I exhaled slowly.
“You’re right, I didn’t. But we don’t know the truth so we can choose to believe the harmful thing, or we can say maybe they were just talking about how beautiful your flower arrangements were and they didn’t want your ego to grow.”
Ellie chuckled softly. “I doubt that.”
“And why’s that?”
“Don’t you remember right before I left Faircloud last year, all the things that were happening? All the looks and whispers? And then the final straw was when the crochet club called me crazy after I overheard them whisper-yelling about the whole thing. Logan, they told me I was hearing things.”
I remembered that night perfectly clear. She came home like a bat out of hell, and I’d been having dinner at the Cassidy’s. Ellie stomped upstairs, grabbed a jacket, and then stomped right back down and out the door without a word.
Boone stood to go check on her, but I insisted.
I found her at their swimming hole, sobbing into her hands. I spent hours sitting by her in silence as she let it all out.
“Or how about the people from our high school posting about me in the online forum? They all loved to share their opinions about my failed relationship and discuss how they would never have let it get to that point.”
Ellie faced the register, pressing buttons until the drawer popped open.
“Ace,” I murmured, and she paused. “These people talk about anything and everything because they’ve got nothing better to do. I can promise you, it is old news to them.”
She turned to face me, and I pulled her into a hug. She sagged against me.
“Their judgment means nothing. They don’t know you, and I honestly don’t think those women were talking about you.”
A quiet beat stretched between us.
“Come on,” I whispered. “Let’s get out of here and leave this behind. What do you say?”
Ellie nodded, a tiny motion.
“Let me grab my stuff. You mind manning the door so no one else wanders in?”
I gave her a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
She disappeared through the black swinging doors, and I stayed behind, hands in my pockets, gaze sweeping the space.
The shop reminded me so much of the Ellie I knew—organized chaos, bright colors, wild creativity, and hidden strength in every petal.
Ellie put on a brave face for everyone else, but I saw the cracks. The weight she carried. She was doing her best to reintegrate into Faircloud, to find peace in a place that hadn’t been kind to her. But pretending to be okay andbeingokay? Two different things.
She and I had always had this unspoken understanding. We just… got each other. Always had. From the time we were kids, carefree and laughing until it hurt, to now, a little worn from the world and a little more cautious.
We were childhood best friends.
Except for me, she was more. I’d been in love with her for as long as I could remember.
I never said a damn thing, though, because losing her friendship would break me more than holding onto the love ever could.
Through the glass window, I saw her truck across the street, and my brow furrowed. Ellie never parked there. Too exposed, too risky for dings and scratches. I made a mental note to ask about it later.
The swish of the swinging doors behind me brought my attention back just in time to see her walk out, eyes glued to her phone, thumbs moving fast.
She didn’t look up as she approached the front door, so I stepped in front of her and opened it. She walked through, still multitasking, using one hand to text and the other to flip her key ring around to lock up.
I let out a low laugh. She really could do ten things at once and still look effortless doing it.
Finally, she slipped her phone into her bag and met my eyes. “That was Penny,” she sighed. “She wanted to know when I’m planning to move in so she can grab the rest of her stuff.”
