She handed over her credit card. As she did, anxiety rolled through her. After today, she’d need to start watching every dollar. No more taxis. Back to the MetroCard.
She stepped onto the sidewalk, the weight of the box digging into her arms. The bakery’s lights glowed warmly against the late afternoon sky. Her phone read 5:42 p.m. Through the window, she spotted Lucy behind the counter, wiping down surfaces.
The bell above the bakery door chimed as she stepped inside.
Lucy looked up.
“Dev? What’s—” She stopped mid-sentence, taking in her expression—and the box in her arms. Realization set in. “Oh, honey,” she said, coming around the counter. She glanced at the young woman boxing pastries. “Emma, can you hold things down for a bit? I need a few minutes with my friend.”
Emma nodded.
Lucy guided her to a small table tucked into a corner, away from the last lingering customers. “Sit. I’ll get us some tea.”
Devney sank into the chair, every ounce of strength gone from her.
Lucy returned with two mismatched mugs. She set one down in front of Devney.
“I ruined everything,” she said. “The deal. My job. Everything we worked for, gone.”
Lucy slid a napkin across the table, then moved her chair closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as the sobs came—deep and wracking, held back for too long.
“They were talking about me,” she said, twisting a napkin between her fingers. “The office. Whispering. Speculating. I kept catching people staring, then looking away when I noticed.”
An expression shifted on Lucy’s face. “And?”
“And I couldn’t stand it,” she said, her voice breaking. “After what we’d shared—the way he’d held me, made love to me, the things he’d whispered, hearing them reduce it to cheap office gossip…” She shook her head. “I snapped.” She closed her eyes, the memory sharp as broken glass. “I stood in the middle of the office during the celebration and announced that we weren’t engaged. That it was all a business strategy to secure the Beauchamp deal.”
Lucy winced. “In front of everyone?”
“The entire room,” she confirmed. “Including Andrew Beauchamp, who chose that exact moment to return for his phone.”
“Oh, Dev.” Lucy reached for her hand.
“You should have seen Ronan’s face,” she said through tears. “I’ve never seen him look like that.” She wiped at her cheeks. “He trusted me.”
Her voice broke again, fresh tears falling. “Why did I do that? What was I thinking?” The questions weren’t for Lucy, but for herself. Questions she’d been asking since the moment she’d seen Andrew Beauchamp standing in the doorway.
“You couldn’t have known Beauchamp would walk in at that exact moment.”
“She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
She reached into the box and pulled out her bedazzled sunflower pen. “The most unprofessional thing on my desk. He used to look at it with this expression like he couldn’t decide whether to be annoyed or amused.”
Lucy took a sip of her tea. “You left? No confrontation? No explanation?” .
“I left the ring on my desk,” she said. “It seemed like the right thing to do. When you walk away from someone you’ve…” She trailed off, unable to finish. “You leave the ring behind.”
“But you paid for that ring,” Lucy said clearly confused.
“I know. Stupid, right?” She twisted the pen between her fingers. “But it didn’t feel like mine anymore.”
“Because the feelings behind it became real?” Lucy asked.
She couldn’t meet her friend’s eyes. “Maybe. Not that it matters now. The worst part is that I meant what I told you yesterday. About my feelings for him.”
“Why not tell him?” Lucy asked.
She gave a short, bitter laugh. “He’ll never believe me.”
