Page 96 of Too Good to Be True

“I could get fired.”

“You’re a smart woman. You’ll find another job.”

“But I don’t want another job. I like the one I have.”

Jenna sighed.

“I highly doubt you’d get fired,” said Kelsey. “They might just ask you to keep it on the down-low at the office.”

“It’s not just your job you’re worried about, is it?” Jenna said, eyeing Stacy closely.

Stacy averted her eyes and swallowed the rest of the wine in her glass. If tomorrow hadn’t been a workday, she might have poured some more. However, she’d never gone to work hungover, and she wouldn’t start now.

They were standing in the kitchen, and she took her glass to the sink, rinsed it, and put it in the dishwasher.

“What else would it be?” she finally replied.

Jenna and Kelsey exchanged glances. “It’ll sound better coming from you,” Jenna said.

Stacy scrunched up her face. “Have you two been talking about me?”

“No,” Kelsey said. “Well, not exactly.”

“She came in to get her hair done this week,” Jenna said as if that explained everything. And in a way, it did. There was something about sitting in a salon chair that made mouths open and words spill out.

“In my defense, she started it,” Kelsey said, giving Stacy an apologetic look.

“Just tell me!” She was more curious than upset at this point, but that might change after she heard what they had to say.

“We wondered if your worries have anything to do with Cole,” Jenna said.

His name dropped like a boulder in the middle of the kitchen, creating a crater in the floor that threatened to swallow her.

“This has nothing to do with Cole,” she insisted.

“Doesn’t it? I know how hurt you were when you found out about… Anyway, you haven’t been the same since,” Jenna said, her voice softening.

Kelsey nodded. “I hate him for what he did to you, but I miss the Stacy I used to know. The one who was strong, confident, and…” She hesitated like she was afraid she’d already said too much.

“And what? You might as well finish,” Stacy demanded. She’d planted her hands on her hips, but they were visibly shaking, so she pulled them around her back.

“Brave,” Kelsey said.

Stacy was knocked sideways. She opened her mouth to refute it, but nothing came out.

Jenna took over for Kelsey. “I get why you were afraid to trust someone after what Cole did, but that was two years ago, Stace. Just because Cole betrayed you, it doesn’t mean Nick will. It’s time to start believing in yourself again.”

The air felt thick and heavy after the lightness of the book club meeting.

Struggling to keep her voice even, Stacy said, “This has nothing to do with trust or bravery. What we have is only temporary. He came here to gain more work experience with the intention of returning to Florida. He didn’t come here to whisk me off into the sunset or find true love.” The instant the word “love” left her lips, she wished she could pluck it out of the air and stuff it back in.

“What if he decides to stay?” Jenna demanded. Her sister had always been the tenacious one. She was like a bulldog, only prettier.

“Even if he does, that doesn’t mean it’s because of me.”

Kelsey and Jenna exchanged looks again, and Stacy suddenly felt like a third wheel. She wanted to be furious with them for discussing this behind her back, but she couldn’t be, not completely. Underneath it all, she knew they loved her and wanted her to be happy.

“Just think about it, okay? Don’t be in such a hurry to dismiss him,” Kelsey said.