“This is the only way.” Ashley reached for the plate again, stealing another bite of the fritter before Kyle tugged it out of her grasp. Eyeing him, she placed the sugar-laden treat in her mouth and swallowed.
There was no pleasure in being right.
Kyle frowned, then turned to the garbage and dumped the uneaten donuts off the plate and into the trash. “I don’t care if you don’t want the business.” He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a folder. “I already signed it over to you.”
“What?” Her stomach cramped as she reached for the folder, pulling it into her lap. “But we didn’t work out the payment plan.”
“Doesn’t matter. I was prepared to give it to my niece without a fee. Why not someone I hold in even higher regard?”
Ashley’s eyes stung as they pored over the papers in front of her—official documents naming her the owner of Whimsical Weddings & More. Her hands shook as she closed the folder and pushed it back across the desk. “I can’t accept.” He didn’t know the whole truth about Derek and Claire’s wedding. “I stole the groom.”
A smirk tweaked the side of Kyle’s mouth. “You don’t live in a town with Carlotta Jenkins and not hear a little gossip now and again. But I don’t believe for a second that you stole anyone. Mr. Campbell stopped by himself yesterday afternoon and cleared the whole situation up.”
“He did?” What did he say? The words stuck to the roof of her mouth like the fritter had moments before.
“Yes, and so I don’t blame you one bit. In fact, I applaud you for finally going after what you want. Now if they’d actually been in love, that might have been another story, but in this case, I believe all worked out as it should have.”
He didn’t know the half of it, and this didn’t feel like the right time to tell him. Instead, Ashley focused on the papers in her lap. “I’m glad you don’t think badly of me, but there’s more to this decision than just the situation with Derek.” Her finger slid lightly along the right edge of the folder. “I’ve failed a lot of people lately, just like you were afraid I would. And I’ve just realized that I can’t choose my dreams over them.”
Leaning back in his chair, Kyle folded his hands across his stomach. “That’s not exactly what I’d hoped you’d learn in all of this.”
“No?”
“I wanted you to learn that you can’t be all things to all people.”
“But what about my people?” Her bottom lip quivered. “I’ve let them down in some big ways.”
“And if they’re really your people, they’ll forgive you for your failings, just like you forgive them when they fail you.” Her boss tilted his head. “Think about this. How many of the things on your plate are actually all about being there for your people? Or are they more about feeling like if you don’t volunteer for this or help with that, you aren’t gonna be important to anyone? Because let me tell you something, little miss. That’s not how love works. Do you love other people for what they do for you?”
“Of course not.”
“And the same can be said about you. Your sense of self-worth can’t come from what others think about you, because that’s always changing.”
She didn’t think that. But she couldn’t deny the extra burst of pleasure and relief she got when she did something for someone else—as if by doing so, she convinced herself they’d keep her around. “So where do we find it, then?”
Kyle took off his cowboy hat and scratched the top of his bald head. “You’ve gotta draw from somewhere deeper. Some find meaning in God, some just by looking within. All I know is that you have inherent value because you’re a human being, and you’re entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So you should try leaning into that last one.”
“But what if what I want isn’t what others want?” She shoved the image of Derek away, because this … this went deeper than that.
“If those others are really your people, they’ll want you to be happy. Period.” Twirling his hat, Kyle set it on his desk with a thump. “And if they’re not, then who cares what they want? Those people aren’t worth your time and attention anyway. Those people will scoop you dry until you’re a hollowed-out well of a person with nothing left to give and no source to draw from.” He paused. “Those are not the people you should be sacrificing for.”
A tear leaked out from the corner of Ashley’s eyes and dripped onto the cream-colored folder. Because even though it wasn’t the first time she’d heard his words, this was the first time she’d heard the complete truth in them. She had striven her whole life to be what everyone else wanted and needed, but the people who really mattered had never asked her to do that. If she’d said no to any of them, they would have kept on loving her just as much as they always had.
As much as they were her people, she was theirs too.
And yeah, maybe she couldn’t include Derek in that anymore. But with or without him, her life, her soul held meaning simply because she had been created with inherent value and purpose. And for her, that purpose included helping people.
But it didn’t mean being a doormat.
She smiled, and this time, she didn’t have to force it. “You’re pretty wise, you know that?”
“You don’t get to be my age without learning a few things.” Kyle stared at her, a rare look of pride shining in his eyes. “And I’ve learned to trust my instincts. There’s no one else that would be better suited to carry on my Cathy’s legacy than you.”
Ashley swallowed hard. “That means the world. Thank you.”
He grunted. “Just calling it like I see it.” Behind him on the wall,
