He even smiled.
“Are we okay?”
He wrapped me in another hug. “I’m pissed, Kinsley. I’m pissed you didn’t feel like you could tell me. I’m pissed he broke a promise he made. I’m pissed everyone but me seemed to know about your relationship, but you aren’t responsible for that. Those are my feelings to work through.”
“I am responsible. I caused them.”
“But you didn’t set out to hurt me, and knowing your dating track record, it’s not like you magically seduced him one random evening.”
I punched him lightly in the side and stepped back, sniffing. I wiped my cheeks to remove any remnants of tears now that I’d stopped crying.
“I really am sorry.”
“I know you are.” He walked back into the open plan kitchen and grabbed his beer. “Kins, what you said. Before you left.”
“What?”
He stared at the island counter. “You said you might be falling in love with him. Then you said it didn’t matter if I’m hurting.”
I swallowed, staring at a spot over his head. “I don’t want you to be hurting by this.”
“I am, Kinsley. And I’m going to hurt.” He looked at me. “But reconciling those feelings is my own issue, not yours. And if you were insinuating that you were going to end things with Josh because of me, then I might just punch you, too.”
I jerked my gaze down to him. “What?”
“My feelings are my own.” He said the words firmly, like he was speaking to a child. “Any hurt I feel now is temporary. I’ll get over it, and the anger doesn’t come from the fact you think you’re falling in love with my best friend.”
My cheeks warmed.
“In fact, there’s nobody I’d trust your heart with more than him.” His voice softened. “But I need time to wrap my head around this, all right? Just give me some time. And that goes for Josh, too.”
“Okay.” I backed toward the front door slowly. “I’ll tell him… What? That you’ll call him when you’re ready?”
“No, tell him I’ll see him at work tomorrow.” His lips twisted wryly to one side. “And that I’m going to fucking ignore the bastard.”
For the first time in what felt like all day, I fought a smile. “Duly noted.” I opened the front door and paused, looking back over my shoulder. “And, Colt?”
“Mm?”
“I’m sorry about Amber,” I said honestly. “But your house looks amazing, and I’m really happy for you.”
“Oh, yeah.” He lifted his beer. “Can’t wait to see you do the walk of shame from Josh’s front door on a regular basis.”
“Oh, shut your ass.” I slammed the door behind me, but that exchange was apparently enough to fully thaw the ice, because his laughter rang through the door and filled the hallway with a warmth that made me smile.
Maybe this would be okay after all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – KINSLEY
rule twenty-four: honesty is the best policy.
unless you ate the last cupcake. then lie.
“What did you do?” Holley looked at Saylor, aghast, over the top of her laptop.
Saylor touched one of her Princess Leia-style buns. “You don’t like it?”
“But you’re not blonde anymore!”
No, no, she was not.
Her hair was now bubblegum pink.
Maybe that break-up had affected her more than I’d thought…
Then again, it was a break-up, she was a woman… We did wild stuff after those.
“No shit,” Saylor drawled. “You must have had your coffee this morning to notice that.”
“I like it,” I said, admiring the tasteful shade of pink that coated every last previously blonde strand. “It’s very you.”
Holley looked at me. “Obnoxious and in your face?”
“Thank you for noticing,” Saylor said brightly, sitting on the table and swinging her legs. “I like it and that’s all that matters.”
“You’re welcome for the compliment.” I rolled my eyes and put the last sale sticker on the book on my pile. We had some old stock that needed clearing before the holiday books hit the shelves, and since we were at the very tail end of tourist season, we’d decided now was the perfect time.
“Thank you, princess,” Saylor snarked. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Yes, rein your attitude in and hang this in the window as you do so.” Holley shoved a huge, rolled up sheet of paper toward her and adjusted her glasses. She’d run out of contacts and wasn’t happy about it. “It’s the sale poster.”
“I guess that means I have to redo my board,” I said sadly. “I like that bear.”
Saylor grabbed the poster and the tape. “Your bear looks like it got in a fight with Mike Tyson and lost.”
“I take back my compliment about your hair.”
“I am trying to concentrate,” Holley sang.
“On what?” I grabbed the stack of books and carried them over to where she’d been diligently working on her laptop for the last hour.
“Our online store.” She said the words very carefully, never looking up from the screen. “Winter is always a little slow, and although we get by, there’s nothing wrong with expanding our horizons.”
“I was wondering when we’d finally enter the twenty-first century,” Saylor said, jumping back from the window. “I have ideas for that.”
“You do?” I looked at her. “Like what?”
“Mystery book boxes. Like a subscription where people sign up and fill out a questionnaire and each month we send them a new release that fits their likes, but they won’t know which book until they get it.”
Holley held up a finger, then set it on the trackpad, moved, and typed furiously. “Word document,” she said, answering our silent questions.
A lightbulb dinged in my brain. “Oh, hey, I actually had an idea a couple of weeks ago. We could sell merchandise, too. Like t-shirts and sweaters and mugs and stuff. We’re always buying stuff, so we know there’s a market for it.”
“I love that!”
Say clicked her tongue. “Yeah, but none of us can do design work.”
“Tori,” I answered.
Holley nodded. “She did the bones of the website for me. In fact, she set it up so all I have to
