“What?” I finally asked.
“Small town,” she said by way of explanation.
I exhaled a sigh. “What gossip have I missed?”
“It seems to be contained so far. Kyle called Lucas last night.”
I leaned on the sales counter. Funny that he’d call Lucas and not Dylan, who was his best friend. Then again, he’d bank on the fact Lucas would talk to Cassandra, and Cassandra would talk to me. “Interesting.”
“You okay?” she asked.
“Depends. What did Kyle want Lucas to tell you?”
She laughed. “Yeah, I wondered why he’d suddenly decided to share with Lucas, too. He told Lucas you called the wedding off permanently. Does that mean you guys broke up?”
I rolled my eyes. “I believe my words were along the lines of ‘I think you’ve already made that decision.’” Tears welled in my eyes. “Yeah. I think we’ve hit the end of the road.”
“Must have been some fight. What happened?”
I hesitated, then decided I trusted Cassandra. “We’re working on a project together and he started with the condescension. He wanted to control things beyond his reach and I didn’t have patience for his mood. I called him out for postponing the wedding and told him to stop feeling sorry for himself.”
Ash head-butted my arm. Grateful for her unwavering love, I picked her up and cuddled her. “To tell you the truth, I’m kind of tired of the back and forth. I’ve had my doubts before, even though we’ve managed to make it this far.
“I do love him, but he is who he is, and I am who I am. Apparently he told Lucas we broke up rather than trying to talk this through with me. Honestly, I think it’s been over for a while now.”
“What can I do?” Cassandra asked.
“Hold onto the gossip. I don’t know where we go from here, but we’ve dealt with the court of public opinion in the past. I’m not willing to do that again.”
She twisted her fingers in front of her lips to indicate her silence.
“In more good news,” I went on, “how was our bottom line last week?” Sales at the boutique had been down. We were barely breaking even under the new business model, and it was tourist season.
Cassandra frowned. “I’m bringing in more from alterations than from clothing sales. It’s discouraging. Your botanicals are steady. Did you get a new contract to supply the B&B with soaps and lotions?”
“Sally was trying to negotiate a better deal,” I replied. “I’m pushing to raise the prices, but I don’t want to drive her away.”
“She’s already getting a deal. Don’t back down,” Cassandra said. “If she isn’t willing to negotiate, it’s more likely personal than business, and if that’s the case, she isn’t going to sign a new contract anyway.”
Just what I needed. “Another reason not to talk about my personal life around town. Everyone sided with Kyle last time we broke up. Nothing’s changed since then.”
“Not everyone, and you and Kyle haven’t broken up,” Cassandra said. “You’re just going through a rough patch.”
“Not this time, and not if Kyle is calling Lucas to talk about it. We’re done.” My voice broke. I couldn’t do this again. Our relationship had weathered some fierce storms. I didn’t have the fight in me for another one, and I didn’t appreciate his resurging patronizing attitude. I drew a shaky breath. “I need to focus on the business.”
“Then we should talk about new revenue streams. We could add shelving space for consignments again.”
“I thought you said new revenue streams. The crafters were the ones who pulled out before. Nothing has changed to warrant a decision to come back.”
Cassandra slouched into her seat behind the sewing machine. “I feel like I’ve let you down. My clothing line was supposed to help save the shop.”
“No, the shop was supposed to give you an opportunity to showcase your talent. We’ve done that.”
“And failed...”
The bell over the door rang and a young man walked in, one I’d sold a stock fragrance to a week or so ago. He shot a glance at Cassandra, and headed my direction. I set Ash on the counter, and the cat returned to her rug.
The customer stood beside me and cast another glance over his shoulder. “You know that perfume you sold me?” he said, his voice low.
I nodded.
“Do you have something to neutralize it?”
My eyes widened with my surprise. “As I recall,” I said, keeping my voice low to match his, “you were trying to impress a certain young lady? Hoping the fragrance would increase her affections for you?”
“In a manner of speaking,” he replied.
I tilted my head. “Perhaps you’d like to elaborate?”
He pursed his lips, his cheeks coloring. “I thought it might help me, you know, convince her to sleep with me.”
Unintended consequences. “That isn’t what happened?” I asked.
“It didn’t work. Worse, now she flirts with every guy she meets. It’s like it gave her confidence or something. How do I get her to stop and focus on me?”
Wow. Another man trying to manipulate his girlfriend. “Check your motives,” I said bluntly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Do you care about her? Want to pursue a relationship with her? Or were you just interested in getting her into bed?”
He frowned at me. “She’s supposed to be my girlfriend.”
Why did that sound like something Kyle might say? Was he trying to control her? Or did he have real feelings? “At this point, you’ll have to work it out with her. Talk to her. Tell her how you feel. Or not.”
He scoffed. “I can have any woman I want. Who needs your stupid perfume anyway?” He stormed out and I dropped onto the stool behind the counter.
Why did I get the feeling my botanicals were about to take a hit, along with Cassandra’s fashions?
Chapter 10
The internet store brimmed with orders on Tuesday, a bright spot in an otherwise murky day. I grabbed shipping boxes, printed packing lists and labels, and plucked the requested
