her all the time but not even listening to her when he did. The lines between them were still so clouded and it wasn’t helping matters.
And was it even right to be continuing this relationship, broken or not, knowing full well her mind and heart were falling for someone else?
‘I’m sorry, Jake. I can’t do this anymore,’ she said finally.
‘What? What do you mean?’
‘This – us, whatever us is right now. I think it would be best if we put an end to it now.’ She sighed softly. ‘This break isn’t working. I need something more final.’
‘You’re actually breaking up with me?’ She heard the rasp in his voice. ‘Is that what you’re doing?’
‘Yes, yes I am.’
He sucked in a breath. Part of her wondered if he wasannoyed that she had made the decision, had taken control, rather than being upset that they were over.
‘I’m real sorry about this, Willow. I hope you will rethink. I really do,’ he said finally. ‘Maybe you just need some time? I wonder if you’re actually losing your mind out there!’
And then he had ended the call. Leaving Willow wondering if she really knew him at all. Had he ever believed in her?
Thinking of Jake now was hard. She felt a mixture of sadness and relief which was confusing, especially when other things in her life were going well and Sapphire’s campaign was clearly having an impact on her business. It was Saturday now, and the wagon was buzzing with customers.
All she could do was focus on the now. Anything else was too upsetting and stressful. She had to believe she was doing the right thing.
Macguire was standing next to the wagon drinking his favorite iced matcha; he seemed to be enjoying chatting to everyone in the line and telling them how amazing Willow’s drinks were.
‘I should employ you as my PR person,’ Willow joked. ‘You’re helping keep the customers happy.’
‘It’s nice to see it so busy; you really deserve this,’ Macguire said. ‘Unlike The Diner. It’s dead in there, and Lucas is in the worst mood ever, which isn’t helping. I didn’t want to stay in there. You could cut the tension with a knife.’
‘When is he actually happy?’ Willow muttered, shaking her head.
The frustrating thing was that if Lucas had been a bit nicer to her this week, she would have done all she could to encourage people into The Diner. Now she didn’t see thepoint. He clearly didn’t like her. Why should she make the effort?
Another customer threw his empty drink into the bin.
‘I came over from the Ridge to try this,’ he told her. ‘It’s delicious. I’ll definitely be back.’
Willow pushed away her thoughts. She had to enjoy this moment. She took a photo of her long line and posted it online with the hashtag #happymatchaday.
Within minutes key influencers were sharing her post. Sapphire sent a green heart emoji, and Esmae sent her an excited message.
It’s looking so good, Willow. And Sapphire’s posts were fire! I’ve already told Jed to book some time in the summer. We are coming to the mountains!
Maybe, despite Willow’s worries, things would be OK after all.
