Page 13 of Working For Her Attention

“Thanks.”

One moment, I was at the small bakery with my laptop out, because sitting in my home office was super unproductive the last two days. Mostly, because all I did was stare out at Sam’s house until his truck returned, and when that happened, I hid like he had some kind of X-ray vision into my house where he would know I was creepily stalking him from.

The two girls sitting at the table next to me said hi, and we started talking, and somehow, I confessed everything about Sam. Talk about small-town charm.

“I’m Rainy, by the way,” the one with the light brown eyes said.

“And I’m Windy,” the darker-eyed one shared.

“Do you have a sister named Stormy?” I teased.

“Do you know her?” Rainy asked, and I blinked.

That’s when I saw it. Her light brown eyes sparkled with mischief, and the three of us started to laugh. “Her name’s actually Stella. Mom was over her bohemian name era by the time Stell was born.”

“Lucky bitch,” Windy said, and I grinned at them.

And not for the first time, but maybe for the first time in a long while, I let myself wonder what life would have been like if it had been a little kinder to me.

What it would be like to have been born lucky enough to have siblings. Sisters to look after you. Protected and teased you. Understood you. Saw you.

“Hey, what’s that look about?” Rainy asked. I shook my head, furiously blinking tears from my eyes. What is wrong with me? I am over the whole shoulda, coulda, woulda of life. I am thirty now, for goodness sake!

“Nothing. It’s… nothing.” I smiled, but by the way the two sisters looked at one another, I knew they were about to call me on my bullshit.

“Come on, tell us!”

“I just…” I sniffled. “You two are luckier than you know.”

“Why?” Rainy asked, opening her eyes wide.

“Because you have each other.” I shrugged. “Growing up… I didn’t have anyone.”

“Shit,” Windy muttered and grabbed my hand. “Is that why?” Her eyes saw right through to the center of me.

“What?”

“Is that why you pushed away the hot neighbor?” I swallowed hard.

Windy had hit it right on the nose.

Sharing a meal, watching him wash the dishes as the two of us shared about our lives had felt so good.

Too good.

And that was something I wasn’t used to, something I didn’t have that much luck being able to keep in my life, so it might have freaked me out.

“Maybe,” I squeaked. My shoulder rose and fell. “I just, I think I was trying to keep from…”

“What?”

“Hoping too much? I don’t know. I’m a mess.” I laughed, and they both looked at me with genuine concern in their eyes. But not as if they thought I was crazy, more like they really cared. “It’s just… no one sticks to me, you know? And don’t get me wrong, I’m good with that. Used to it.”

“Babe—” Rainy started to say, but I put a hand up to stop her.

“No, seriously, I’m not saying this for pity or anything at all. It’s just how… how life’s been for me. I’m the one people are more than okay walking away from, and he’s…”

Sam was the ultimate dream.