“Ashley?” Mila sounds worried. Slowly, I open my door, and she pulls me straight in for a hug, and for once, I let her.
“I know you don’t hug, but too damn bad, I’m hugging you,” she says into my shoulder, and I just nod and let my tears fall.
She pulls back after just a brief moment, and tugs me around the side of the building to a separate door. “This leads to the apartment upstairs. Go on up, I’ll grab some food and come upstairs.”
Numbly, I just nod and do what she says. It’s obvious she knows something’s up. She’s the one who sent me to the winery to find Finn, so it’s not a stretch for her to assume it went badly since I’m back so soon.
Oh, and my face is blotchy and swollen from crying. Can’t forget that part. I make my way up the stairs and find the door unlocked. When I walk in, I find a cute studio apartment. It’s furnished, and there are some fun touches that make it clear Mila’s done some decorating. The sign in the kitchen says, “Pies Before Guys,” and the throw pillow on the couch has a cartoon donut on it.
I sink down on the couch and pull the donut into my chest and let out a loud sigh. I’m exhausted. Not just from what happened with Finn today, but from the entire week. Hell, the entire month. The stress of making sure the tasting room was exactly as I envisioned. The tumultuous beginning to whatever you want to call my relationship with Finn. The extreme highs and lows of being with him. My dad getting sick. And today. What I thought was going to be a great day, the start of a new beginning, going down spectacularly in flames.
The door flies open and Mila comes into the apartment carrying my bags. “You’re staying here, I assume, so I grabbed your stuff and locked your car.” She dumps it all on the floor, then heads back outside while I’m still sitting bewildered on the couch. Moments later she’s back, this time with a container that I can only hope is filled with baked goods. She takes that and places it on the counter.
“The others are on their way.”
“Others?” I manage to rasp out, my voice hoarse from crying. Mila walks over to sit beside me.
“Of course. We’re not letting you go through this alone.”
Well, damn, that just makes me start crying again.
Pretty soon the small apartment door is opening again. Serena walks in holding a bag and a bottle of tequila. Uh oh. Summer follows her in with a giant bag of popcorn. Paige and Abby are also here, each carrying takeout containers.
As they come in, I give everyone a watery smile from the couch, still clutching the darn donut cushion to my chest. Mila directs them on what to do, and I just watch, feeling a little detached.
“Okay. We’ll get to the main event, aka food and drink, in a minute. First of all, Ashley, we need to know what happened,” Mila says gently.
“Yeah, Mila just said heartbreak red alert and that we needed to get over here fast. What’s going on?” Summer adds, coming to sit beside me on the couch.
“Wait. Hold on, we need a little fortification.” Mila jumps up and runs to the kitchen before coming back with the container she brought in. When she opens it, I see it’s filled to the brim with brownies, cookies, and other pastries I can’t identify, but it makes me realize how hollow my stomach is, regardless. She passes it around, and once everyone has something in hand, she finally turns to me. “Now. Tell us everything.”
I take a deep breath, and do just that. Everything from the past week comes tumbling out, including my confusion about what Finn and I are doing, my very real fear about moving away from my dad, and then the decision to move to Dogwood Cove and be with Finn. But when I get to what happened at the winery, I lose it.
“After what my ex did to me, for Finn to even imply, just slightly, that I could lie to him or cheat on him, or whatever he thinks happened, it broke me. All the pieces I had put back together these last few months, all the hope and excitement I had over a future here with Finn, was destroyed. And I…I just…I don’t know what to do now.” I break down in giant, wracking sobs. The dam that held back my pain and grief has been broken, and if I thought I’d released my emotions earlier, I was wrong. This is a tidal wave, born of months of worry, heartache, and uncertainty. Most of all, it’s fueled by a deep fear that what could have been the love of my life was not what it seemed.
“I’m so sorry, guys.” I sniff when I eventually manage to contain myself. Taking the tissue Summer hands me, I wipe my eyes and my nose and I sigh deeply. “I want to say I could see myself staying here regardless of being with Finn or not, but now I’m not so sure.”
“First of all, what the heck are you sorry for? It sounds like Finn’s the one who’s been a total moron here, not you,” Mila replies indignantly. “And second of all, you can and you will stay here because you belong here.”
Serena walks over and pushes a frothy margarita into my hands. “Agreed. We’re your friends. You’re one of us. Besides, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen each other through heartbreak. And when it happened, everyone needed something different. Summer needed some space, so we got her out of town. Mila needed a girls night at the resort and Abby needed…well, truthfully, Abby was easy. She just had to realize none of us cared if she was dating her daughter’s principal.”
“Exactly,” Mila chimes in. “What you need is to know that you’re one of us now, and we’ve got your back. And since I’m in charge this time, you get what worked for me. Which means drunken slumber party.”
“Crude as it is, Mila’s catchphrase comes to mind. Chicks before dicks,” Paige chimes in and I giggle in spite of my raging emotions.
“Exactly. So, the plan is, we get drunk and talk about what an idiot he is, and then tomorrow, over hangover mimosas, we’ll figure out what to do to make it all better.”
I want so badly to believe her, that it’s as simple as a group of women — friends — figuring out a way to repair the damage done. But I’m not so sure it’ll be that easy. But then, Summer does the impossible, and with one question, brings a sense of clarity and simplicity to my mind.
“Do you still love him, even after what he said and did?” Summer asks, and a hush falls over the group.
My lip trembles. “Yes. I do.” I pause and think about it, letting that truth sink into me. “I do love him. Even though it kills me to think he could ever believe I would be unfaithful in any way. Especially after what my ex did to me last year. And I can sort of see how it might appear from the outside. Finn and I have both been so stupid about communication. This wasn’t entirely his fault.”
“Sounds like, not only do you love him, but you might be able to forgive him, too,” Summer states, and I nod in agreement.
“I think I already have. He’s not the only one to blame for this mess.”
The silence that follows only lasts a second before Mila claps her hands together and all eyes go to her. “Okay. Here’s the plan. When Finn gets his head out of his ass and comes back to grovel, which he will because he’s a good guy, we’ll give him hell, but forgive him. Because we’re not going to let a little miscommunication get in the way of love. Right?”
