Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 82747 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82747 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Silence swarms around us, and normally, it would be no big deal to sit with Sage and not have a full-on conversation, but today feels different. I've been unable to silence the voices in my head, and they're on the verge of driving me a little insane, honestly.
"What do you think about what Adalynn, Madison, and Claire said this past weekend," I say after fighting the questions in my mind and losing.
"Which part?"
"The whole family and happily ever after."
"I think that's what some people strive for."
"But not everyone? Not you?"
She shrugs. "I've never discounted the chance that I might find someone to treasure and love the rest of my life, but I've never made it a part of who I am."
"Right."
"I mean, I can see the value in having that, but I've always been okay with being alone. I read a lot, and that's not something I feel like I want to change at this point in my life, and men are needy. They want attention, conversation, and stuff like that. I don't think I have the energy to give to a man, not if it means changing who I am."
"Sex is great," I remind her.
"Hmm," she says as if trying to pull some very distant memories to the forefront of her mind. "I can't recall."
I chuckle when she smiles. "I can tell you that there isn't a book that compares to the time I've spent with Mac."
"Then maybe stop avoiding him and go do the sex things," she suggests after another sip of her coffee.
"My life is such a mess right now."
"Because of Mac?"
I shake my head. "If anything, he's been like a light after months of darkness. I think I may have to sell the house to stay afloat."
"That seems like a last resort sort of thing."
"It is," I confess. "I don't see any other way."
"But where will you go? To the duplexes in town? Is there availability?"
"I haven't thought it through that far yet. I just know that I don't want to give up on my dream."
"That I understand. Maybe your luck will turn," she says, always the one to try and lift me up when I'm down.
"I don't think there's any luck left for me in Lindell."
"Now that," she says with a frown, pointing at me. "That's a defeatist attitude, and we don't allow that around here. Wouldn't you be sad about leaving your family home?"
"Do you remember my parents?" I ask with a quick shake of my head. "They're great grandparents to my brother's kids now, but they were sort of absent in our lives when we were growing up. They spent more time driving out of town for work than with us."
"How would they feel about you selling the house?"
I shake my head again. "I don't know that they'd even care. They didn't really have a connection to it either."
"I think you need to sit on it for a while or, at minimum, talk with Mac. I don't know that making decisions while you're being pulled in so many directions is the best thing to do."
I know where she's coming from, but I can't let whatever mess I've created with a man in town keep me from trying to move forward with my life and my career.
"Can I make a suggestion?"
I look up at her. "Will our friendship survive it?"
I'm only teasing, but doubt creases on her forehead as she pauses.
"Have you considered shifting gears in the business?"
I tilt my head. "What do you mean? I don't want to change my menu."
"I'm not saying change your menu, but maybe go back to basics."
I narrow my eyes. "Have you been talking to Mac?"
"What?" she snaps a little too quickly, raising my suspicions even higher.
"He suggested the same thing. Said to cook the things from my grandmother's cookbook."
"Might not be a bad idea, but that's not what I mean by basics. This is Lindell, a small town where not much happens. Maybe trying to keep a business alive with catering isn't the right direction. Have you considered pickup-and-go meals? Like offering a to-go dinner for families having to come in from the city. They wouldn't have to cook, but it's not some fast food they grabbed out on the highway. You said yourself, you saw less of your parents because they were always traveling. I'm going out on a limb here, but you either had takeout or your mom came in and spent another hour in the kitchen making dinner, right?"
"True," I mutter.
"Then consider it. People still get home-cooked meals and that is in line with the family values people in Lindell are always trying to protect. Hell, I bet the guys on Mac's crew would buy something every damn day. They're all bachelors who spend most of their paychecks down at the diner anyway."
"It's sounds good in theory, but—"