Page 78 of Dandelions and Smoke

Since Emma is the general manager at the Frosty Mountain Resort and Blake told Joe, the manager at the Turtle Bay Tavern, to take his lady friend Katherine out on a proper Valentine’s Day dinner date, they are both needed at their jobs tonight. Before heading out for an early dinner, Emma stops when she notices I’m not getting ready or wearing the dress we picked out.

“What time is Chief picking you up?” she asks.

Not wanting to give anything away, I avert my gaze and accidentally lock eyes with Blake as he walks into the room. Seeing my face, he immediately locks in, but before he can pry, I answer Emma.

“A little change of plans. We rescheduled because he’s getting to see his son tonight.”

I’m smiling and am absolutely thrilled about this, but something in the way Blake looks at me tells me he’s not buying it. Luckily, this news is enough to distract Emma.

“Oh my goodness! That’s amazing. He must be so excited,” she beams.

My throat bobs as I swallow and blink away unwelcome tears.

“He is,” is all I manage to say.

A few minutes later, they head out, and Blake pulls me into a hug.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I see you,” he whispers in my ear before walking out the door.

I’ve barely made it to my room when I get a text from Billy.

Playboy: Change of plans? Looks like you’re my new wingman tonight! Fred will be thrilled.

I read the text and laugh, but with no one left in the house to hide from, I let my phone topple onto the bed and finally let myself fall apart. My ribs feel as though they’re cracking beneath the weight of everything I’ve been holding in, and my sobs are muffled as I bury my face in my pillow.

It hurts.

The thought of letting go of the only man I’ve ever loved wrecks me completely. I come undone, over and over again, until it feels like there’s nothing left of me to break. Lying here on my bed, feeling hollow, it’s only when the sun has stopped shining through my window that I realize how much time has passed.

After practicing my smile in the mirror and piling on enough makeup to hide the blotchiness on my face, I wait so that by the time I arrive at The Boozy Bear, everyone already has a solid buzz thanks to Mark and Remy keeping the drinks flowing behind the bar. I shouldn’t be around other people when I’m hurting like this. Everything feels too raw and close to the surface.

Still, if I hadn’t come out tonight, Billy would’ve shown up at my door later, shitfaced and checking on me after another night of pretending he wants to pick up girls while actually pining after my best friend. I don’t know why he bothers. We all know how he feels, but since she keeps turning him down, he continues his playboy ways. Now that Mark and Remy are dating, something we were all shocked to learn, he doesn’t even have a wingman to pretend with anymore.

Remy’s Singles Night is looking like a success. With more people than usual here in town for the Winter Fest next week, it looks like she’s taking full advantage of the opportunity to cash in before it slows back down for the season. I do a quick sweep of the dimly lit room, taking it all in as I try to ground myself. There are string lights with wooden heart garlands hung about, and mason jars with baby’s breath on every table.

Walking farther in, I notice small wooden heart confetti scattered across tabletops and a large wooden sign leaning against the exposed beam at the corner of the bar top, which reads Love is Brewing. The pool table, a deep red felt top on matte-finished reclaimed wood, looks stacked with players, as do the two vintage dartboards in the back.

It’s everything someone looking for a good time could ask for, but given that I feel like an exposed wire, every laugh, clink of a glass, and conversation feels too loud. I’m two seconds from bolting when Billy notices me, and his voice booms across the bar.

“Pinky!” he shouts in celebration as if my arrival is the highlight of his night.

Despite how crappy I feel, my lips twitch into a small smile, and I head over to where he and all our friends are hanging out at the bar top. Ainsley looks at me, confused, while Billy hops off the leather barstool and offers it to me.

“Look who it is,” Remy calls over her shoulder, shooting me a wink as she works the cocktail shaker in her hands before pouring its contents into several shot glasses lined up on the bar top. “My favorite non-alcoholic.”

Not having it in me to keep up with our familiar banter tonight, I settle for a teasing hair flip instead, looking up and tilting my head. She’s too busy to give my response a second thought. She runs the shots to a nearby table of women who squeal once they arrive.

“Oh great.” I rub at the pressure point near the ear that I’m now convinced I’ve lost hearing in. “We’re surrounded by woo girls.”

“What’s a woo girl?” Mark asks, appearing in front of us from behind the bar as he hands me my usual, a seltzer with lime.

“Watch and learn.” I hold up a finger and shout, “Girls Night!” and just as expected, the women erupt in a chorus of woos. “See?”

Mark and Billy glance back and forth between each other and the women, their mouths hanging open like I’ve shown them a magic trick.

“I see a party pooper.” Ainsley pins me with a suspicious gaze as she plays with the flowers in her hair. “What’s got you in such a snit? I’ve heard you give a good woo plenty of times.”

“Careful you don’t say that too loud around here, Ains,” Billy says with a laugh. “People might get the wrong idea.”